Clemson Football...An In Depth Look

Academics
  • Kyle Young and Chad Carson were first-team Academic All-Americans in 2000. Clemson was the only Division I school in the nation with two first-team selections. It was the second straight year Young has been a first-team choice at center, while Carson was a second-team linebacker in 1999. Both return this season, making Clemson the only Division I school in the nation with two returning first-team Academic All-Americans. Young is striving to become just the second offensive lineman in college football history to be a three-time first-team Academic All-American. He could also become just the second ACC player regardless of position to do it.
  • Clemson's football team has had five of its top six semesters on record under Tommy Bowden. The team had a record number of ACC Academic Honor Roll students in the first semester of the 2000-01 academic year (41) and the top total in the Clemson athletic department (37) for the second semester.
  • Clemson will have seven graduate students in its starting lineup for the 2001 season. The list includes All-America center Kyle Young, Heisman Trophy candidate Woodrow Dantzler, Thorpe Award candidate Charles Hafley, Nick Eason, the MVP of Clemson's 2000 defense, starting wide receiver Matt Bailey, All-ACC guard Will Merritt, and starting guard T.J. Watkins. Eason's graduation is particularly noteworthy, as he still has two years of eligibility.

    All-Americans

  • Clemson had four players earn All-America honors in 2000, tied for the second highest single season total in school history. Only the 1981 National Championship team had more. Leading the All-Americans last year was Keith Adams, a consensus selection and one of three finalists for the Butkus Award. Rod Gardner and Robert Carswell were two seniors on the 2000 team who made All-America teams.
  • Kyle Young was a second-team selection by Football News and a third-team choice by Sporting News. He is the only returning All-American on the 2001 Clemson team. Young was also one of three finalists for the Rimington Award, which is given to the nation's top center.
  • Clemson has had a history of decorated football players. The program boasts 52 different players who have been named a first, second or third-team All-American over the years. The program has had at least one All-American 24 of the last 25 years.

    Bowl Games

  • Clemson has been to 24 bowl games in its history, one of the top 20 totals in college football history. Clemson's12 wins and 50 percent winning percentage also rank among the top 20 in college football history.
  • Clemson won five straight bowl games between 1986-90, one of the top bowl winning streaks in college football history. Clemson defeated Stanford, Penn State, Oklahoma, West Virginia and Illinois during the stretch.
  • The school has beaten some of the top coaches in college football history in bowl competition. Among the list of celebrated coaches who have lost to Clemson in bowl competition are Frank Leahy (second winningest coach in college football history on a percentage basis), Joe Paterno (second winningest coach in Division I on a total victories basis), Barry Switzer (fourth winningest Division I Coach on a winning percentage basis) and Tom Osborne (fifth winningest Division I Coach on a winning percentage basis). Hall of Fame coaches Woody Hayes and Don Faurot have also dropped bowl games to Clemson.

    Coaching

  • Clemson has an experienced coaching staff, the major reason for Clemson's sudden improvement the last two years. The staff is led by Tommy Bowden, a member of the first family of college football coaches. He was named ACC Coach of the Year in his rookie season at Clemson (1999) and was a semifinalist for National Coach of the Year by Football News in 2000.
  • Bowden has put together a staff that has a combined 82 bowl games of experience. Leading the way of veteran Clemson assistants in terms of bowl experience are Reggie Herring (15 bowls), Brad Scott (14 bowls) and Rick Stockstill (nine bowls). Scott and Mike O'Cain are two former Division I head coaches on Bowden's Staff.
  • Clemson has a legendary history when it comes to coaching. Three former Tiger mentors (Frank Howard, John Heisman and Jess Neely) are already in the college football Hall of Fame. Charley Pell, Danny Ford and Ken Hatfield are three contemporary coaches who have added to the Clemson legend by leading the program to top 10 seasons.

    Death Valley

  • Clemson Memorial Stadium, known as Death Valley since the 1940s, is one of the top football facilities in the nation. This past year it was listed as the top stadium in the ACC by The Sporting News. Many times in the last decade it has ranked among the top 10 football stadiums in the nation. Clemson ranked seventh in the nation in total attendance in 2000.
  • The stadium is the center of many Clemson traditions. According to many, the Tigers have the top stadium entrance in all of sports. The team enters the stadium from the top of a hill at the East end of the stadium. Prior to running down the100-foot hill, the team rubs Howard's Rock for inspiration. It is electrifying for the 85,000 Clemson fans who have come to root on the Tigers.
  • Clemson Memorial Stadium is undergoing a multi-million dollar renovation over the next few years. Clemson players and fans will benefit from a new locker room, brick façade, press facility, "Fan Zone" and restaurant.

    Exposure

  • Clemson is one of the most televised teams in college football. Last year all 12 Clemson games were seen over NBC, ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, Jefferson Pilot or College Sports Southeast. Clemson has averaged almost eight games a year on television over the last 10 years.
  • The Bowden Bowl is a special game at Clemson and Florida State, as coaching father and son match wits on the sidelines. The event is what college football is all about and it brings to the Clemson campus (Nov. 3 this year) media from the top markets in the nation. The last time the game was held at Clemson (1999), 755 media were in attendance, an all-time ACC record.
  • Clemson's radio/TV package is among the best in the nation. All Clemson football games are shown on a tape-delay basis in addition to the live coverage. Games are seen throughout the Southeast on College Sports Southeast the week after the game and replayed throughout the summer.

    First-Round Selections

  • Rod Gardner became the 20th first-round draft pick in Clemson history when he was selected as the #15 pick in the first round by the Washington Redskins in April 2001. Gardner finished his career as the school's all-time leading receiver and was third in total reception yardage.
  • Gardner set an example for all future Clemson football players to follow. He was a first-team All-American, a first-round draft choice, and graduated in May of 2001. Few college football players could boast of that triple last year.
  • Clemson has had a first-round draft choice four of the last five years. The list includes Trevor Pryce, already an All-Pro with the Denver Broncos, and Anthony Simmons, the top tackler for the Seattle Seahawks in 2000.

    Hall of Fame

  • Former Clemson All-American Terry Kinard will become just the second Tiger player to be named to the College Football Hall of Fame when he is enshrined this coming December. He will join Banks McFadden, a Clemson All-America tailback from 1937-39 in the Hall of Fame in South Bend, IN.
  • Kinard is the only Clemson football player to win a national individual award. He was named the 1982 National Defensive Player-of-the-Year by CBS Sports. That year, his senior season, he was a first-team unanimous All-American, the only unanimous All-American in Clemson history.
  • Kinard has continued to receive honors after he left Clemson. Last year, he was named to Sports Illustrated's All-Century team of College Football. He was named to USA Today's All-Decade team of college football for the 1980s. After his Clemson career he went on to an All-Pro and Super Bowl Championship career with the New York Giants.

    Heisman Candidate

  • Clemson quarterback Woodrow Dantzler was among the top candidates for the nation's top college honor last year seven games into the season. He was on pace to become the first college quarterback in history to rush of 1000 yards and pass for 2000 in the same season. But an injury in the eighth game of the year at North Carolina curtailed his chances.
  • Despite the injury, Dantzler set 16 Clemson school records in 2000, including a pair of ACC marks for quarterback rushing when he led the Tigers to a 9-3 record and a #14 ranking ranking in the USA Today poll.
  • In the preseason for the 2001 season, Dantzler is listed among the top five candidates for the Heisman by Lindy's, cbssportsline.com and ESPN the Magazine. He is ranked as the number-one candidate for the Davey O'Brien Award by Lindy's.

    Improvement

  • Clemson has been one of the most improved teams in college football over the last two years. Each of the last two seasons Clemson has improved its victory total by three wins over the previous campaign. Clemson and UNLV are the only two schools in the nation that can make that claim.
  • Tommy Bowden has been a head coach for four years (two at Tulane and two at Clemson) and his teams have increased their victory total by exactly three victories each season. It is believed to be an unparalleled accomplishment in college football history.
  • Clemson jumped six spots in the ACC standings between 1998 and 1999, Bowden's first year at Clemson. This was the largest single year jump in the ACC standings in league history.

    National Championship

  • The 2001 season will mark the 20-year anniversary of the greatest accomplishment in Clemson football history. The Tigers were National Champions by every service in 1981, as they were the only school in the nation with a perfect (12-0) record. The season included three wins over top 10 teams (Georgia, North Carolina and Nebraska), the only team in college football to beat three top 10 teams in 1981.
  • The 1981 team had five All-Americans on its roster, including first-team selections Terry Kinard, Jeff Davis and Perry Tuttle. Thirty-one players on the 1981 team were eventually drafted by the NFL and 22 players on the squad eventually played in the NFL. Twenty-three different players on the 1981 roster were first-team All-ACC at one time or another in their career.
  • The 1981 team will be honored at the 2001 Clemson vs. Florida State game at Death Valley.

    NFL Influence

  • Clemson had 19 former players in the NFL during the 2000 season. The list included 11 different former Tigers who were either first-round draft choices, Super Bowl champions or Pro Bowl selections.
  • Over the years, 20 former Clemson players have won 28 Super Bowl Championship rings. The leader is Jeff Bostic, who was a starter on three Super Bowl championship teams with the Washington Redskins. Clemson has had an alum on the Super Bowl Championship team five years in a row.
  • Trevor Pryce, an All-ACC player at Clemson in 1996, has already won two Super Bowl Championships and been a two-time Pro Bowl selection. He is the highest paid defensive lineman in NFL history.

    Poll Presense

  • Clemson has been consistently ranked among the top programs in the nation, a tradition that dates to the 1930s. Clemson was ranked 12th in the final AP poll at the end of the 1939 season, a 9-1 campaign that concluded with a 6-3 victory over a Frank Leahy coached Boston College team.
  • The 2000 season marked the 20th time Clemson has been ranked in the final top 25 of the Associated press poll. Clemson's highest ranking is #1 in 1981. The Tigers were ranked 16th in the final AP poll of 2000. Clemson once had a streak of 46 consecutive weeks ranked in the AP poll during the 1980s.
  • Clemson was ranked in the final top 20 of the AP poll six times in the 1980s. The Clemson program was fifth in the nation in winning percentage in that decade.

    Prominent Former Tigers

  • Dwight Clark was the MVP of the NFL in 1982 and he is now Vice President and Player Personnel Director with the Cleveland Browns. He was the recipient of "The Catch" for the San Francisco 49ers against the Dallas Cowboys in the 1981 NFC championship game.
  • Charlie Waters was a three-time Pro Bowl selection with the Dallas Cowboys. He played on two Super Bowl Championship teams and is a member of the Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor.
  • The Perry Brothers, William and Michael Dean, were starters on Clemson's 1984 defense. William played on Clemson's national championship team as a freshman, then on the Super Bowl Champion Chicago Bears of 1985. Michael Dean played in six Pro Bowls with Cleveland and Denver, more than any other former Tiger.

    Public College of the Year

  • Clemson University was honored as the Public College of the Year by Time Magazine for 2000. The publication cited Clemson for its ability to creatively teach its students to communicate. "Clemson is on the cutting edge of the communication-across-the-curriculum movement, in which faculty integrate not only writing, but also oral, visual and electronic communication in all the disciplines.
  • Clemson is very competitive academically, thereby enhancing the value of its degree. Freshman applications have risen from 8000 in 1996 to nearly 10,500 in the year 2000. The average SAT score for incoming freshmen in 2001 will be near 1200, highest on record. The student to faculty ratio is just 16/1. The undergraduate enrollment is a manageable 13,700
  • Clemson has a variety of academic disciplines. There are 77 different majors in the five major colleges. Eighty-four percent of the professors hold doctorate degrees.

    Rival

  • Clemson has quite a rivalry with South Carolina, a rivalry that dates to 1896, the first year of Clemson's program. Over the years, Clemson has a record of 59-35-4 against the Gamecocks. Even though the game was never played in Clemson until 1960, Clemson's 59 victories is a record for the Tiger program against one school.
  • Clemson has defeated its rival each of the last four years, five of the last six and nine of the last 12. This year's game will be played in Columbia, where Clemson has not lost since 1987 and has just one loss since 1980.
  • The Clemson vs. South Carolina rivalry has been played continuously since 1909. It is the third longest continuous active rivalry in college football.

    Sports Program

  • Clemson has a strong all-around athletic program. The football team was one of 11 teams that ranked in the final top 25 of its respective polls. The golf team led the way with a #2 national finish, while the women's indoor track team was third in the nation. Both Clemson soccer teams finished the year in the top 10.
  • Clemson had at least two All-ACC players on 14 of its 19 teams in 2000-01. Nine different programs had at least two All-Americans. The program had 31 All-Americans last year, second highest single year on record.
  • Clemson has had a history of upsetting top teams. Clemson defeated the #1 team in the nation in women's soccer and men's basketball last year. The Clemson football team has at least one win over a top 25 team every year since 1986.

    Vickery Hall

  • Vickery Hall was constructed in 1991, the first self-standing facility built for the academic needs of student-athletes in the nation. The facility has countless computers and a full-time staff of six people who supervise the off-the-field needs of Clemson's athletes.
  • The staff at Vickery Hall has had a direct positive effect on the academic performance of Clemson student-athletes. This past spring semester student-athletes had a combined GPA of 2.80, highest on record. The overall student body had a 2.82 GPA and the 0.02 differential was the smallest on record.
  • Clemson was one of just six schools nationally to receive the CHAMPS Lifeskills Award from the National Athletic Directors Association in September of 1999. The award is presented to athletic departments who have excelled in the area of student-athlete enrichment.
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