USC could lose 7 million yards to UGA and its not even football season

University of South Carolina, aren’t you tired of losing to Georgia?

Since 2015, the Bulldogs have run the Gamecocks ragged on the football field — except that one glorious afternoon in 2019 when USC won by three points in overtime. Other than that, it’s been all embarrassment for the last seven seasons. Now, USC may give up millions of yards to the University of Georgia Athens.

If USC and its foundation don’t make some changes and if lawmakers don’t act accordingly, the school could lose a South Carolina barrier island that’s relatively untouched and ripe for research to UGA.

The school and South Carolina lawmakers need to get it together to avoid throwing away a valuable asset for USC students and state residents as well as a place that can help the state understand climate change and the natural resources that make the Palmetto State unique.

In the 1980s, Philip Rhodes, an Atlanta business man, deeded Pritchards Island in Beaufort County to USC under the stipulations that the island be kept in its natural state and be used for research, education and general public purposes, The State’s Sarah Haselhorst reported. Over the last two decades, research has nearly gone dormant, drawing the concern of the Rhodes family. If the school can’t uphold its end, the deed gives control of Pritchards Island to the University of Georgia or the Nature Conservancy.

Last week, USC reached out to the Rhodes with ideas about the island, and Gov. Henry McMaster told the family that “South Carolina will live up to every single thing that is in the agreement,” according to The State’s Haselhorst. The family said it was “encouraged and impressed.” They won’t be for long if South Carolina doesn’t put its money where its mouth is.

A university official told The State the school has the biologist to do research on the island, but it needs the funds to pay for their projects.

If lawmakers found the political will to fork over millions for a Carolina Panthers facility in Rock Hill that will never be completed, they need to find a way to save Pritchards Island for USC.

Beaufort County also needs to let loose some money from its reserve fund to finance USC’s needs on the island.

The federal, state and county funds don’t need to be for one or two years. The money needs to be reoccurring and significant enough that USC doesn’t have to rely on the whims of private donors for the school’s needs on the island.

The benefits to South Carolina of keeping Pritchards Island in USC’s hands are obvious — better educational opportunities for students, distinct activities for residents and tourists, and what about having a sense of state pride for being the shepherd of such a beautiful place?

The island also provides an up-close-and-personal look at the effects of climate change, a major issue for South Carolina that it needs to better understand.

USC has a plan in the works to keep the island, according to a school spokesperson. The plan better be robust enough to convince the tight wads in the State House to open up South Carolina’s wallet if the school needs it.

If USC loses the island, the blame should fall on state and federal lawmakers and not just the school.

Pritchards Island is about 1,600 acres, the equivalent of nearly 7,744,000 yards.

USC and lawmakers — don’t let Georgia say they gained almost eight million yards on the Gamecocks. Gamecock fans will never recover.

David Travis Bland is interim opinion editor.