After the Spartanburg General Hospital decided to discontinue its degree program for nurses, local politicians, led by Dr. G.B. Hodge, decided to create a separate University for the region. In 1967 the Spartanburg Regional Campus was opened as a two-year college with an initial enrollment of 177 students. Because of increased popularity, the school became a four-year institution in 1975 and was renamed the University of South Carolina Spartanburg. During the following years, both the campus and the scope of the University expanded. In the summer of 2004 the USC Board of Trustees voted to change the name to University of South Carolina Upstate to better reflect its mission to educate the people of South Carolina's upstate region. Aside from its presence in Spartanburg, University of South Carolina Upstate has become the largest educational provider in the University Center Greenville, a consortium of seven institutions of higher learning in Greenville, South Carolina.
University of South Carolina Upstate has many clubs and organizations as well as academic teams whose main goals are the intellectual and interpersonal growth of students through community service and wide-ranging cultural activities.
The University of South Carolina Upstate's Honors Program, actively encourages academic enrichment and achievement by providing superb coursework and opportunities to academically advanced students. The program provides an array of classwork opportunities—from advanced sections of classes to complete honors courses, many taught and facilitated by the University's best faculty and occupied by the school's brightest students. The program also encourages community service and intellectual betterment by placing high standards for honors graduation which include community service and predetermined honors seminars. The Honors Program organizes trips abroad annually.
Athletics
University of South Carolina Upstate sponsors 13 collegiate teams known as the Spartans. The athletic department colors are green, white, and black. The teams compete in the Big South Conference and Division I of the NCAA. These sports are men's and women's basketball, men's and women's soccer, men's and women's tennis, men's and women's golf, baseball, softball, track & field, cross country, and women's volleyball. The head coach of the Spartans baseball team is Matt Fincher. He has been the head coach for 11 years and has rebuilt the baseball program. "The 2005 Spartans finished with the program's best ever record as a member of NCAA Division II. USC Upstate had a 33-21 overall record and a 14-16 mark in the league in the 2005 season..."
Alumni
The university has over 35,000 living alumni. According to the university, over 80% of them still live and work in the upstate region. The USC Upstate Alumni Association, an office within University Advancement, is a service organization established by the University to promote the interests of the institution and to develop and maintain a close bond between the University and its alumni.
