Football
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. 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.
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. On December 1, 2008, Swinney was named head coach of the Clemson Tigers football team.
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.
| 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, 2012 Peach Bowl |
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Famous quotes containing the word football:
“... in the minds of search committees there is the lingering question: Can she manage the football coach?”
—Donna E. Shalala (b. 1941)
“Idon’t enjoy getting knocked about on a football field for other people’s amusement. I enjoy it if I’m being paid a lot for it.”
—David Storey (b. 1933)
“People stress the violence. That’s the smallest part of it. Football is brutal only from a distance. In the middle of it there’s a calm, a tranquility. The players accept pain. There’s a sense of order even at the end of a running play with bodies stewn everywhere. When the systems interlock, there’s a satisfaction to the game that can’t be duplicated. There’s a harmony.”
—Don Delillo (b. 1926)