Catch Some Live College Football During Your Myrtle Beach Vacation

Coastal Carolina Chanticleer Football Logo

The passions, pageantry, spirit and traditions of college football are hard to top in any American sport, whether amateur or professional. And for fall visitors to the Myrtle Beach area, nearby Coastal Carolina University offers the opportunity to catch all of the sport’s excitement live and in person — without the hard-to-navigate crowds and traffic found on game day in Columbia, Clemson and other larger college towns throughout the Southeast.

Based in Conway, South Carolina, which is found about 15 miles inland from downtown Myrtle Beach, the CCU Chanticleers play their home games at Brooks Stadium each fall. Located on the CCU campus, the venue recently saw an expansion/upgrade that introduced premium seating and a west-side upper deck, and increased the stadium’s seating capacity to 21,000. Known as Benton Field, the stadium’s playing surface features a distinctive teal-colored artificial turf known as “the Surf Turf,” and the stadium itself has been ranked among the nation’s leaders in attendance based on capacity.

The Chanticleers play in the Sun Belt Conference, and the team made its move to college football’s highest level of competition — the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level — in 2017. Among CCU’s remaining 2019 home-game opponents are:

  • Georgia State (Oct. 12 for Family Weekend/Hall of Fame Weekend)
  • Troy (Nov. 2 for Homecoming)
  • Louisiana (Nov. 7 for a Thursday-night Military/First Responders Appreciation game that will be broadcast nationwide on ESPNU)
  • Texas State (Nov. 30 for the regular-season finale)

Game days in Conway feature many of the same traditions college football fans have grown to love — including tailgate parties on the CCU campus under tents and live oak trees. To add some signature sounds to the experience, CCU’s marching band the Chanticleer Regiment marches across campus before kickoff, and many fans join the procession to Brooks Stadium for the main event.

Often affectionately referred to by the abbreviated “Chants” nickname, the Chanticleers also boast one of the most original mascots in all of college sports — a rooster inspired by Geoffrey Chaucer’s famed “The Canterbury Tales.” A life-sized version named Chauncey the Chanticleer roams the sidelines on game day to get the hometown crowds active and energized, and sounds of a crowing rooster often blast from the stadium’s PA system during key moments of games.

To learn more about game day in Conway and to get your tickets to one of this season’s remaining home games, visit the CCU Athletics website at goccusports.com.

After catching the big game in Conway, head back to your luxurious oceanfront accommodations at The Strand Resort to relax and soak in some of the property’s wide range of on-site amenities. Book your Myrtle Beach getaway at The Strand today — and start making your plans to enjoy all of the Grand Strand’s top fall traditions.