The Miss Gamecock pageant, a long-standing tradition at the University of South Carolina, has been suspended after current and former titleholders raised concerns about mismanaged funds and missing scholarship money. 

Reigning Miss Gamecock 2025 Kirby Helms said she was promised about $3,500 in scholarships after winning the title and additional side awards but has not received any of it. 

“It was supposed to pay off my last semester of college here at USC,” Helms said. “It is kind of disheartening to not receive those scholarships … I’m just as much a victim as everyone else.” 

The financial issues began this year, according to contestants, when they were instructed to send entry fees through personal payment accounts instead of the pageant’s designated club account. 

Miss Gamecock 2024 Lea Foster Kahlil said she and others noticed the change. 

“The club PayPal or Cash App apparently wasn’t working, so contestants were told they could send their money to a personal account,” Kahlil said. “From the personal one, I don’t know what happened.” 

Former president Christina Harding said finances were properly managed while she oversaw the pageant and that the problems did not start until after she stepped down. 

“There were two separate bank accounts – one for the pageant and scholarships and then one that was money we got from the school to do the pageant,” Harding said. “When we took dues from girls, that would go into one bank account that we wouldn’t have access to unless we paid out the scholarships.” 

Former treasurer Sarah White also confirmed that the funds were supposed to be kept in a designated Miss Gamecock account. 

However, this year they were not. 

According to the university’s Office of Student Conduct website, the Miss Gamecock organization was found to have misrepresented and mismanaged member funds. The investigation cited fraudulent behavior, financial obligations and theft.  

The club has been suspended until at least March 4, 2027. 

Reporter Mary Grace Copeland reached out to the director of the Office of Academic Integrity for an interview, but the scheduled meeting was canceled. The current club president declined to comment. 

The case was initially reported to the university but has since been turned over to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division for further investigation. SLED has not yet responded to requests for comment. 

Questions remain about where the money went, whether titleholders will be reimbursed, and if the Miss Gamecock pageant can continue as a credible campus tradition.