South Carolina Limits Retail Jersey Numbers, Continuing Trend In Wake Of Litigation

South Carolina is the latest of several SEC schools that has "changed its policy on releasing jersey numbers for retail use" in the wake of lawsuits "over whether college athletes have the right to compensation for the use of their name, image and likeness," according to David Caraviello of the Charleston POST & COURIER. The school's jersey number policy involves "eschewing those worn by popular players and instead choosing two generic numerals -- the No. 1, which all teams aspire to be, and the season, in this case the No. 15." South Carolina and other schools have "moved toward more generic numbers until legal waters become less murky." South Carolina AD Ray Tanner said that he "expects the same change will be applied to other sports" at the school. Tanner: "Right now, there’s that thought process of, if you’re using players’ jersey numbers, they should be paid. We’re in a position where we’re not sure where everything will end up. So for now, we’re going to take the stance that we’ll get out of the situation where name, image and likeness become an issue." Caraviello noted the football program has "gone as far as to put a generic player wearing jersey No. 15 on the cover" of its media guide, a "departure from years of featuring prominent upperclassmen." Other SEC schools avoiding jersey numbers include Texas A&M, which "makes available only the No. 12, representing its '12th Man' fan base," as well as Missouri and Vanderbilt, which "don’t have jerseys available at all." While Tennessee, LSU and Mississippi State are "among those selling jerseys bearing the numbers of current players, several others schools are selling only those with generic, historic or outdated player numbers" (Charleston POST & COURIER, 8/16).