| Clemson Tigers | |
| University | Clemson University |
|---|---|
| Conference(s) | Atlantic Coast Conference |
| NCAA | Division I |
| Athletics director | Terry Don Philips |
| Location | Clemson, SC |
| Varsity teams | 19 |
| Football stadium | Memorial Stadium |
| Basketball arena | Littlejohn Coliseum |
| Baseball stadium | Doug Kingsmore Stadium |
| Mascot | The Tiger |
| Nickname | Tigers |
| Fight song | Tiger Rag |
| Colors | Orange and Purple
|
| Homepage | www.clemsontigers.com |
The Clemson Tigers are any team that represents Clemson University as a member of the NCAA's Division I or in the Atlantic Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
In 1896, football coach Walter Riggs came to Clemson, then Clemson Agricultural College of South Carolina, from Auburn University. He had always admired the Princeton Tigers, and hence gave Clemson the Tiger mascot. The Clemson Tigers field nineteen athletic teams. In men's sports there are: football, basketball, baseball, soccer, tennis, golf, track and field (indoor and outdoor), cross-country, and swimming and diving. For women's sports, there are: basketball, soccer, tennis, volleyball, track and field (indoor and outdoor), cross-country, swimming and diving, and rowing. The South Carolina Gamecocks are Clemson's in-state athletic rival. The two institutions compete against each other in many sports, but the annual football game receives the most attention. Clemson's main rivals within the Atlantic Coast Conference are Georgia Tech, NC State, Florida State, Miami, and Boston College.
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The Tiger Paw logo was introduced at a press conference on July 21, 1970. It was created by John Antonio and developed by Helen Weaver of Henderson Advertising in Greenville, South Carolina, from a mold of a Bengal Tiger in the St. Louis Zoo. The telltale hook at the bottom of the paw is a sign that this is the official licensed trademark for the university[1]. The SC Beta Chapter of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity also has retained the exclusive rights to paint the logo on many of the highways that lead into Clemson.
The most prominent of Clemson's facilities is Memorial Stadium, Frank Howard Field, home to the Clemson University men's football team. Memorial Stadium is also known by its nickname, "Death Valley." Memorial Stadium is also home to the WestZone, which was completed in 2006. With the completion of the first phase of the WestZone, the listed capacity for Memorial Stadium is 80,301. The WestZone holds many IPTAY offices, Clemson football coach's offices, weight rooms, locker rooms, and a recruiting center.
The men's and women's basketball teams play at Littlejohn Coliseum, which has a listed capacity of 10,000 spectators. Littlejohn also acts as a venue for a variety of campus functions throughout the year, including concerts and graduation ceremonies.
Recently renovated Doug Kingsmore Stadium is home to Clemson's men's baseball team.
The men's and women's soccer teams play their home games at historic Riggs Field.
Other home venues for these sports are: Walker Golf Course, Hoke Sloan Tennis Center, Jervey Gym (volleyball), Rock Norman Track Complex, and McHugh Natatorium. Women's rowing holds home events on nearby Lake Hartwell.
The Tiger football program has won 59.1% of its games through the 2010 season, placing it 34th on the all-time winning percentage list. Clemson is also currently the leader among ACC schools for conference championships at 14, having last won a title in 2011.[2] Clemson also won two Southern Conference titles before joining the ACC. The program has participated in 33 bowl games over the years, winning 16. The 1981 squad, led by Head Coach Danny Ford, became the first athletic team in school history to win a national championship. Clemson defeated Nebraska 22–15 in the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida to win the 1981 NCAA Football National Championship. Stars of the game included Homer Jordan (QB) and Perry Tuttle (WR). Clemson finished the year 12–0 and ranked #1 in the Associated Press and Coaches polls. Clemson was sanctioned by the NCAA the following year for having over 150 documented violations.
Some of the most notable coaching names in Clemson football history are John Heisman (also coached at Akron, Auburn, Georgia Tech, Penn, Washington & Jefferson, and Rice; the Heisman Trophy is named after him), Jess Neely, Frank Howard (whom the playing field at Death Valley is named after), and Danny Ford. After Tommy Bowden resigned midseason on October 13, 2008, Dabo Swinney took over as interim head coach.[3] On December 1, 2008, Swinney was named head coach of the Clemson Tigers football team.[4]
Before each home game, the team ends pre-game warm ups and proceeds to the locker room. With five minutes to go before game time, three buses leave the street behind the West Endzone carrying the Clemson football players. The buses pull to a stop at the gate in front of The Hill, and the Tigers gather at the top, where each player proceeds to rub "Howard's Rock" (which is an imported rock from Death Valley, California that was presented to Frank Howard in 1967). While Tiger Rag is played and a cannon sounds, the Tigers run down the hill onto the field in front of over 83,000 screaming fans. This tradition has been dubbed "The most exciting 25 seconds in college football" by sportscaster Brent Musburger.[5]
| NCAA National Champions | 1981 |
| ACC Champions | 1956, 1958, 1959, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1978, 1981, 1982, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1991, 2011 |
| ACC Atlantic Division Champions | 2009, 2011 |
| Southern Conference Champions | 1940, 1948 |
| Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association Champions | 1900 (t), 1902 |
| Bowl victories | 1940 Cotton Bowl Classic, 1949 Gator Bowl, 1951 Orange Bowl, 1959 Bluebonnet Bowl, 1978 Gator Bowl, 1982 Orange Bowl, 1986 Gator Bowl, 1988 Florida Citrus Bowl, 1989 Citrus Bowl, 1989 Gator Bowl, 1991 Hall of Fame Bowl, 1993 Peach Bowl, 2001 Humanitarian Bowl, 2004 Peach Bowl, 2005 Champs Sports Bowl, 2009 Music City Bowl |
| Year of Report | Graduation Rate, Male Students | Graduation Rate, Football | 4-Class Average, Male Students | 4-Class Average, Football | Graduation Success Rate, Football | Source |
| 2000 | 68% | 56% | 68% | 56% | [6] | |
| 2001 | 66% | 55% | 67% | 57% | [7] | |
| 2002 | 65% | 29% | 67% | 47% | [8] | |
| 2003 | 67% | 78% | 66% | 53% | [9] | |
| 2004 | 68% | 45% | 66% | 51% | [10] | |
| 2005 | 69% | 48% | 67% | 49% | 94% | [11] |
| 2006 | 72% | 70% | 69% | 59% | 77% | [12] |
| 2007 | 70% | 67% | 70% | 56% | 75% | [13] |
| 2008 | 74% | 41% | 71% | 55% | 68% | [14] |
| 2009 | 76% | 72% | 73% | 61% | 67% | [15] |
| 2010 | 73% | 41% | 73% | 54% | 60% | [16] |
For the graduating classes of 2000-2010, according to statistics reported to the NCAA[17], the graduation rate for male students at Clemson has increased from an average of about 68% in 2000 to about 73% in 2010, while the graduation rate for football student-athletes at Clemson has decreased slightly over that period from an average of about 56% to about 54%. In other words, the graduation gap between football players and other male students has increased from 12% to 19% over the past decade.
Since 2000, the four-year average graduating rate for male students at Clemson has stayed steady at an average of about 69%, while the four-year average graduating rate for football student-athletes at Clemson has stayed steady at an average of about 54%.
Beginning in 2005, the NCAA Graduation Success Rate (GSR) was developed in response to complaints from college and university presidents. "The GSR measures graduation rates at Division I institutions and includes students transferring into the institutions. The GSR also allows institutions to subtract student-athletes who leave their institutions prior to graduation as long as they would have been academically eligible to compete had they remained."[18]
The GSR for the Clemson football program has decreased every year since the metric was introduced, from 94% in 2005 to 60% in 2010.
The Clemson Men's Basketball team is coached by head coach Brad Brownell, announced April 13, 2010. Accomplishments include:
| NCAA Tournament Appearances | 1980, 1987, 1989, 1990*, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 |
| NCAA Elite 8 | 1980 |
| NCAA Sweet 16 | 1990*, 1997 |
| NIT Appearances | 1975, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1999, 2005, 2006, 2007 |
| NIT Runner-Up | 1999, 2007 |
| Southern Conference Champions | 1939 |
| ACC Regular Season Champions | 1990 (not officially recognized by the conference)[19][20] |
*vacated by NCAA [21]
The Clemson Women's Basketball team is currently coached by head coach Itoro Coleman. In 2008, the team made it to the ACC tournament, where it defeated N.C. State in the first round, but lost to eventual champion North Carolina in the quarterfinals. Accomplishments include:
| NCAA Tournament Appearances | 1982, 1988–1994, 1996–2002 |
| NCAA Elite 8 | 1991 |
| NCAA Sweet 16 | 1989, 1990, 1999 |
| AIAW Tournament Appearance | 1981 |
| WNIT Tournament Appearances | 1980, 1984 (3rd Place), 1995, 2004 |
| ACC Champions | 1996, 1999 |
| ACC Regular Season Champions | 1981 |
As of 2008, the Tiger baseball team has posted a combined 30 ACC regular season and tournament championships (most in the conference), 34 NCAA Tournament appearances, 16 NCAA Regional Titles, 3 NCAA Super Regional Titles, and 12 College World Series appearances. Much of the baseball program's success occurred under Bill Wilhelm during his 35 seasons as Clemson's head coach. Jack Leggett has been the Tigers' head coach since 1994.
| CWS Appearances | 1958, 1959, 1976, 1977, 1980, 1991, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2002, 2006, 2010 |
| ACC Champions | 1954, 1958, 1959, 1967, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1994, 2006 |
| ACC Regular Season Champions | 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1995, 2006 |
| ACC Atlantic Division Champions | 2006, 2010 |
| Southern Conference Champions | 1947 |
*ACC Tournament began in 1973 to determine conference champion
*No conference tournament was held in 1979 due to academic conflict, Clemson awarded title for regular season finish
The men's soccer team was Clemson's second sports program to win a national championship, winning the NCAA Tournament in 1984 and again in 1987.[22][23] In their 26 appearances in the NCAA tournament, the men's soccer team garnered a runner-up finish in 1979 and has appeared in the NCAA Final Four seven times, with the 2005 squad being the most recent team to accomplish that feat.[24] In addition to their NCAA titles, the men's program has won 16 combined ACC regular season and tournament titles, with the last one coming in the 2001 ACC Tournament. The Tigers have known only two coaches in their history: Dr. I.M. Ibrahim (1967–1994, 388–100–31 career record) and Trevor Adair (1995–present, 50–48–10 record at Clemson). Former Tiger Oguchi Onyewu played with Clemson in 2000 and is currently with Sporting CP. Other former Tigers include Stuart Holden and Paul Stalteri, both of whom are capped for their respective nations.
| NCAA Champions | 1984, 1987 |
| NCAA Runner-up | 1979 |
| NCAA Final Four | 1973, 1976, 1978, 2005 |
| NCAA Tournament Appearances | 1972–1979, 1981–1985, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2000–2003, 2005, 2006 |
| ACC Champions | 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982(t), 1985, 1998, 2001 |
| ACC Regular Season Champions | 1990, 1993, 1998 |
| Herman Trophy Winners | 2 (Bruce Murray - 1987, Wojtek Krakowiak - 1998) |
Women's soccer became a varsity sport at Clemson in 1994.
| NCAA Tournament Appearances | 1994–2007 |
| ACC Regular Season Champions | 2000 |
The Tiger golf team have a tradition of being among the best in the ACC and the nation, having won several ACC titles and regularly qualifying for the NCAA Tournament. In 2003, Clemson defeated runner-up Oklahoma State to win its first National Championship in golf and the 4th overall for the school. In addition to that victory, Clemson also won the ACC and NCAA East Regional titles that year, making the Tigers the first program in NCAA history to win its conference, regional, and national championship tournaments in the same year. Clemson also has the most regional titles among NCAA Division I schools, having won 7 since the NCAA adopted the regional tournament format in 1989. 2009 US Open Champion Lucas Glover went to Clemson.
| NCAA Team Champions | 2003 |
| NCAA Individual Champions | 1 (Charles Warren - 1997) |
| NCAA Team Runner-Up | 1998, 2001 |
| NCAA Individual Runner-up | 3 (Charles Warren - 1998, Kyle Stanley - 2007, 2009) |
| NCAA Team 3rd Place | 1989, 1997, 2002 |
| NCAA East Regional Champions | 1993, 1994, 1995, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004 |
| NCAA Individual Regional Champions | 2 (Mark Swygert - 1994, D.J. Trahan - 2002) |
| All-Americans | 51 |
| ACC Team Champions | 1982, 1987, 1988, 1990(t), 1997, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2004 |
| ACC Individual Champions | 8 |
| All-ACC | 69 |
| Men's Track and Field | |
|---|---|
| NCAA Indoor Team Runner-Up | 1992, 1993 |
| NCAA Indoor Team 3rd Place | 1998(t), 1999 |
| NCAA Individual/Relay Champions | 8 (Indoor)
3 (Outdoor) |
| All-Americans | 69 (Indoor)
99 (Outdoor) |
| NCAA East Region Individual/Relay Champions (Outdoor) | 4 |
| NCAA All-East Region (Outdoor) | 18 |
| ACC Team Indoor Champions | 1987, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002 |
| ACC Team Outdoor Champions | 1980, 1982, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2004 |
| ACC Individual/Relay Champions | 112 (Indoor)
178 (Outdoor) |
| All-ACC | 174 (Indoor)
227 (Outdoor) |
| Women's Track and Field | |
|---|---|
| NCAA Indoor 3rd Place | 2001 (t) |
| NCAA Individual/Relay Champions | 5 (Indoor)
2 (Outdoor) |
| All-Americans | 30 (Indoor)
39 (Outdoor) |
| NCAA All-East Region (Outdoor) | 8 |
| ACC Indoor Team Champions | 1992, 2010 |
| ACC Outdoor Champions | 1991, 1999, 2010 |
| ACC Individual/Relay Champions | 47 (Indoor)
70 (Outdoor) |
| All-ACC | 96 (Indoor)
117 (Outdoor) |
| Men's Cross-Country | |
|---|---|
| NCAA Region Champions | 1983 |
| NCAA Individual Region Champions | 4 |
| All-Americans | 11 |
| ACC Team Champions | 1978, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1987, 1988 |
| ACC Individual Champions | 11 |
| All-ACC | 35 |
| Women's Cross-Country | |
|---|---|
| NCAA Region Champions | 1990 |
| All-Americans | 9 |
| ACC Team Champions | 1986 |
| ACC Individual Champions | 2 |
| All-ACC | 22 |
| Men's Tennis | |
|---|---|
| NCAA Tournament Appearances | 1979–1989, 1992, 1996–2000, 2003–2007 |
| NCAA Individual Runner-up | 1 (Lawson Duncan - 1984) |
| All-Americans | 29 |
| ACC Champions | 1969, 1980, 1981, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1997 |
| ACC Regular Season Champions | 1969, 1980, 1981, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1997 |
| ACC Single Flight Champions | 43 |
| ACC Doubles Flight Champions | 25 |
| SIAA Single Flight Champions | 1 |
| SIAA Doubles Flight Champions | 1 |
| Women's Tennis | |
|---|---|
| NCAA Final Four | 2004, 2005 |
| NCAA Tournament Appearances | 1982–1984, 1986, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002–2009 |
| AIAW Tournament Appearances | 1978, 1980, 1981 |
| NCAA Individual Runner-up | 1 (Gigi Fernández - 1983) |
| All-Americans | 24 |
| ACC Champions | 1981, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 2004, 2008 |
| ACC Regular Season Champions | 1978, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1986, 2004, 2007 |
| ACC Single Flight Champions | 40 |
| ACC Doubles Flight Champions | 22 |
| Women's Volleyball | |
|---|---|
| ACC Champions | 1997, 2007 |
| ACC Regular Season Champions | 1999 |
| NCAA Tournament | 1993, 1994, 1997–1999, 2007–2009 |
| Men's Swimming and Diving | |
|---|---|
| ACC Team Champions | 1986 |
| ACC Individual/Relay Champions | 47 |
| All-ACC | 43 |
| SoCon Champions | 1939 |
| Women's Swimming and Diving | |
|---|---|
| ACC Team Champions | 1987, 1988, 1989, 1997 |
| ACC Individual/Relay Champions | 76 |
| All-ACC | 89 |
| Women's Rowing | |
|---|---|
| NCAA Individual Champions | 1 (2009 Varsity 4+) |
| ACC Team Champions | 2009 |
| South Region Runner-Up | 2008 |
The Rugby Club is also very successful, and was founded in 1967.
| Wrestling | 1975-1995 |
|---|---|
| ACC Regular Season Champions | 1991 |
| ACC Individual Champions | 28 |
| NCAA Individual Champions | Noel Loban (1980)
Sammie Henson (1993, 1994) |
| NCAA All-Americans | 8 |
| Boxing | 1930s-1948 |
|---|---|
| SoCon Team Champions | 1938, 1940 |
| Socon Individual Champions | 7 |
| Men's Fencing | 1970-1982 |
|---|---|
| NCAA Runner-Up | 1982 |
| NCAA Tournament | 1976-1982 |
| ACC Champions | 1979, 1981 |
| ACC Regular Season Champions | 1980 |
| National Coach of the Year | Charlie Poteat (1982) |
| All-Americans | Steve Renshaw (1977-1980, 4x All-American) Jay Thomas (1979, 1980, 1982) |
| Women's Fencing | 1975-1982 |
|---|---|
| NCAA Tournament | 1982 |
| Women's Field Hockey | 1977-1981 |
|---|---|
| All-American | Barbie Johnson (1981) |
Baseball
Swimming
Tennis
Track
Wrestling
Clemson's intra-conference football rivalries include Georgia Tech (GT leads 47-24-2), NC State (Clemson leads 48-27-1 in the Textile Bowl), Boston College (O'Rourke-McFadden Trophy, Clemson leads 9-8-2), and Florida State (FSU leads 16-7).
Clemson has a lesser rivalry with the University of Georgia, born because of the two institutions' close proximity (roughly 75 miles apart). Clemson and Georgia first met in 1897, only the second year the Tigers fielded a football team. The rivalry was at its height in the 1980s, but the two programs have not played each other since 2003. The athletic departments recently added games to be played in 2013 at Clemson and 2014 in Athens. Georgia leads the football series 41–17–4, winning the past five meetings in a row after last losing to the Tigers in 1990.[26]
Clemson's fight song is the Tiger Rag, the "Song that Shakes the Southland", a variation of the song originally recorded by the Original Dixieland Jazz Band. The song is played at all Clemson sporting events, particularly following scores or big plays, and during the "Most Exciting 25 Seconds in College Football." The song lyrics are not used, save for the spell-out of "Clemson" at the end.
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