Clemson University

Clemson University, located in Clemson, South Carolina, was founded in 1889, a legacy of Thomas Green Clemson, who willed his Fort Hill plantation home, its surrounding farmlands and forest, and other property to the State of South Carolina to establish a technical and scientific institution for South Carolina. Clemson opened its doors to 446 students as a military college in 1893. Today, approximately 17,000 students attend the institution, with 64 percent of these students from South Carolina and the remaining 36 percent hailing from 49 other states and 70 nations.

Football Traditions

Death Valley

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Clemson's Memorial Stadium was given this nickname in 1942 by the late Lonnie McMillian, a former coach at Presbyterian College. He once told sports writers he was going to play Clemson at "Death Valley," because his teams always got killed. The term caught on when football coach Frank Howard popularized it during the 1950's. As of now, they are building a nicer facility in the west end zone called the West Zone Club. This facility adds locker rooms for both teams, recruiting room, more seats for fans, lockers for fans personal belongings, and more. This project will be completed before the start of the 2006 football season.

Related Topics:
Presbyterian College - Frank Howard

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First Friday Parade

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The Clemson football season kicks off each year with the annual First Friday Parade. Founded in 1974, this annual event takes place on the Friday afternoon prior to the first home football game. Floats created by fraternities, sororities, and other campus organizations originally paraded down College Avenue, Clemson's main downtown street, winding their way to the Amphitheater, located in the middle of campus, where the first pep rally of the year took place.

Related Topics:
Frank Howard - Brent Musburger - Ara Parseghian

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Homecoming

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Clemson holds a classic homecoming every year. Displays by fraternities, sororities, and other student organizations are constructed on Bowman Field during the week prior to the Homecoming Weekend. Additionally, the Clemson chapter of Habitat for Humanity sponsors the construction of a Habitat House during Homecoming Week, which is constructed on Bowman Field and then moved to a permanent location. The Friday evening prior to the game, "Tigerama" is held in Littlejohn Coliseum, an event that attracts over 35,000 fans. The Homecoming Queen and her court are presented, in addition to Homecoming skits, a pep rally, and a large fireworks display. The first Homecoming game played at Clemson took place on September 30, 1922, when Clemson met Centre College. Clemson has a 56-19-3 record in Homecoming games over the years. Clemson has been especially successful on Homecoming in recent years, posting a 26-3-2 record since 1971.

Related Topics:
Habitat for Humanity - September 30 - 1922 - Centre College

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Orange Pants

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The Tigers first wore an all orange uniform for the final game of the 1980 season against South Carolina. Clemson upset the 14th ranked Gamecocks 27-6, setting the stage for Clemson's National Championship run of 1981. Clemson has ten wins over Top 20 opponents when wearing Orange pants, including the 22-15 National Championship clinching win over Nebraska in the 1982 Orange Bowl and their exciting last second victory over #17 Texas A&M to kickoff the 2005 season.

Related Topics:
South Carolina - Nebraska - Orange Bowl - Texas A&M

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Howard's Rock

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When the Clemson team gathers to run down the Hill, the players rub Howard's Rock because of the mystical powers it is supposed to give Clemson players. The rock is mounted on a pedestal at the top of the hill, and was given to Coach Frank Howard by a friend (S.C. Jones' 19) who picked it up in Death Valley, CA. The Rock was first placed on the pedestal at the top of the hill on September 24, 1966, a 40-35 victory over Virginia. The team started rubbing the rock for the first game of 1967, a 23-6 win over Wake Forest on September 23, 1967. Frank Howard told his players that if they were not going to give 110 percent, then they weren't going to rub his rock!

Related Topics:
Death Valley, CA - Virginia - Wake Forest

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Running Down the Hill

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"The most exciting 25 seconds in college football." After Clemson's last warmup, the team retreats to the home dressing room located under the West Stands. Shortly before kickoff, the team boards two buses and drives around the periphery of the stadium to the East side of the field. As Tiger Band performs its traditional pregame show, spelling out "Clemson Tigers" on the field, the players gather at the top of the grass hill that comprises the general admission section. As the band completes the "Orange Bowl March," also known as "Sock It To 'Em," they form a tunnel formation on the field and turn homeside. At the pedal note of "Tiger Rag," the Clemson fight song, the cannon sounds and the team charges down the hill and onto the field, with the cheerleaders leading the way, carrying a huge Tiger Paw flag. The Tigers have done this for every game since 1942, excepting games during 1970, 1971 and four games of the 1972 season. This exciting tradition began early in the history of Memorial Stadium. When the stadium was built in 1942, the football locker rooms were up the street in Fike Fieldhouse. When the players finished dressing for the game, they would simply walk down the street to "The Hill." Coach Howard continued the tradition when locker rooms were finally built inside the stadium, because Clemson fans would get fired up when the team gathered at the top of the hill.

Related Topics:
Tiger Rag - Fight song

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