Shane Beamer is getting a new deal. After taking the South Carolina Gamecocks to the doorstep of the College Football Playoff, Beamer was rewarded with a contract extension that runs through 2030.
After signing the extension, the coach shared his feelings about staying in Columbia for the foreseeable future.
“Very blessed. So thankful to — it was something Coach [Ray] Tanner started working on back at the end of the season. It’s been a process. Appreciate Coach Tanner and Jeremiah [Donati] coming in and jumping in as well, Dr. [Michael] Amiridis, and Thad Westbrook, and the Board of Trustees.
“Beyond grateful for their trust in me. Emily and my family, we love it here, we love this state, we love this community, love being a Gamecock, and just really excited about that. Excited about the future as well,” Shane Beamer said on Saturday.
The deal will increase Beamer’s salary to $8.15 million and he will receive a $100,000 raise every year until the deal runs through in 2030.
Shane Beamer took over as the Gamecocks head coach in 2021, filling in for the legendary Steve Spurrier. In four seasons at South Carolina, Beamer has a 29-22 record with three bowl game appearances.
The son of longtime Virginia Tech head coach Frank Beamer, Shane is coming off his best season as a coach, leading South Carolina to a 9-4 record after the Gamecocks won the final six games of the regular season. They finished 15th in the CFP rankings.
One of the lasting images of South Carolina’s 21-17 Citrus Bowl defeat to Illinois was Fighting Illini head coach Bret Bielema taunting Shane Beamer with a “T-Bar” signal during an injury timeout.
The South Carolina coach had to be held back and later called Bielema’s behavior “bush league”. However, the Gamecock’s head coach shared that both coaches had a conversation days after the incident and said it’s all in the past.
“It’s in the past. I got a lot of respect for their program. They had a great season, won 10 games. To his credit, he (Bielema) reached out to me a week or so after the game. We had a good conversation, but getting back to us, again, agreed on some things and agreed to disagree on some things,” Beamer said.
Illinois and South Carolina aren’t scheduled to play anytime soon, but with both schools on the upswing, there would surely be fireworks if they somehow met in the postseason.
