HRSM started in 1962 as a two-year associate's degree program offered through the university's Extension Service Program, later called General Studies.
1980s: A Pivotal Decade
As the college shifted focus to baccalaureate programs (four-year degrees), the first major program to emerge was the Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Administration, which was launched in the fall of 1982 with 17 students.
In 1982, the Office Administration program was also launched, which is the foundation for what has become Integrated Information Technology. Media arts came to HRSM in 1983, and stayed until 1994 when it moved to the College of Arts and Sciences.
For 50 years, South Carolina's College of Hospitality, Retail and Sport Management programs have been a powerful economic driver for South Carolina, the nation and the world.
— Former President Harris Pastides, University of South Carolina
The 1980s also witnessed the college's push into retailing and sport. The four-year retailing program launched in 1985 and, shortly thereafter in 1987, the first students enrolled in the sport administration department.
2000: The Most Transformative Years
Under the leadership of Dean Pat Moody, the college was renamed the College of Hospitality, Retail and Sport Management. The new name, Moody said, solidified the college's brand and its mission: to help build South Carolina's job-rich services and retail industries.
"We wanted to be sure that our industries know who we are," Moody told The State newspaper in March 2000.
The college soon expanded with both master's and doctorate graduate programs.
Today's HRSM
Today, HRSM boasts Top 10-ranked programs and award-winning faculty and researchers. It's the largest hospitality college in South Carolina, and one of the leading programs of its kind in the country with more than 90 faculty and staff, several centers for applied research and almost 20,000 alumni. In 2019, HRSM moved into a new space — centrally located within campus and adjacent to downtown Columbia — in the Close-Hipp building.