Will Columbia have a parade to celebrate USC’s women’s basketball championship?

Joshua Boucher/jboucher@thestate.com

First, the question on everyone’s mind: Will Columbia throw another parade to celebrate another Gamecock women’s basketball championship win?

The answer: Yes.

“Congratulations to our Gamecock Women’s Basketball team! Thanks to them, we have a parade returning to Main Street,” Columbia Mayor Daniel Rickenmann wrote on Facebook Sunday following USC’s 87-75 victory over Iowa.

A previous version of this story reported that the city would most likely have a parade. “We have in the past under the same circumstances,” a city representative told The State.

But the details for the parade are not yet clear as of Monday morning.

USC defeated Iowa 87-75 in Sunday afternoon’s NCAA tournament final, sealing the team’s third national championship, all under Coach Dawn Staley.

The team also won championships in 2017 and in 2022, both of which were celebrated by downtown Columbia parades. In 2022, Hootie and the Blowfish’s Darius Rucker even promised a free concert for students after the championship win, and he delivered.

As for when and where this year’s parade would take place, those details have not been announced. In 2022, Columbia Mayor Daniel Rickenmann announced three days after the championship victory that yes, there would indeed be a parade — and it was scheduled for the following week.

That means fans shouldn’t expect to be lining Main Street first thing Monday morning.

The last parade took Gamecock players and thousands of fans down Main Street and ended at the South Carolina State House.

This story has been updated with new information

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