Shane Beamer reveals conversation with Bret Bielema after viral Citrus Bowl incident

South Carolina coach Shane Beamer and Illinois coach Bret Bielema were not happy with each other during the Citrus Bowl as Beamer felt like he was being mocked by Bielema during a moment in the second half.

The incident started when Bielema took exception to a T-bar gesture by a Gamecocks return man on a kickoff, with his Illinois team taking it to mean the returner was signaling for a fair catch. Bielema thought the tactic was intentionally confusing and a distortion of the rules.

He let Beamer know he was displeased by mimicking the gesture multiple times as he tended to an injured player near the South Carolina sideline, and Beamer took exception to that, needing to be held back.

Shane Beamer revealed Saturday during a meeting with the media that Bret Bielema reached out to him about a week after the game.

“It was fine. We had a conversation and it was very cordial and agreed to disagree on a couple of things. But it was good,” Shane Beamer said.

Beamer didn’t get into the details of the conversation, but he did say that Bret Bielema reached out to him. Illinois ended up upsetting the Gamecocks 21-17 in the Citrus Bowl.

Beamer insists that he has moved on from the incident and is looking ahead to the 2025 season.

“That’s in the past. Got a lot of respect for their program and him. They had a great season, won 10 games. And to his credit he reached out to me a week or so after the game, and we had a good conversation,” Shane Beamer said. “I’m going to keep that between us, but again, agreed on some things and agreed to disagree on some things, as well.”

The South Carolina coach did admit on the Inside the Gamecocks: The Morning Show recently that he needed to keep his feelings in check a little better, but he continued to defend his reaction.

He’s apparently gotten a lot of commentary on it, from some unlikely sources too.

“I didn’t like the way it looked. I didn’t,” Beamer said. “But I do appreciate the amount of people that have come up to me in public or texted me after the game or called me after the game saying, ‘What you did was right. Man, I wasn’t a Gamecock before but I am now.’ Whether it be athletic directors across college athletics or former coaches that are in the College Football Hall of Fame or current coaches that were in the College Football Playoff this year, or Florida Gator fans or Tennessee Vol fans or whatever. I appreciate that.”