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38 Twice as Nice: Brianna Rollins claims second NCAA hurdles crown.

Orange: The Experience is published eight times a year by IPTAY Media exclusively for donors to the IPTAY Scholarship Fund. A minimum priority contribution is $140, although contributions of any amount are welcome. To join IPTAY, call 864.656.2115 or go to www.clemsontigers.com and click on IPTAY. To advertise in Orange: The Experience, call 864.882.2375, fax 864.882.2381 or e-mail to [email protected], or call 864.656.2975 or e-mail to [email protected] you’ve had an address or phone number change, call the IPTAY office at 864.656.2115; go to www.clemsontigers.com and click on IPTAY; or send your name, IPTAY number, new address, new phone number and e-mail address to: IPTAY, P.O. Box 1529, Clemson, SC 29633.

IN THE NEXT ISSUE ...What’s it like to play for the

Harlem Globetrotters?

MARCH 25, 2013Volume 4, Issue 6

iNside

6 Travis Furbee Time for a bit of spring-cleaning around the IPTAY office

sometHiNg iN tHese Hills8 Pawsitive Press MyOrangeUpdate.com a Smash Hit with IPTAY Members

10 Coaches Corner Nancy Harris

12 Where Are They Now? Neil Simons

14 IPTAY Donor Spotlight Jonathan Allen Overton

16 IPTAY Representative Spotlight Neel Shah

18 IPTAY New Donor Spotlight Rebekah Kerr

20 The New Face of IPTAY

21 Q&A with IPTAY President Charles Dalton

61 Memorials63 IPTAY Donor Photos64 The Last Word Hall of Fame worthy

departmeNts

Editor: Philip SikesAssistant Editors

Tim BourretSteven Bradley

Lindsey LeonardGraphics Coordinator: Melissa Bradley

Contributing WritersKathryn Andreoli

Jeff KallinWilliam Qualkinbush

Victoria ReidDavis Simpson

Lawrence StarkeyChief Photographer: Rex Brown

22 Perennial PowerhouseTigers’ consistent success on the gridiron begins on the recruiting trail.

26 Clemson Tiger Football SigneesThe 2013 Clemson football recruit bios.

30 Spring in their StepFive storylines to watch as optimistic Tigers start 2013 journey with spring practice.

40 Great ScottClemson baseball’s Scott Firth comes back with something to prove, adapts his game to make it happen.

44 Sweet SixteenDespite the fact she should still be in high school, Liz Jeukeng is making a name for herself at Clemson.

47 Dynamic Duo of Men’s TennisBrothers Yannick and Dominique Maden team together to lead Tigers to NCAA Tournament.

50 Rowing OutlookTigers look to return to NCAA Championships for the fifth time in the last six seasons.

52 Super Bowl ExtensionFormer Clemson student trainer Jeff Ferguson fluorishes in role with 49ers.

54 “Great Time of Change”IPTAY National meeting charts course for future of Clemson Athletics.

56 2013 Football Season Ticket and Parking Information

59 NCAA Compliance

m a r c h 2 0 1 3 ❘ 5


Travis Furbeeassistant athletic director/director of iptay annual fund

Time for a bit of spring-cleaning around the IPTAY office

This time of the year, with basketball season wrapping up, baseball season in full swing and spring football al-

ready under way, is a very busy time around the IPTAY office. With the first quarter of the calendar year ending, I thought it would be appropriate to use this space for a bit of housekeeping as it pertains to our organization.

We wrapped up our IPTAY deadline for annual contributions Feb. 15 in which we ask donors to pledge and pay 50 percent of that pledge, and all indications are we are continuing to have a solid year and founda-tion for IPTAY on an annual basis. We are already seeing an increase in contributions that will continue to help both Clemson student-athletes and Clemson Athletics achieve their goals.

With the IPTAY fiscal year deadline scheduled for June 15, early signs are good that IPTAY donors will continue to grow our organization this year. We already have over 1,200 new IPTAY donors for this fis-cal year, which began July 1. In fact, as of the middle of February, we were about four percent up from this time last year. Both of those numbers indicate that IPTAY is only strengthening its status as one of the nation’s premier collegiate fundraising or-ganizations.

One of the changes this past year was our IPTAY National Meeting, which was held Feb. 16 for our Reps who work hard to be positive ambassadors for Clemson University, Clemson Athletics and IPTAY. The IPTAY National Meeting was held in Clemson this year after years of being

held in Columbia, and it was also moved back a bit on the calendar after tradition-ally being held the Thursday after National Signing Day.

First of all, I would like to recognize Ja-son Wilson and the IPTAY staff for doing a great job hosting numerous events for our IPTAY Representatives who attended the National Meeting, which included baseball games, a tour of the Clemson Football In-door Practice Facility, a social hour in the West Zone Club area, then dinner and the meeting in Littlejohn Coliseum. We con-cluded with the Tigers’ basketball game against Miami the following day.

The format of this year’s event seemed to be very well received by our IPTAY Reps. We had about 650 attendees, and it was a great night to inform IPTAY Reps of devel-opments that have affected us in the past year and will impact the organization in the upcoming one, as well as of the growth within IPTAY.

The meeting was also a good chance for the IPTAY Reps to hear two of our cur-rent student-athletes, quarterback Tajh Boyd and volleyball player Alexa Rand, and a former one, Jim Sutherland, as well as our new Director of Athletics Dan Ra-dakovich, IPTAY Board President Charles Dalton and a few of our head coaches — women’s tennis coach Nancy Harris, men’s basketball coach Brad Brownell and head football coach Dabo Swinney — reflect on how IPTAY changes lives and supports student-athletes here at Clemson.

Our hope is to give the student-athletes the opportunity to succeed in and out of the classroom while enjoying college life here at Clemson University, and both Tajh and Alexa shared their testimony of that being very much the case. It is always nice to hear first-person accounts that, as an organization, we are accomplishing our goal of enriching the lives of our student-athletes both on and off the field of play.

The week after the national meeting we received very positive feedback from hav-

ing the event back home in Clemson. It’s one of those things where we have to get feedback from our IPTAY Reps, and as a staff, evaluate how to move forward with the meeting and the purpose of the IPTAY National Meeting. We want to make sure the format of the meeting best suits the needs of our IPTAY Reps and our organi-zation before making those decisions.

With the 50 percent pledge deadline having passed last month, I’d also like to take a moment to give a reminder of our football season ticket process. I know many of you are quite familiar with the process, but I thought a brief refresher was in order.

The 50 percent pledge triggers your foot-ball season ticket application, which is usu-ally received in the middle of March and is sent to all IPTAY donors that have pledged for the 2013 year.

Every year we get plenty of questions on how IPTAY ticket priorities work, and once the ticket office receives all the ticket orders and reviews all the ticket requests, this process is all done by IPTAY prior-ity. Priority starts with IPTAY giving level and then is broken down by points within each giving level, so the system rewards both loyalty and contribution levels based on points. Donors can always visit clem-sontigers.com to view how your points are calculated and how tickets are allocated, as well as how parking is handled within the IPTAY priority system.

As we head into the spring and the Prowl and Growl Coaches Tour, we encourage all IPTAY donors and Clemson fans to come out to the events in your various cities to see the coaches in your area. The Prowl and Growl Coaches Tour gives Clemson fans the opportunity to show their support for the Tigers and learn about the exciting things going on at Clemson University and within the Clemson University Athletic Department.

Thanks to all the IPTAY donors for their loyalty and continued support of Clemson Athletics.

m a r c h 2 0 1 3 ❘ 7

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More IPTAY members than ever are taking advantage of the organization’s exclusive e-Newsletter and website.

The latest statistics from MyOrangeUpdate.com show the total visits to the site and pages viewed have more than doubled on an annual basis since its inception in 2009, and the number of unique visitors to the site has more than quadrupled since that first year — with a staggering 89,779 unique visitors in 2012.

“It’s unbelievable to see the increased percentages over the last couple of years,” Director of the IPTAY Annual Fund Travis Furbee said. “When you start something new, you have to go back and analyze it and critique it — and it seems like this is definitely heading in the right direction as far as total visitors, unique visitors and page views.”

In 2009, IPTAY Media came on board to make the change from providing its members a weekly newspaper to the more timely and comprehensive package of the e-Newsletter and accompanying Web site, MyOrangeUpdate.com, along with the premium magazine, “Orange: The Experience.”

In addition to the magazine, published eight times annually, the e-Newsletter is sent to IPTAY donors 37 times a year as part of their membership package.

Editor of IPTAY Media Steven Bradley said the encouraging numbers indicate that members are both enjoying and taking advantage of the upgraded coverage of Clemson Athletics as part of their package.

“We strive to provide enhanced access and unique stories about Clemson sports for IPTAY donors they couldn’t get anywhere else,” Bradley said. “What these numbers tell me is members are enjoying the opportunity to learn more about the student-athletes they are supporting by being part of IPTAY, both on and off the field. We want to give each team at Clemson — not just football, basketball and baseball — the coverage it deserves. It certainly appears our readers appreciate that coverage.”

When it was introduced in 2009, MyOrangeUpdate.com received 61,726 total views in its first year. That number has increased steadily to the point it received 154,004 total views last year, an increase of 149 percent from the first year. As far as pages viewed, the number increased from 206,546 in 2009 to 427,092 in 2012, an increase of 107 percent.

The most impressive statistic, however, is the number of unique visitors to the site each year, which has risen from 20,152 in the first year to 89,779 in 2012 — an increase of 346 percent.

“Through our exclusive membership Web site and communication tool, IPTAY Media has done an outstanding job being able to craft it the way that our donors seem to like,” Furbee said. “The numbers show an increase in the readership over the last three or four years, and that is due in large part to everyone involved. (IPTAY Assistant Director) Lindsey Leonard has worked hard, along with IPTAY Media, to help us grow this piece of our membership package.”

something in these hills

Highlighting Clemson’s top performers in athletics

PAWSITIVE PRESS

Brittney WallerWomen’s Track & Field • Greenville, SC

Waller won the bronze medal at the NCAA Indoor Championships in the 20-pound weight throw and won her third straight ACC crown in the event. She was named ACC Indoor Field Athlete of the Year.

Dezerea BryantWomen’s Track & Field • Milwaukee, WI

Bryant was an indoor All-American in both the 60 and 200 dash. She also won conference titles in both and was named the ACC’s Most Valuable Track Performer a second straight season.

heather CummingsRowing • Virginia Beach, VA

Cummings is a returning CRCA second-team All-American, joining her sister Brittany who rowed at Clemson from 2007-10. Cummings earned the team’s Lisa Reid Most Inspirational Rower award in the fall.

Daniel gossettBaseball • Lyman, SC

Gossett led the 2012 Tigers with 87 strikeouts, the first freshman to lead Clemson in strikeouts since Ryan Mottl in 1997. Gossett is Clemson’s No. 1 starter this season.

Brunson millerMen’s Track & Field • Murrells Inlet, SC

Miller advanced to the NCAA Championships in the 400 dash, the first male athlete to do that at Clemson since 2002. He also won the ACC championship, a first for the Tigers in 10 years.

Crawford ReevesMen’s Golf • Greenville, SC

Reeves led Clemson with a 15th-place finish in the Puerto Rico Classic, the Tigers’ first tournament of the spring season. Reeves had three rounds at even par or better.

myoRangeUpDate.Com a smash hit With iptay memBeRs��

m a r c h 2 0 1 3 ❘ 9


In our second installment of a series titled Coaches Corner, “Orange: The Experience” Editor Philip Sikes sat down with Head Coach Nancy Harris, now in her 16th season in charge of the Tiger women’s tennis program. In the question and answer session, Harris discusses the transition from the NAIA ranks to Division I, her program’s consistent run of excellence, an international recruiting base, and the future of Tiger tennis through the support of IPTAY.

Q: You came to Clemson from the NAIA ranks after an outstanding tenure at Auburn-Montgomery. What was that transition like going into a Division I program?

Harris: Because tennis at the NAIA level is small college based, you get to do a little bit of everything. You get to do sports information, marketing, you handle equipment, you drive the van. You’re involved in every aspect of the coaching and athletic side of things on the NAIA level. You gain a real appreciation for all of these support people. It’s important to walk in their shoes a little bit, to see how hard they work and the commitment they make to help your program be successful. The level of play was not that different for me. We were very fortunate at Auburn-Montgomery to have a high level program. Our teams competed for national championships every year. Since I was at the NAIA level, many of them have become Division II schools. At that point, I saw the NAIA diminishing and believed if I wanted to stay in coaching, I needed to consider going to a Division I program. Many of the great programs were leaving NAIA. The level is very similar. To give you a good example, our No. 4 men’s player at Auburn-Montgomery has since won doubles at both Wimbledon and the French Open. The level is extremely high within the top programs at lower levels. The top two or three teams at that level are comparable to top-20 teams at the Division I level.

Q: You’ve been to a pair of Final Fours, won two ACC Championships, and been a mainstay in the NCAA Tournament. Is there one particular facet of your program you are most proud of?

Harris: We’ve been fortunate to bring in young people who want to get an education. At the same time, they want to play a very high level of tennis. I’m most proud of the fact that the kids graduate from our program. They are proud of Clemson, and they come back to support us. In fact, when we played recently at Miami, two of our kids from the legacy team (what we call the group that went to the Final Four in 2004 and 2005) – Julie Coin and Daniela Alvarez were at our match. Julie was the first professional in the open era, man or woman, to defeat the No. 1 player in the world. Our current Tigers were really anxious to meet her. Those are the kind of young women that are coming from our program. It’s important to be

successful, but that’s the result of a great group of women working together toward a common goal. In the end, the product is a student-athlete that goes out into the world and is representing our program. That’s what I’m most proud of.

Q: You have an international approach to recruiting. How have you been able to spread the message of Clemson women’s tennis to other continents?

Harris: Our sport is truly an international sport. We’re one of the few countries where tennis isn’t the No. 1 sport. In many countries, the top sport is tennis or soccer. Because we are an international sport and we have a wonderful program, we are in a position to attract not only Americans, but also the best junior talent in the world. Two of our current players, including one who is sitting out this season but will play next year, have reached the semifinals of the junior grand slam in doubles. We are looking for young women of character, who are good students, and are the best juniors here in the U.S. and throughout the world. Knock on wood, we’ve been very fortunate to attract them. We have a faculty that really cares about the students, and they want them to be successful in the classroom and on the court. It’s a beautiful university, so young women come here and they feel very much at home. They feel cared for. That shows in our program. Clemson sells itself once you get them on campus. Student-athletes sense that people generally care about them, and it’s true.

Q: With the support of your program through IPTAY and the ongoing enhancement to facilities, how exciting is the future of Clemson women’s tennis?

Harris: It’s really exciting. We’re fortunate to have the Duckworth family, who wanted to contribute and make a difference in our program. Every time I have the opportunity to be at an IPTAY gathering, that’s always the sense I get from the Clemson family. IPTAY members want to make a difference, and they do. They make a difference in the quality of tennis education that these young people have an opportunity to learn. Facilities make a huge difference for us. It allows the coach to train the student-athletes in an environment that can help develop them into the very best they can be. The financial contributions from IPTAY are significant. What drives all of that is the IPTAY folks want to make a difference. When someone genuinely cares about the success these young people are having, that means more to me than anything. We are excited about the vision for the new facilities, and we’re certain that will take our program to a higher level. We share facilities now, so when student-athletes have a free hour to work as an individual, we sometimes don’t have the court space to do that. That’s where the financial contributions really make a difference. It motivates me to want to work harder, and for that I’m very grateful to the members of IPTAY.

CORNERQ&A with Women’s Tennis Head Coach Nancy Harris

m a r c h 2 0 1 3 ❘ 11

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WHERE ARE THEy NOW? Neil SimoNS

In sports, reaching the pinnacle is the ultimate goal for any team. For Neil Simons, helping Clemson win ACC Championships and get to the College World Series was not just a goal, but also something he did repeatedly.

During Simons’ career (1977-80), Clemson advanced to the College World Series twice and to the NCAA Regional four times. Clemson was ranked in the top 10 in the final poll three of the four years and won three ACC Championships.

Best known at Clemson for his stellar career as an outfielder — still the only four-time first-team All-ACC baseball player in school history — Simons is now building his own company, Independent Benefit Services in Rockville, MD, by serving as the president.

Before his goals and dreams became a reality, Simons had little trouble when it came to picking a college.

“I was recruited to play baseball and football out of high school, but once I visited Clemson for baseball I just shut it all down,” he said.

Simons was a starter in his first season under Head Coach Bill Wilhelm and quickly emerged as a standout player in the ACC. Simons hit .376 as a freshman and to this day is in Clemson’s top 10 all-time with 270 hits. The mentality for success was strongly influenced under Coach Wilhelm.

“There was an expectation that you were going to win and you would conduct yourself like a champion,” Simons said. “There was no settling for second, we were going to play the game the right way, we were going to go about it the right way and we were going to win the right way; there was no other thought in our heads.”

This unified goal amongst the team not only made the Clemson baseball team three-time ACC Champions during Simons’ career, but also landed the Tigers in the College World Series twice (1977 and 1980).

“The baseball team at Clemson’s goal is: get to the College World Series and to win. The upperclassmen made it very clear after the spring of 1977 that we were going back again. They told us, ‘Strap it on, we’re going,’” Simons said.

Even though the memory of playing in two CWS is a fond one for Simons, his favorite memory was the spectacular game against NC State in 1980. Clemson rolled NC State 41-9 with

Simons collecting four hits, including three home runs, with an ACC-record 10 runs batted in.

One game didn’t define Simons’ entire Clemson experience, though. Even now, Simons finds himself reflecting on his times as a Tiger.

“My experience at Clemson on a scale of 1-10 was a 10,” he said. “I just don’t think it could have been any better for me. I was so lucky that I had the chance to start as a freshman. Often, I think about the first game I played under Coach Wilhelm and our first USC game. I think about our first game at Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha and my roommate, Brian Snyder, who threw a no-hitter when I was a freshman.”

All these moments led Simons exactly where he was meant to be. The Houston Astros drafted Simons in the 14th round. He played for three and a half years in the minor leagues before calling an end to his playing days. Simons’ baseball career may have come to a close, but his success surely did not.

Simons decided to listen to the advice of his father to look into the insurance business, and 24 years ago, Simons started his own firm and today he is building strong relationships with other businesses as the president.

To this day, Simons still finds himself being asked by many friends and colleagues about his past with Clemson.

“I don’t think a day or a week goes by without someone asking me about my experience there,” he said. “I love the place, and I think it’s one of those special places.”

Although Simons holds a high title and has hectic days, he is not just all work and no play. Simons has yet to leave baseball in his past and the main reason is because of his two sons — Zach, a senior at the University of Alabama, and David, a sophomore at Clemson.

“It’s a great feeling to keep a hand in baseball, I get to spend a lot more time with my kids,” he said. “It’s also a way of giving back for all the things coaches did for me.”

The Clemson experience is indescribable to Simons. From his stellar individual baseball career and leading his team to historic heights, Simons remains a great fan of his alma mater.

“Overall, I feel so lucky that I was able to find Clemson and Clemson found me,” he said.

— by Victoria Reid

Photo courtesy of Sports Information Department

m a r c h 2 0 1 3 ❘ 13

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Job Number VSPO COSE F9745

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Art Director Marc Del Vecchio

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Studio Alex Peterson

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When did you become a Clemson fan? “When I was young, my father and his best friend took me to games. His friend’s brother, Bunk Cagle, played for Clemson. I also attended Clemson football camps.”

Why did you get involved with IPTAY? “I am fortunate and blessed and just try to give back to different organizations.”

What is your favorite gameday tradition?“Enjoying friends and others at our tailgate spot. We usually watch the kids play football and enjoy the Clemson University atmosphere.”

Who is your favorite all-time student-athlete? “C.J. Spiller. Not only has he been loyal to Clemson, but he is also a great role model to all. My kids have been following him for quite a while and watch him on NFL Sunday Ticket every week.”

Who is your favorite Clemson coach? “My favorite coach would be Dabo Swinney by far. I am very impressed with what he stands for and the love he has for his athletes. There are more important things to him than football and makes him a unique head coach.”

What is one thing you always do when you come to Clemson? “Visit with others who enjoy the tradition at Clemson as well.”

Why should someone who is not an IPTAY member join? “Who wouldn’t want to help one of the finest programs in the country from a small little town in South Carolina?”

— compiled by Victoria Reid


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Current Hometown: Chapin, SC

Years of Membership:11 Years

Tina, Blake, Braxton and Allen Overton at the College World Series in 2010.

C.J. Spiller with Braxton and Blake Overton at the Gatorbowl in 2008.

Blake and Braxton Overton with Dabo Swinney.

Braxton and Blake Overton at the Gator Bowl.

(Favorite all-time student-athlete)“C.J. Spiller. Not only has he

been loyal to Clemson, but he is also a great role model to all.”

m a r c h 2 0 1 3 ❘ 15


When did you become a Clemson fan? “1993.”

Why did you get involved with IPTAY? “Growing the athletic programs at Clemson University is essential to the financial well-being of the university.”

What is your favorite game day tradition?“Tailgating with friends and family.”

Who is your favorite all-time student-athlete? “Charlie Whitehurst.”

Who is your favorite Clemson coach? “Tommy Bowden.”

What is one thing you always do when you come to Clemson? “Eat at Peppino’s Pizzeria.”

Why should someone who is not an IPTAY member join? “To understand what it means to provide an athlete a scholarship to get an education they may never receive.”



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Current Hometown: Aiken, SC

Years of Membership:16 Years

Neel Shah

“(I got involved with IPTAY because)

Growing the athletic programs at Clemson

University is essential to the financial well-being

of the university.”

m a r c h 2 0 1 3 ❘ 17

Rain or shine. Hot or cold. Win or lose.

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Hyundai is a Proud automotive sponsor of


When did you become a Clemson fan? “I’ve been a Clemson fan my entire life, and I’ve always known I wanted Clemson to be a big part of my future. I was less than 1 year old when my parents brought me to my first Clemson game. It is nearly impossible to put into words what Clemson University has meant to me. It has shaped me into the individual I am today. As I graduate in May 2013, I can honestly say there is no better place to be. There really is ‘Something In These Hills.’”

Why did you get involved with IPTAY? “I joined the IPTAY Collegiate Club during my freshman orientation week. I would highly recommend that any incoming freshman and Clemson student join the collegiate club. The benefits of already establishing a status within IPTAY are well worth the $40 a year!”

What is your favorite gameday tradition? “I may be biased, but Clemson doesn’t claim ‘the most exciting 25 seconds in college football’ for no reason! Between tailgating with friends, the band spelling out Clemson as they play Tiger Rag and players rubbing Howard’s Rock, there are so many traditions to call amazing. My favorite gameday tradition would have to be running down The Hill. It started out of necessity, as it was the most convenient way into the stadium, and it stayed for years. The mixture of fanfare, the cannon shot, the Tiger Paw flag and Tiger Rag gives me chills every single time.”

Who is your favorite all-time student athlete? “My all-time favorite student athlete would have to be Charlie Whitehurst. As a young athlete, he was someone I looked up to as a leader and successful competitor. There was something about his attitude that motivated me to work harder. The fact that he helped the Tigers beat South Carolina four years in a row also plays a factor with my favoritism.”

Who is your favorite Clemson coach? “My favorite football coach is definitely Dabo Swinney. Dabo is a man of honor and integrity, and he has a desire to win. One of my favorite quotes from Coach Swinney is ‘we play to a standard, not to an opponent.’ He is an incredible leader and role model to both the players and his coaching staff. Not to mention he is very involved on campus and loves to pump up the students.”

What is one thing you always do when you come to Clemson? “As a student at Clemson, I love to eat at the Esso Club before a home game on Friday afternoons. Anyone who has been a student at Clemson knows that the Esso Club is and always will be a Clemson tradition. It doesn’t get much better than sitting outside on a beautiful afternoon, eating their famous chicken fingers and listening to live music with friends and family. I know I will continue this tradition each time I come back and visit.”

Why should someone who is not an IPTAY member join? “Not only does each donor benefit from joining IPTAY, an athlete is able to have the opportunity to join the Clemson family. In joining IPTAY, you are eligible to purchase tickets to all Clemson sporting events and enjoy the many rich traditions Clemson has to offer.”



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Current Hometown: Clemson, SC

Years of Membership:1 Year

Rebekah Kerr with Dwayne Allen after a Clemson victory.

“One of my favorite quotes from Coach (Dabo) Swinney is ‘we play to a standard, not to an

opponent.’” Jordan Shealy and Rebekah (right) cheering the Tigers

on in Death Valley.

Lauren Crapps and Rebekah watching the Tigers play from

the Kappa Kappa Gamma block.

Danielle Lester and Rebekah cheering our Tigers on at

Georgia Tech.

m a r c h 2 0 1 3 ❘ 19


In 1934, Dr. Rupert Fike, an Atlanta physician and avid fan of Clemson Athletics, decided that Clemson College needed a boost in order to compete effectively

against other like institutions. Along with Coach Jess Neely and a handful of avid fans of Clemson athletics, he created an organization called IPTAY (“I pay $10 a year.”) Originally thought of by some as a secret group because of its mysterious name, it quickly grew into an iconic and highly successful grassroots organization heralded by many as the most successful athletic fund raising organization in the nation.

In keeping with that reputation, and in order to assure the continuing competitiveness of Clemson athletics, IPTAY has made various modifications over the years to adapt to the ever changing landscape of college athletics. However, none of these changes are as significant as those recently approved by the IPTAY Board of Directors and endorsed by the Clemson Board of Trustees.

To quote Charles Dalton, President of IPTAY: “Our board has set the bar high. Clemson people expect our teams to compete at a high level, and they need the resources to do it. IPTAY will lead the effort to attract those resources. That is what we always have done.”

As IPTAY has grown its fundraising enterprise over the years, it has become apparent to the IPTAY Board of Directors that organizational and structural changes should be made to its already winning formula to enhance its fundraising capabilities, provide more services and strengthen its relationship with the IPTAY membership.

After months of research, study and preparation, and after considering input from its attorney and other interested parties, the IPTAY Board of Directors recently took action to recommend changes in its structure, policies and support resources.

First, IPTAY will incorporate as a public benefit organization under the laws of the State of South Carolina. Incorporation will not only satisfy certain business and tax requirements, but will provide additional accountability, enhance operating procedures and assure increased connectivity to Clemson University, its President and its Board of Trustees.

Second, the newly incorporated IPTAY will officially administer all seating and parking for Clemson University athletic events as part of its annual responsibility.

Third, IPTAY, working with the Director of Athletics,

will support the development of strategic planning for Clemson Athletics, with a particular emphasis on securing resources for scholarships, the academic support center, Vickery Hall, and other facilities important to athletics.

“IPTAY can be a game changer,” said Clemson’s new Director of Athletics, Dan Radakovich. “We need the help of all Clemson people and this beneficial input and support through IPTAY will help increase our annual fund activity and place more emphasis on the critical fundraising areas of major gifts and planned giving.”

At a recent meeting of the IPTAY Board of Directors, the Board, represented by President Charles Dalton, and the Clemson University Board of Trustees, represented by Chairman David Wilkins, entered into an agreement confirming the operating and organizational changes.

One of the key aspects of the revised organizational structure is that IPTAY will now be headed by a Chief Executive Officer who will be answerable directly to the IPTAY Board of Directors and the President of the

University. A search committee has been appointed by President Dalton and is already in the process of selecting the new CEO.

In addition, the IPTAY Board of Directors will be expanded to include the President of the University and two members of the Clemson Board of Trustees. The previous structure of the IPTAY Board included only one trustee.

Board members who have previously served as IPTAY President, will become non-voting life members of the Board, after completing their terms on the IPTAY Nominating Committee.

Clemson University Trustee Board Chairman Wilkins and IPTAY President Dalton jointly expressed appreciation to the University trustees and the IPTAY Board members for the thoughtful and deliberative actions that have been taken to ensure that IPTAY continues to be a national leader in fundraising for college athletics.

— by Lawrence Starkey, IPTAY Board of Directors Past President

GEARING UP FOR FUTURE GROWTH

THE NEW FACE OF IPTAY

Clemson University Board of Trustees Chairman David Wilkins, left, and IPTAY President Charles Dalton are shown after signing into effect sweeping changes to IPTAY.

Photo by Rex Brown, IPTAY Media

m a r c h 2 0 1 3 ❘ 21

The IPTAY Board of Directors recently approved significant changes to the structure and operations of the organization. IPTAY President Charles Dalton sat down with Editor of IPTAY Media Steven Bradley to shed some light on those changes and provide insight for IPTAY’s membership on why those modifications were made. What follows is an edited transcript of that interview.

IPTAY Media: The changes recently approved by the IPTAY Board of Directors are unprecedented in terms of their scope since IPTAY began in 1934. Why was now the time to make those changes?Dalton: “It became apparent to the IPTAY Board that we are in a new environment for college athletics. For 79 years, Clemson has concentrated on the annual fund, which will remain the backbone of our fundraising effort. The IPTAY Board realized that we could not

depend on only the annual fund after the Board took action to donate $15 million to get the WestZone project started. This one donation was close to the value of our annual fund for one year. In order for Clemson to continue to improve its facilities and compete with the other schools in our conference and to compete on a national scope, IPTAY must expand its enterprise to include major gifts and planned giving. Now’s the time to enlarge our footprint, ramp up the annual fund and build an organization to support major gifts and planned giving.”

IPTAY Media: What are the benefits of IPTAY incorporating as a public benefit organization?Dalton: “When IPTAY was formed, it was formed as an independent association and stayed that way for years. With the need to enlarge the organization, there

are certain responsibilities to the university and to the IPTAY membership that are better handled if you are incorporated. The newly incorporated structure gives us a better organization to support Clemson University athletes and conform with our state laws.”

IPTAY Media: One of the recently approved measures is for IPTAY to now officially administer all seating and parking for Clemson athletic events as part of its annual responsibility. How is that different from the existing setup? Dalton: “Actually, it really isn’t. It does not in any way affect the membership and nothing has changed in the way they will obtain their parking privileges or seating location. That all will remain exactly the same.”

IPTAY Media: Why was it important to establish that moving forward IPTAY will work with the Director of

Athletics to support the development of strategic planning for Clemson Athletics?Dalton: “We wanted to put in place a process that provides for IPTAY to see the long-term outlook of what the athletic department’s needs are going to be in order that IPTAY can set goals and objectives as to how we’re going to raise the needed revenues going forward. The IPTAY Board is anxious for IPTAY to work with the Athletic Director in making long-term plans for athletic facilities and those plans will enhance our ability to have funds

available when they are needed for these projects. This is a major component in making Clemson Athletics more competitive.”

IPTAY Media: Probably the most prominent of the changes being made is IPTAY will now be headed by a Chief Executive Officer. Why was that the direction IPTAY chose to go?Dalton: “That is key to our goal to have more giving opportunities available for everyone and to raise more money for Clemson Athletics. We cannot have the organization that we need to have without having someone in place whose only responsibility is to lead IPTAY and its fund raising mission. They will have IPTAY as their total focus as it pertains to its fundraising and promoting Clemson Athletics. That is the centerpiece of these modifications. Our goal is getting IPTAY back not

just No. 1 in the annual fund, but No. 1 in its total giving effort.”

IPTAY Media: The new CEO will report to the IPTAY Board and the President of the University, as opposed to the Director of Athletics. Why was it necessary to make that distinction?Dalton: “The CEO will have a close working relationship with the Athletic Director and will be a member of the senior staff. The new structure of IPTAY puts in place a reporting procedure for the CEO to report to the IPTAY Board and the University President, which we believe improves and streamlines the IPTAY organization. This change will keep the focus on fundraising which has always been our mission.”

IPTAY Media: The IPTAY Board will also be expanded to include the President of the University and two members of the Board of Trustees. Talk about that change.Dalton: “The IPTAY Board believes that another part of the new environment of college athletics is a closer relationship with the university administration and the Board of Trustees. The IPTAY Board currently has one Board of Trustees member on our board, so in order to strengthen that relationship we added an additional Board of Trustees member and the President of the University to the IPTAY Board.”

IPTAY Media: Why was the change made to have Board members who have served as IPTAY President become non-voting life members of the Board once they have completed their terms on the IPTAY Nominating Committee? Dalton: “Past Presidents are a valuable part of our IPTAY history and institutional knowledge. We were interested in preserving those strengths of experience and knowledge going forward, therefore, we believed that making them non-voting life members was the best way to accomplish that. It will also allow a timely rotation for our Board membership and encourage broader participation.”

IPTAY Media: It seems that all these changes were made with one specific purpose in mind: to allow Clemson Athletics to compete on the very highest level possible?Dalton: “That is exactly right. It was all about how we can enlarge our effort and raise more money to make sure Clemson stays competitive — not only within our conference, but on the regional and national scene, as well.”

��Q&A with IPTAY President Charles Dalton


Like most everyone else watching on national televi-sion, Jeff Scott is adamant he had no idea what was going to come out of Mackensie Alexander’s mouth — or more specifically, what school’s logo would be emblazoned on the hat he placed atop his head — as he sat on stage at his high school in Immokalee,

FL, to announce his college decision live on ESPNU on Feb. 6, otherwise known as National Signing Day.

One of America’s truly elite prospects, rated the No. 4 overall player in the nation by ESPN, Alexander reached under the table into a bag filled with hats representing the schools under consid-eration. First, he placed a Mississippi State hat on the table.

“Should it be Mississippi State?” he wondered aloud and then reached back into the bag. He produced a Clemson hat and asked his audience, “Should it be Clemson?”

When Alexander went into the bag once more as he began to verbalize his verdict, Scott feared the Tigers had missed out on the blue-chip cornerback.

“We got very nervous when he pulled out the first Clemson hat and reached for the second hat,” said Scott, the Tigers’ recruiting coordinator. “I promise you, we did not know.”

Of course, Alexander ultimately produced another Clemson cap, orange with a large white Tiger Paw, and announced he would play his college ball in Death Valley.

“We are going to talk to him about that when he gets here,” Scott said with a wry smile. “He got us all, for sure. I think he was probably having fun with a lot of people.”

The fact Clemson nabbed the signature of the player who be-came the headliner of its class — Alexander is the second-highest-ranked prospect by ESPN (4th) that Clemson has ever signed behind only Da’Quan Bowers, the top player in the nation in

Tigers’ Consistent Success on the Gridiron Begins on the Recruiting Trail

by Steven Bradley | photos by Rex BrownIPTAY Media

PeRennialPoweRhouSe

Recruiting Coordinator Jeff Scott was instrumental in helping the Tigers land a fifth straight top-13 signing class according to ESPN.

m a r c h 2 0 1 3 ❘ 23

2008 — without any real certainty of that outcome going into signing day is testament to the precarious nature of recruiting.

And as Scott admitted about an hour af-ter the final National Letter of Intent — that of Rockingham, NC, road-grading offensive guard Tyrone Crowder — came across the fax machine, big-time college football recruiting is also a game that never ends.

“We’ve been on the phone all day with 2014 guys,” Scott said in an interview with IPTAY Media that afternoon. “It just imme-diately rolls straight into that.”

It’s also no secret a program’s success on the gridiron is often directly proportional to its success on the recruiting trail, and Dabo Swinney’s tenure at Clemson is a prime exam-ple of that correlation. By virtue of its victory over LSU in the Chick-fil-A Bowl, Clemson finished the 2012 campaign ranked No. 9 in the USA Today poll, its first top-10 ranking in a final poll since the 1990 season. With that, the Tigers have been ranked for 29 consecu-tive weeks in which polls have been released, and only five other programs in the nation — Alabama, LSU, Oregon, South Carolina and Stanford — can make that claim.

To explain why Clemson has been among the nation’s most consistently successful pro-grams, one only needs to look at its consis-tent success on National Signing Day. This

year, the Tigers penned a 23-man recruiting class that was ranked 13th in the nation by ESPN. Each of Swinney’s five signing classes at Clemson has been ranked in the top 20 nationally, including three consecutive top-13 rankings.

It should come as little surprise then that Swinney admits signing day is one of his fa-vorite days each year.

“I always love this day,” he said at a Nation-al Signing Day news conference. “This is the culmination of a lot of hard work by our staff and many, many hours. All these guys had many choices and many opportunities to go different places, but they chose Clemson — and that’s exciting to me.”

Swinney joins Les Miles (LSU), Nick Saban (Alabama), Mack Brown (Texas), Mark Richt (Georgia) and Bob Stoops (Oklahoma) as the only coaches in the nation to have five con-secutive top-20 recruiting classes according to ESPN. While Scott is the recruiting coordi-nator, and as such deserves his fair share of the credit, he admits the Tigers’ success on the recruiting trail begins and ends with Swinney himself.

“I believe one of the strengths in our re-cruiting is our head coach enjoys recruiting, he’s involved with it, and the other thing is he’s very personable,” Scott said. “What’s hap-pened a little bit in the college game is that a

lot of these head coaches that we’re recruit-ing against have been doing it for so long that there’s this shield that’s up, and if you ask them, ‘Where are you right now?’ while they’re doing a home visit, they probably don’t even know what city they are in or really who they’re talking to — they’re just there giving the same message.

“Coach Swinney is so real, and the players can see that, they’re attracted to that —maybe because he’s similar to some of the coaches they’ve had along the way that have meant a lot to them in their high school career. Be-cause of his personality, his energy, his passion for Clemson and for the program, it really resonates with our prospects.”

In fact, one of the things the staff tries to determine early in the process is whether a prospect is a “Clemson kind of guy.” Those who fit the bill typically hit it off famously with the Tigers’ charismatic coach.

“Once we get to the point where Coach Swinney gets involved, it’s pretty good for Clemson,” Scott said with a smile, indicating he was understating the point for effect.

Swinney’s skill as a closer on the recruit-ing trail has been more than pretty good for

Head Coach Dabo Swinney proudly displayed the names of Clemson’s 2013

recruiting class at his National Signing Day news conference.


• Clemson’s 2013 signing class was ranked in the top 15 in the nation by Scout.com (12), ESPN.com (13), 247sports.com (13) and Rivals.com (14). It was ranked 20th by Sporting News.

• Each of Dabo Swinney’s five recruiting classes have been ranked in the top 20 by ESPN.com, including three consecutive top-13 rankings between 2011-13. His 2011 class was eighth and 2012 was 10th.

• Ten schools have been ranked in the top 20 of the ESPN.com recruiting rankings five years in a row. The list includes Alabama, Clemson, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, LSU, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Southern California and Texas. Dabo Swinney joins Les Miles (LSU), Nick Saban (Alabama), Mack Brown (Texas), Mark Richt (Georgia) and Bob Stoops (Oklahoma) as the only coaches in the nation to have five consecutive top-20 recruiting classes according to ESPN.com.

• Clemson is one of seven schools to have a top-13 signing class each of the last three years. The others are Alabama (2,1,1), Florida (12,4,2), Florida State (1,2,9), Georgia (6,5,10), Notre Dame (9,9,4) and Ohio State (7,6,3).

• Clemson signed 10 different players who ranked among the top 150 players in the nation by at least one service. Mackensie Alexander was ranked in the top 100 by every service, including No. 4 by ESPN.com. Other top 150 players with their highest ranking include Adrian Baker (129 by Prepstar), Ben Boulware (78 by ESPN.com), Tyrone Crowder (89 by Scout.com), Tyshon Dye (86 by Prepstar), Wayne Gallman (118 by Sporting News), Jayron Kearse (100 by Scout.com), Dorian O’Daniel (46 by Prepstar), Ebenezer Ogundeko (126 by ESPN.com), Scott Pagano (104 by Rivals.com).

• ESPN.com has selected a top 150 since 2006. Clemson has signed 43 of these players over this eight-year period. That includes six players in the 2013 top 150. Mackensie Alexander was ranked fourth, the second-highest ranking for a Clemson signee by ESPN.com. The only player ranked higher was Da’Quan Bowers, who was ranked as the top prospect in the nation in the 2008 class. Twenty-two of the 43 are defensive players and 21 are offensive players.

• Clemson’s six top 150 ESPN.com players tied for the third-most by the Tigers in the eight-year history of the service’s rankings. The 2008 recruiting class had 10, while the 2011 class had seven. The 2012 class also had six. Five of the ESPN.com 150 signed from 2008 are already on NFL rosters (Dwayne Allen, Bowers, Jamie Harper, Antoine McClain and Brandon Thompson). Xavier Brewer and Andre Ellington will have a chance to join them in 2013.

• Four of the Tigers’ six ESPN.com top 150 signees are defensive players, including each of the three highest-rated players - Mackensie Alexander (4), Ben Boulware (78) and Dorian O’Daniel (112).

ClEmsON FOOTbAll 2013 sIgNINg DAY NOTEs

Clemson. The Tigers have won or tied for the ACC Atlantic Division title in three of his four seasons at the helm, and a big part of that success has been his ability to sign some of the nation’s top talent, players such as C.J. Spiller and Bowers — both signed when Swinney was the re-cruiting coordinator on Tommy Bowden’s staff — as well as Tajh Boyd and Sammy Watkins, who have signed since he took over as head coach.

This year’s class includes another such player in Alexander.

“Coach Swinney, he’s just a good guy,” Alexander said. “He’s a man of faith like me. He made it from the bottom to the top. And his staff, Coach (Brent) Ven-ables and Coach (Mike) Reed, I trusted those guys.”

This year, Clemson signed 10 play-ers who were ranked among the top 150 players in the nation by at least one ser-vice, while Alexander was ranked in the top 100 by every service. But sometimes competing for the top players in the country means traveling across it. While Clemson focuses its recruiting efforts in the Carolinas, Georgia, Florida and the Southeast, there are almost always a few outliers in each class.

In the 2013 signing class, one prospect actually required the coaching staff to leave the contiguous United States to re-cruit him: Honolulu, Hawaii native Scott Pagano. While taking a Hawaiian excur-sion might sound like a vacation, it wasn’t for Swinney and Venables, who took a 10-hour flight across the Pacific Ocean

and were only on the ground for about 15 hours before boarding the 10-hour return flight to the mainland.

“I don’t recommend that as far as your Hawaiian experience,” Swinney said, “but it was an excellent trip because we got to get out there and C.J. (Spiller) was still there (at the Pro Bowl), so we got a chance to go see him and have dinner at his hotel.

“Then, the next day we went over to Moanalua High School and visited with the coaches and Scott’s family. But prob-ably the best part about it is Scott’s dad is a lieutenant in the Navy, and they had a boat waiting that gave us a private, per-sonal tour of Pearl Harbor. That was re-ally just a surreal experience.”

Clemson’s 2013 signing class included seven players from South Carolina, five from Georgia, four from Florida, three from North Carolina and one each from Alabama, Hawaii, Maryland and New York. For the second consecutive class, the Tigers inked the top-ranked prospect from the Empire State. In 2012, it was quarterback Chad Kelly from Buffalo, and this year’s New York signee, Ebenezer Ogundeko, hailed directly from the Big Apple — the borough of Brooklyn, spe-cifically.

“There probably should have been a reality TV show following Dan Brooks and I going to Brooklyn,” Swinney said.

Assistant Coach Marion Hobby added to his collection of talent at the defensive

end position on National Signing Day.

m a r c h 2 0 1 3 ❘ 25

“That was quite an experi-ence. Neither Dan nor I were even going to try to drive, so we hired a driver. It’s just a different world up there. Ebo has to travel by train or bus everywhere he goes. This was an interesting school that we went in. In fact, there was a big fight that broke out while we were there. Ebo doesn’t flinch, and Dan and I are go-ing, ‘What is going on here?’

“But, meeting his mom was awesome. She just has an in-credible spirit to her. And that was quite an experience be-cause I had never been to Brooklyn — and it’s pretty different from Pelham, Alabama, and Clemson, South Carolina, that’s for sure.”

Of course, the Tigers also missed out on a few blue-chip-caliber players on signing day. But that, according to Scott, is why the game

is called recruiting and not simply called sign-ing.

“When I was growing up, I always liked go-ing fishing,” he said. “I can remember, I had a choice: You can go fish in this pond and catch a bunch of small fish, or you can go to this pond and you might not catch as many —

but the ones you catch are going to be really big. I was always the guy that liked to have a chance to catch those big ones, and I believe Coach Swinney and the staff and administra-tion have done a great job of giving us an op-portunity to truly compete and recruit for the top players in the country.”

For a fifth straight year, Clemson put together a first-class National Signing Day webcast that was well-received by Tiger fans everywhere.


Mackensie AlexanderDB, 5-11, 185, Fr., HSImmokalee, FloridaImmokalee High SchoolRated as the #4 overall player in the nation by ESPN.com, the highest rating by a Tiger signee since Da’Quan Bowers was rated #1 in the class of 2008 ... #2 defensive back in the nation and #2 player in Florida by ESPN.com ... #34 player in the na-tion by 247Sports.com, #42 by Rivals.com, and #71 by Scout.com ... #4 cornerback in the na-tion by 247Sports.com ... consensus top-10 player in Florida ... played in the U.S. Army All-American game ... first-team all-state se-lection ... helped his Immokalee High School team to an 11-4 record and a berth in the AAAAA title game in 2012 ... had 51 tack-les, four interceptions, two caused fumbles, and one recovered fumble as a senior ... had 42 tackles and three interceptions as a junior ... had 139 tackles and 10 interceptions in his career ... ran track and rated among the top-15 wrestlers in Florida in his weight class ... from the same high school that produced former Miami (FL) All-American Edgerrin James ... coached by Jerrod Ackley at Immokalee High School ... his twin brother, Mackenro, signed with Auburn ... recruited by Tony Elliott ... born Nov. 12, 1993.

Adrian BakerDB, 6-1, 170, Fr., HSHollywood, FloridaChaminade-Madonna College PreparatoryRated as the #197 player in the nation by ESPN.com ... #19 athlete in the nation and #37 player in Florida by ESPN.com ... #39 cornerback in the na-tion and #51 player in Florida by 247Sports.com ... #43 cornerback in the nation by Rivals.com ... had 38 tackles and five takeaways, four interceptions, two of which he returned for touchdowns, one recov-

ered fumble, and five pass breakups as a senior ... had 15 receptions for 480 yards and seven touchdowns ... had five interceptions as a ju-nior ... had two defensive returns for touch-downs and a punt return for a score as a junior ... played three seasons of basketball, but he did not play his senior year in order to concen-trate on football ... ran 10.6 in the 100m and 21.5 in the 200m ... coached by Tim Tyrrell at Chaminade-Madonna College Preparatory ... recruited by Brent Venables ... born Sept. 13, 1994.

Ben BoulwareLB, 6-1, 230, Fr., HSAnderson, South CarolinaT.L. Hanna High SchoolRated as #78 player in the nation by ESPN.com ... #3 inside linebacker in the nation and #1 player in South Carolina by ESPN.com ... #1 player in South Caro-lina by Scout.com ... #8 inside linebacker in the nation and #2 player in South Carolina by Ri-vals.com ... #182 player in the nation, #8 inside linebacker in the nation, and #3 player in South Carolina by 247Sports.com ... finalist for Mr. Football in South Carolina ... made a big move with his performance in practice and during the Under Armour All-American game; he was named game captain for his team; he had three tackles for loss and an interception ... had 174 tackles and four tackles for loss as a senior at T.L. Hanna High School ... had 178 tackles and four sacks as a junior ... had 151 tackles 11 tackles for loss, four sacks, and four inter-ceptions as a sophomore ... had 89 tackles and five tackles for loss as a freshman ... had 592 tackles, 28 tackles for loss, six interceptions, 12 caused fumbles, three recovered fumbles, and 10 pass breakups in his career as a four-year starter ... had 17 kickoff returns for 364 yards ... defensive MVP for the victorious South Carolina team in the Shrine Bowl; he had a game-high nine tackles, 2.5 tackles for losses, one interception, and a recovered fumble ... two-time all-state and all-region selection ... two-year captain and team defensive MVP ... all-state baseball player as a junior ... coached

by Kenya Fouch at T.L. Hanna High School ... his brother, Garrett, is a starting catcher on the Clemson baseball team ... recruited by Chad Morris ... born Aug. 7, 1994.

Ryan CarterDB, 5-10, 175, Fr., HSLoganville, GeorgiaGrayson High SchoolRated as the #31 cornerback in the nation and #61 player in Georgia by ESPN.com ... helped Grayson High School to a 10-2 record and a #5 final state rank-ing ... had 49 receptions for 1,112 yards and 10 touchdowns as a senior ... had 10 receptions for 266 yards and three touchdowns as a junior ... helped his team to a 15-0 record and a state championship as a junior ... teammate of Clemson signee Wayne Gallman ... coached by Mickey Conn at Grayson High School; Conn was a roommate of Head Coach Dabo Swinney at Alabama ... recruited by Tony Elliott ... born Nov. 4, 1994. Tyrone Crowder, Jr.OL, 6-2, 325, Fr., HSRockingham, North CarolinaRichmond Senior High SchoolSelected to play in the Under Armour All-American game in Florida the Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas ... all-state selection by Max-Preps ... #125 player in the nation by ESPN.com ... #5 offensive guard in the nation and #3 player in North Carolina by ESPN.com ... #4 of-fensive guard in the na-tion by Scout.com ... #5 player in North Carolina by Charlotte Observer ... #184 player in the na-tion, #11 offensive guard in the nation, and #5 player in North Carolina by Rivals.com ... #161 player in the nation, #8 offensive guard in the nation, and #4 player in North Caro-lina by 247Sports.com ... #14 offensive guard in the nation by MaxPreps ... played at Greer

fooTBall SiGneeS2013 Clemson Tiger football

m a r c h 2 0 1 3 ❘ 27

(SC) High School as a freshman before mov-ing to Rockingham, NC ... helped Richmond Senior High School to an 11-2 record as a se-nior ... had 119 pancake blocks as a senior and 89 pancake blocks as a junior ... member of the track & field team ... had over a 4.0 GPA in high school ... from the same hometown as former Clemson wide receiver Tony Horne (1994-97), who went on to be an All-Pro in the NFL ... cousin of current Clemson line-backer Stephone Anthony ... coached by Paul Hoggard at Richmond Senior High School ... recruited by Dan Brooks and Robbie Caldwell ... born July 3, 1994.

Tyshon DyeRB, 6-1, 205, Fr., HSElberton, GeorgiaElbert County Comprehensive High SchoolRated as the #123 player in the nation, #18 running back in the nation, and #12 player in Georgia by ESPN.com ... member of the top-300 All-America team by PrepStar ... #204 player in the na-tion, #17 running back in the nation, and #16 player in Georgia by Ri-vals.com ... #167 player in the nation, #12 run-ning back in the na-tion, and #16 player in Georgia by 247Sports.com ... had 817 yards on 95 carries and 12 touchdowns in just seven games as a senior, as he was limited by injury ... region offen-sive player-of-the-year as a senior ... selected to the North-South All-Star game as a senior ... had eight kickoff returns for 120 yards and a touchdown ... had 1,561 yards on 212 car-ries and 21 touchdowns as a junior ... had 17 receptions for 198 yards and two touchdowns along with two punt returns for scores as a ju-nior ... all-state and region player-of-the-year as a junior ... selected to the Georgia Rising Seniors game in 2011 ... had 889 yards on 90 carries as a sophomore ... had 11 rushing touchdowns and three touchdowns on kickoff returns as a sophomore ... had 96 tackles as a sophomore ... played four years of basketball and four years of track & field ... member of state championship track team as a junior ... coached by Sid Fritts at Elbert County Com-prehensive High School ... recruited by Tony Elliott ... born Dec. 7, 1993.

Marcus EdmondDB, 6-1, 180, Fr., HSHopkins, South CarolinaLower Richland High SchoolRated as the #12 player in South Carolina by Ri-vals.com and #18 player in South Carolina by ESPN.com ... had 2,000 total yards as a quarterback and accounted for 24 touchdowns as a senior ... had 48 tackles and four interceptions as a senior ... while playing under Head Coach Wayne Farmer as a junior, he had 33 tackles and an interception ... played basketball ... state champion in the 400m in track ... coached by Darryl Page at Lower Richland High School ... recruited by Mike Reed ... born July 6, 1995.

Wayne GallmanRB, 6-1, 195, Fr., HSLoganville, GeorgiaGrayson High SchoolRated as the #217 player in the nation, #18 running back in the nation, and #19 player in Georgia by 247Sports.com ... #26 running back in the nation by Scout.com ... PrepStar All-Southeast Region selection ... played in the Offense-Defense Bowl in Houston, TX ... had 516 rushing yards and eight touchdowns as a senior ... had 46 tack-les and seven sacks as a senior ... helped Gray-son High School to a 10-2 record ... had 700 rushing yards and eight touchdowns as a ju-nior ... coached by Mickey Conn at Grayson High School; Conn was a roommate of Head Coach Dabo Swinney at Alabama ... recruited by Tony Elliott ... born Oct. 1, 1994.

T.J. GreenATH/KR, 6-2, 190, Fr., HSSylacauga, AlabamaSylacauga High SchoolScored nine touchdowns and averaged 22 yards per reception as a se-nior at Sylacauga High School ... had 25 tackles and four interceptions as a senior ... outstand-ing kick returner ... #18 player in Alabama by ESPN.com ... #56 ath-

lete in the nation by ESPN.com ... coached by Matt Griffith at Sylacauga High School ... recruited by Robbie Caldwell ... born Mar. 15, 1995.

D.J. GreenleeATH, 6-2, 210, Fr., HSCentral, South CarolinaDaniel High SchoolHad 58 tackles and seven tackles for loss as a senior ... three-year starter at linebacker who finished his career with 179 tackles, four re-covered fumbles, five in-terceptions for 107 yards, and two touchdowns ... named first-team all-re-gion and all-area as a ju-nior and senior ... helped Daniel High School to an 11-4 record as a senior ... PrepStar All-Southeast Region selection ... let-tered three years in track and three years in basketball ... son of Clem-son Assistant Director of Strength & Condi-tioning Larry Greenlee ... coached by Randy Robinson at Daniel High School ... recruited by Chad Morris ... born Jan. 20, 1995.

Jadar JohnsonDB, 6-1, 180, Fr., HSOrangeburg, South CarolinaOrangeburg-Wilkinson High SchoolEnrolled at Clemson in January ... #80 athlete in the nation and #9 player in South Carolina by ESPN.com ... #28 safety in the nation by Scout.com ... played in the Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas ... had 50 tack-les, four interceptions, and 10 pass breakups as a junior ... PrepStar All-Southeast Region selec-tion ... attended the same high school that sent all-time great Woodrow Dantzler (1998-01) to Clemson ... coached by Tommy Brown at Or-angeburg-Wilkinson High School ... recruited by Marion Hobby ... born June 29, 1995.

Jayron KearseATH, 6-4, 205, Fr., HSFort Myers, FloridaSouth Fort Myers High SchoolRated as the #16 athlete in the nation by Ri-vals.com and 247Sports.com ... #7 outside linebacker in the nation by Scout.com ... top-300 All-American by PrepStar ... area defen-

2013 TIgEr FOOTbAll sIgNEEs


sive player-of-the-year at South Fort Myers High School ... helped his team to an 11-2 re-cord as a senior ... #15 athlete in the nation by MaxPreps ... had 528 rushing yards and five touchdowns as a senior; averaged 12.3 yards per carry ... averaged 18.9 yards per reception and scored five touch-downs ... as a safety, he had 87 tackles, three sacks, and an interception ... had 1,600 rush-ing yards and 17 touchdowns as a junior ... comes to Clemson from the same high school as wide receiver Sammy Watkins ... nephew of former Florida All-American and NFL All-Pro Jevon Kearse ... cousin of NFL player Phillip Buchanon ... played in the Offense-Defense Bowl in Houston, TX ... coached by Grant Redhead at South Fort Myers High School ... recruited by Tony Elliott ... born Feb. 11, 1994.

Shaq LawsonDE, 6-4, 260, Fr., HSCentral, South CarolinaDaniel High SchoolEnrolled at Clemson in January ... #1 prep school prospect in the nation out of Hargrave Military Academy and #1 prep school defen-sive end in the nation by 247Sports.com ... #3 player in South Caro-lina by Rivals.com ... top-300 All-American by PrepStar ... had 99 tackles, 23 tackles for loss, nine sacks, and five caused fumbles as a senior ... had 100 tackles, 23 tackles for loss, 13 sacks, and two touchdowns as a ju-nior ... played in the North/South All-Star game, where he was named defensive MVP ... defensive MVP in the Offense/Defense All-American Bowl ... coached by Randy Robin-son at Daniel High School and Troy Davis at Hargrave Military Academy ... recruited by Dan Brooks and Chad Morris ... born June 17, 1994.

Jordan LeggettTE, 6-6, 235, Fr., HSNavarre, FloridaNavarre High SchoolEnrolled at Clemson in January ... #7 tight end in the nation and #76 player in Florida

by ESPN.com ... #13 tight end in the na-tion and #83 player in Florida by Rivals.com ... PrepStar All-Southeast Region selection ... #18 tight end in the nation by MaxPreps ... had 45 receptions for 608 yards and three touchdowns as a junior ... coached by Jay Wallace at Navarre High School ... recruited by Chad Morris ... born Jan. 31, 1995.

Maverick MorrisOL, 6-4, 285, Fr., HSDouglas, GeorgiaCoffee High SchoolPrepStar All-Southeast Region selection ... #67 offensive tackle in the nation by ESPN.com ... two-year starter and graded 84 percent in his career ... selected to play in the GACA North-South All-Star game ... three-time letterman in wrestling and a member of the track & field team ... coached by Buddy Nobles at Coffee High School; Nobles’ son, Kasey, played at Clem-son (2008-10); Nobles also coached C.J. Spiller in high school ... re-cruited by Danny Pearman ... born June 24, 1994.

Dorian O’DanielLB, 6-1, 205, Fr., HSOlney, MarylandOur Lady of Good Counsel High SchoolRated as the #40 player in the nation by Rivals.com ... #102 player in the nation by 247Sports.com, #46 by PrepStar, and #112 by ESPN.com ... played in the U.S. Army All-Amer-ican game ... #6 out-side linebacker in the nation by Rivals.com, #8 by ESPN.com, #11 by Scout.com, and #13 by 247Sports.com ... #16 outside line-backer in the nation by MaxPreps ... #3 player in Maryland by 247Sports.com and ESPN.com ... member of the top-150 Dream Team by PrepStar ... played running back and line-backer ... helped Our Lady of Good Counsel High School to an 11-1 record as a senior and

a #1 ranking in the Washington, D.C. area ... first-team all-state and all-conference as a running back ... named Montgomery Senti-nel Offensive Player-of-the-Year and Gazette Montgomery County Player-of-the-Year as a senior ... named to the 75th Pigskin Club of Washington All-Metropolitan first team and Washington Post All-Met first team ... contributed to four straight conference cham-pionships ... had 1,307 yards on 190 carries and 18 touchdowns in 10 games as a senior ... had a season-high 325 yards on 24 carries in a September win ... had 33 tackles and two sacks on defense as a senior ... had 897 yards on 127 carries and five touchdowns as a ju-nior ... had 38.5 tackles, 16.5 tackles for loss, and five sacks as a junior ... had 560 rushing yards and eight touchdowns as a sophomore ... coached by Kevin McFadden at Our Lady of Good Counsel High School ... recruited by Jeff Scott and Brent Venables ... born Sept. 4, 1994.

Ebenezer OgundekoDE, 6-3, 230, Fr., HSBrooklyn, New YorkThomas Jefferson High SchoolEnrolled at Clemson in January, just a few days after he committed to the Tigers dur-ing the Under Armour All-American game ... #126 player in the nation and #1 defensive end in New York by ESPN.com ... #212 player in the na-tion by Rivals.com ... #21 strongside defensive end in the nation and #4 player in New York by 247Sports.com ... had 71 tackles and 16 sacks as a senior ... had 79 tackles and 12 sacks as a junior ... top-300 All-Amer-ican by PrepStar ... first native of the New York City area to sign with Clemson since Els-more Gabriel in 2005 ... coached by Stephen Edwards at Thomas Jefferson High School ... recruited by Brent Venables ... born Oct. 12, 1995.

Scott PaganoDT, 6-4, 280, Fr., HSHonolulu, HawaiiMoanalua High SchoolRated as the #104 player in the nation by Rivals.com ... Lombardi Award winner from Rivals.com as the top defensive lineman in the Western region of the United States ... #6 defensive tackle in the nation by Rivals.com ... played in U.S. Army All-American game ...


m a r c h 2 0 1 3 ❘ 29

#1 player in Hawaii by Rivals.com ... #2 player in Hawaii by ESPN.com ... #28 defensive tackle in the nation #3 player in Hawaii by 247Sports.com ... #23 defensive tackle in the nation by ESPN.com ... top-300 player in the nation by ESPN.com ... #145 player in the nation by PrepStar ... member of the top-150 Dream Team by PrepStar ... had 56 tackles, a school-record 32 tackles for loss, and 18.5 sacks, six blocked kicks, six caused fumbles, and three recovered fumbles as a senior ... had 72 tack-les, 30 tackles for loss, and five sacks, three caused fumbles, and four recovered fumbles as a junior ... two-time team captain ... named “Hardest Working Player” on the team as a junior and senior ... first-team all-state and all-conference as a junior and senior ... cho-sen for the Hawaii State Senior Bowl ... first Tiger signee from the state of Hawaii ... has many relatives who live in Greenville, SC ... coached by Arnold Martinez at Moanalua High School ... recruited by Dan Brooks and Brent Venables ... born Feb. 4, 1995.

Kyrin PriesterWR, 6-2, 190, Fr., HSSnellville, GeorgiaBrookwood High SchoolRated as the #172 player in the nation, #20 wide receiver in the nation, and #19 player in Georgia by ESPN.com ... had 56 receptions for over 1,000 yards and 13 touchdowns as a senior ... had 31 re-ceptions for 565 yards and five touchdowns as a junior ... PrepStar All-Southeast Region selection ... coached by Mark Crews at Brook-wood High School ... recruited by Tony El-liott and Mike Reed ... born Nov. 11, 1994.

Dane Rogers, Jr.DE, 6-3, 245, Fr., HSShelby, North CarolinaCrest High SchoolHad 282 tackles, 38 tackles for loss, and 21 sacks and as a four-year starter at Crest High School ... helped his team to consecutive AAA state championship games; the team had a 10-3 record as a senior ... had 70 tackles, eight tackles for loss, three sacks, two recovered

fumbles, and one caused fumble as a senior ... had 86 tackles, 15 tackles for loss, 12 sacks, and three recovered fumbles as a ju-nior ... had 76 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, and five sacks as a sophomore ... had 50 tackles, four tack-les for loss, and one sack as a freshman ... earned all-state and all-area honors as a senior along with all-conference honors as a junior and senior ... played in the Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas ... won the Spark Award for his Shrine Bowl team ... PrepStar All-Southeast Region selection ... cousin of current Clemson defensive tackle Carlos Wat-kins ... coached by Mark Barnes at Crest High School ... recruited by Dan Brooks ... born Apr. 26, 1995.

Cordrea TankersleyDB, 6-1, 190, Fr., HSAiken, South CarolinaSilver Bluff High SchoolPlayed at Hargrave Military Academy in 2012 ... #9 prep school player in the nation by 247Sports.com ... played at Silver Bluff High School ... #37 wide re-ceiver in the nation by Scout.com ... #39 safety in the nation by Rivals.com ... #25 athlete in the nation and #6 play-er in South Carolina 247Sports.com ... #41 athlete in the nation by ESPN.com ... top-10 player in South Carolina by ESPN.com ... #3 player in South Carolina by SuperPrep ... #19 safety in the nation by MaxPreps ... member of the Augusta Chroni-cle All-Area team ... played in the Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas ... selected for the Offense/ Defense All-American game in Dallas, TX ... had 40 tackles as a senior ... had 650 rush-ing yards and five touchdowns and passed for 708 yards and six touchdowns as a senior ... coached by Al Lown at Silver Bluff High School and Troy Davis at Hargrave Military Academy ... recruited by Dan Brooks ... born July 1, 1994.

Korrin WigginsDB, 6-1, 185, Fr., HSDurham, North CarolinaHillside High SchoolRated as one of the top-30 cornerbacks in the nation by ESPN.com ... #28 player in North

Carolina by ESPN.com ... #25 player in North Carolina by Charlotte Observer ... #42 cor-nerback in the nation and #14 player in North Carolina by Rivals.com ... #52 cornerback in the na-tion by Scout.com ... #25 safety in the nation and #4 player in North Carolina by 247Sports.com ... two-time all-state selection by AP ... two-time all-conference and all-area selec-tion at Hillside High School ... selected to the Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas ... had 90 tackles and seven interceptions as a senior ... had 80 tackles, 12 pass breakups, and six intercep-tions as a junior when he helped his team to an 11-2 record ... starter as a sophomore on a 16-0 team that won the AAAA state title ... his team was undefeated in the conference as a sophomore, junior, and senior ... coached by Antonio King at Hillside High School ... recruited by Robbie Caldwell ... born Apr. 19, 1995.

Mike WilliamsWR, 6-5, 205, Fr., HSHolly Hill, South CarolinaLake Marion High SchoolRated as the #180 player in the nation and #2 player in South Carolina by 247Sports.com ... #199 player in the nation and #3 player in South Caro-lina by ESPN.com ... top-300 All-American by PrepStar ... #19 wide receiver in the nation by MaxPreps ... first Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas player from his high school in 12 years ... had 60 receptions for 1,395 yards and 10 touch-downs as a senior ... had 66 receptions for 1,296 yards and 11 touchdowns as a junior ... had 42 receptions as a sophomore ... Orange-burg Times & Democrat Area Player-of-the-Year ... played quarterback in limited action as a junior; he passed for 354 yards and three touchdowns on just 20 completions ... played in the Offense-Defense Bowl in Houston, TX ... coached by Chris Carter at Lake Marion High School ... recruited by Marion Hobby ... born Oct. 4, 1994.



Dabo Swinney doesn’t mince words about his team’s in-tended destination in 2013. “Our goal is to compete for the national championship,” the head coach said prior to the start of spring practice. He also knows it’s a long and arduous journey to reach such a destination, one that is only in its fledgling stages with the Tigers in the midst of

15 sessions of spring ball culminating April 13 in the annual Spring Game.“We’re not hoping to go have a good season, we’re expecting to have a

good season,” Swinney said. “And there’s a lot that goes into that. It’s not just talent, it’s not just experience — it’s commitment, it’s paying the price in the spring and the summer and offseason. It’s kind of a journey that you go on every year, and that January to March period is when you get ready.”

The Tigers entered the spring off their first 11-win season since 1981 and first top-10 ranking in a final poll since the 1990 campaign after defeating then-No. 7 LSU in the Chick-fil-A Bowl to propel them into that echelon. With a number of players who played primary roles on the team returning, most notably ACC Player of the Year Tajh Boyd, Clemson has good reason to have high expectations moving forward.

But Swinney also knows whatever success his team had last season has little to do with the upcoming one.

“We have an opportunity to be a special team, but the ball we play with isn’t round and sometimes it bounces crazy ways,” he said. “But at the end of the day, we’ve got an outstanding staff, we’ve got good players, good depth, we’ve recruited well, and I think the guys more importantly have learned how to prepare the right way. So if we’ll stay committed, stay humble, be confident and just continue to be about the right things, then certainly we have a chance to be one of those teams that can be in the mix.”

With that, we take a look at five storylines to watch this spring as the Tigers begin their journey toward the 2013 season.

FAR FROM COMPLETEAs questions go, we begin with one Swinney believes won’t be anywhere

near answered by the end of spring ball: What will the defensive backfield look like?

FIVe SToRYLIneS To WATChAS oPTIMISTIC TIGeRS START 2013 JouRneY WITh SPRInG PRACTICe

SPRinG in TheiR STeP

Travis Blanks has moved into a starting safety position this spring after spending the bulk of his freshman season at nickel back.Photo by Rex Brown, IPTAY Media

by Steven Bradley, IPTAY Media

ContinUeD on page 35

a u g u s t 2 0 1 2 ❘ 11

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Get your fi ll of solid orange hospitality by staying, dining

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mile from Memorial Stadium, the University’s Conference

Center and Inn is home to the James F. Martin Inn,

Walker Course and Seasons by the Lake restaurant, right

on Hartwell Lake. Come and enjoy the University’s special

brand of Tiger fun, comfort and culinary delight!

Make your reservations today!James F. Martin Inn: 888-654-9020 or 864-654-9020

Walker Course Pro Shop: 864-656-0236

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The Tigers lost three players with multi-year starting experience in Rashard Hall, Jonathan Meeks and Xavier Brewer from a unit that was already short on numbers last season. Deter-mined to address that depth, Clemson signed eight players in its 2013 recruiting class whose primary position is in the secondary. While Swinney has said half of them will likely avoid a redshirt and thus have an opportunity for immediate playing time, only one — safety Jadar Johnson — is already on campus.

With that, the Tigers will have just six play-ers with game experience returning in the sec-ondary this spring: corners Bashaud Breeland, Martin Jenkins, Garry Peters and Darius Rob-inson and safeties Travis Blanks and Robert Smith. Johnson and redshirt freshman Ronald Geohaghan will also be in the mix.

“That’s the only position on the team where I feel like we’re just not going to know a lot in the spring until the rest of those guys join us in the summer,” Swinney said. “We’ll be far from complete in the secondary until we get all those other guys, and it’s a really talented group with a lot of different skill sets that will be coming in.”

NO WORRIESSome might be concerned with how Clem-

son’s ground game will adjust to life after An-

dre Ellington, the fourth-leading rusher in school history and a first-team All-ACC selec-tion, but Swinney isn’t among them.

“Not really at all,” he said. “We know a lot about the guys we’ve got, and we’re confident. Like you saw in the bowl game, we had no problem hand-ing that ball to Rod Mc-Dowell against LSU, and he performed at a high lev-el for us when we needed him. He was one of the real positive stories from our team last year.”

What the rising senior McDowell is not, accord-ing to Swinney, is a back built to carry the load all by himself. The head coach is confident, however, in the abilities of his supporting cast, comprised of junior D.J. Howard and sopho-more Zac Brooks.

“D.J. is a very fast player, he’s a different style runner, but we feel very good about

where he is men-tally and physical-ly,” Swinney said. “And then Zac, he was one of those guys we would have loved to have redshirted, but we just couldn’t. But because of the opportunities he got (to play as a true freshman), he’s a different guy right now.”

Swinney also named redshirt sophomore walk-on C.J. Davidson, a product of nearby Daniel High School who originally signed with Clemson as a track athlete, as a player who could contribute: “He has legit speed and is a very gifted guy physically.”

SUPERMAN RETURNSClemson’s ambitions for the 2013 season

received a serious shot in the arm when Boyd announced he was returning for his senior season, but it soon learned his favorite target would not be following suit. Despite only three seasons as a Tiger, DeAndre Hopkins finished his career as the leading receiver in school history in terms of yardage and touch-downs. But while any program might struggle to replace a player of his caliber, the Tigers have another one already on campus — Sam-my Watkins.

Watkins burst onto the scene in 2011 and became just the fourth true freshman in NCAA history to earn AP First-Team All-America honors, but after a somewhat disap-pointing sophomore season by his lofty stan-

ContinUeD FRom page 30

D.J. Howard will provide the Tiger backfield with a veteran presence following the departure of All-ACC running back Andre Ellington.Photo by Tyler Smith

Sammy Watkins looks to return to first-team

All-America form at the wide receiver

position.Photo by Dawson Powers


dards — he still had 57 catches for 708 yards — Swinney believes Watkins is primed for a return to top form this season.

“Last year is going to be a great experience for him in looking back on his career and will help him appreciate the opportunities he has,” Swinney said. “He really only played about seven games for us last year, but he was still very productive when he was on the field. And no question that he helped Nuk have the year he had — because Sammy draws a lot of at-tention. He’s a guy that can obviously help us win at a high level, and I believe he’s going to do everything he’s got to do to lead the team and prepare himself mentally and physically to have a great junior year.”

GOING OLD SCHOOLThere was a time few schools in the coun-

try compared to Clemson when it came to churning out top-notch linebackers, players such as Levon Kirkland, Ed McDaniel, An-thony Simmons and Keith Adams, to name a few. But the Tigers have produced just one all-conference linebacker since 2001, Leroy Hill (2003-04), after having 16 first- and second-team All-ACC selections between 1990-2001.

Heading into this spring, however, Swinney believes a return to vintage form is in the near future for Clemson linebackers.

“I think that will be a big-time strength for our team over the next couple years,” he said.

That starts with a pair of rising seniors and returning starters in Spencer Shuey and Quandon Christian. Swinney called Shuey “as impactful a player as anybody on our team last year” after he took over as the starter mid-way through, and said the Tigers will open the spring with some combination of Shuey and former five-star recruits Stephone Anthony and Tony Steward occupying the MIKE and WILL spots, while Christian is back for his third season as the starter at SAM.

Beyond them are Kellen Jones, a transfer from Oklahoma who will be eligible after being “a pain in the rear for our offensive coaches and offensive players” on the scout team last year, according to Swinney; redshirt sophomore B.J. Goodson and redshirt fresh-man T.J. Burrell.

“We finally have created the depth and class division that we need to have to be able to be special at the linebacker position again,” Swinney said.

BACKING UP BOYDPerhaps nothing is more crucial to the suc-

cess of Clemson’s 2013 season than the health of Boyd, who already holds 39 school records and is the only first-team All-American at his position in school history.

Still, Swinney hopes to “have an opportuni-

ty to play more than one guy a little bit more often,” not only as an insurance policy, but for the good of the program after Boyd exhausts his final year of eligibility. The frontrunner to be that other guy is incumbent backup Cole Stoudt, a rising junior who was “clearly” the No. 2 guy at quarterback entering the spring, according to Swinney.

Chad Kelly impressed the coaching staff during his redshirt season, however, and

Swinney is anxious to see both he and Stoudt elevate their games — not only to provide competition for each other, but also for Boyd.

“Cole is really kind of a quiet guy that doesn’t get the credit he deserves, but he has been a critical part of our success the last couple of years, just having

the confidence we’ve got a guy like him ready to go in there for Tajh if needed,” Swinney said. “Chad is a guy that turned some heads in fall camp. I don’t have any doubt those two are going to compete their tails off this spring in trying to win that second-team spot, and hopefully compete with Tajh, too. Tajh is clearly our starter and has earned that, but when you see guys working hard and compet-ing, that will make him better.”

Above: Quandon Christian returns for his senior season in what should be one of Clemson’s deepest linebacker units in several years.Photo by Rex Brown, IPTAY Media

At left: Cole Stoudt has solidified himself as Tajh Boyd’s backup at the quarterback position.Photo by Dawson Powers

m a r c h 2 0 1 3 ❘ 37

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Brianna Rollins had just con-cluded her historic run in the 60 hurdles when she was ap-proached by a female coach from the University of Illi-nois.

“You came out and proved to everyone your time wasn’t a fluke,” Rollins recalled the coach saying to her. The time the Il-linois coach was refer-ring to was Rollins’ eye-opening NCAA record 7.78, which she set in January of this year at the Tiger Chal-lenge. Though she did not break that standard on the night of March 9 in Fayetteville, AR, she did bring home her sec-ond National Champi-onship trophy by run-ning a mere hundredth of a second off her pace.

“When I finished, I was scared that I ran slow because my start wasn’t great and I clipped a hurdle,” Rollins said. “When I looked up and saw my time, I felt relieved. I was so happy to win and that everything came together.”

It all came together the entire indoor season for Rollins, a senior who hails from Miami, FL. She re-wrote Clemson, ACC and NCAA record books on her way to an undefeated season in the 60 hurdles – a

stretch of eight races including preliminary rounds. She was named both the USTF-CCCA Southeast Region Track Athlete of the Year and ACC Indoor Track Athlete of the Year.

Just three days after her record time of 7.78 at the Tiger Challenge, this reserved, humble student-athlete was the talk of the collegiate track & field world. Publicity fol-

lowed from the likes of popular track mediums Flotrack and Track & Field News. Everyone wanted to talk to the next budding super-star of track & field.

True to form, Rol-lins handled it all with dignity and a team-first approach. What made it all the more impres-sive was the fact that her mentor and coach of three years, Lawrence Jo h n s o n , r e s i g n e d

just four days before her re-cord performance.

“I kept moving forward and didn’t think about what was going on,” she said. “In terms of all the attention, I really don’t like all that, so

TwiCe aS niCe

Rollins was named the Southeast Region Women’s Indoor Track Athlete of the Year by the USTFCCCA.

Photo at right and inset photo by Rex Brown, IPTAY Media

Brianna Rollins

Captures Second

nCaa Crown in

60 hurdles with

Record Runby Philip Sikes

m a r c h 2 0 1 3 ❘ 39

I don’t let it get to my head. When I do receive a lot, I smile and enjoy the moment and re-focus on what I have to do.”

Following an outstanding 2012 season, what Rol-lins had to do was make the next step. She had come agonizingly close to greatness, earning silver medals at both the NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships in the high hurdles. While her times were consistently better as a junior, she had not reached the pinnacle and won an NCAA crown as she did as a sopho-more in the 60 hurdles in 2011.

What motivated her even more took place last summer in Eugene, OR. In front of the Tracktown USA audience and in the most competitive qualifying circuit in track & field, Rollins advanced to the final of the 100 hurdles at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials. She was the youngest competitor in the field at 20 years of age. Twenty.

Though she ultimately finished sixth and three spots shy of the automatic bid to the London Olympics, the seeds for the path to greatness had already been planted inside of Rollins. When she returned to Clemson in the fall, she trained harder than ever before. She did it by taking strength training to a new level.

“Injuries in previous years had prevented me from lifting as much as I could,” said a chiseled Rollins. “When I was able to get back in the weight room, I’ve taken it more seriously and I’m so much stronger than I was two years ago. It’s paid off a lot.”

What also paid off was her dedication to newly formed nutritional habits. Gone were the daily sodas she used to crave. She said goodbye to eating sweets and other poor di-etary items.

“I never fueled my body with the good stuff I needed,” she said.

With the proper fuel in store, she has led

the Tiger women’s program to new heights. Clemson won a fourth straight ACC Indoor Championship, meaning Rollins and her classmates that came in together in the fall of 2009 will leave having never lost a conference indoor title. She led the Tigers to a sixth-place team finish at the NCAA Indoor Cham-pionships, a third top 10 in her four seasons

at Clemson.Her exploits have not only made collegiate

observers such as the Illinois coach take no-tice, but those in the professional ranks have also been in awe of Rollins’ success this season.

Lolo Jones, the American record-holder in the 60 hurdles and a two-time member of the U.S. Olympic Team, was on hand in Fayette-ville as a guest commentator for ESPNU’s broadcast of the NCAA meet. She came away impressed – if not nervous for her record of 7.72 in the event.

“When you see a collegiate athlete who goes so consistently into world-class time, I was definitely nervous,” Jones said. “I can take a big sigh of relief in that my record is safe for another year. She’s having a complete, dominant year. She definitely delivered at the NCAAs, and now she’s the national cham-pion.”

Now, both Jones and the unnamed Illi-nois coach know Rollins’ time from January was legitimate. Now, the entire track & field world knows Rollins is legitimate.

Rather than view the newfound fame as pressure, Clemson’s superstar simply moves on and looks forward to what the outdoor season will hold.

“People always ask me about it (turning professional),” she said. “I try not to look too far ahead. Whatever happens will happen. My performances will dictate what I do the next few years with track.”

With moments like March 9 when she se-cured her second National Championship, it’s safe to say Rollins will be doing quite a bit the next few years on the track.

Rollins breezed past the field

in the final to an NCAA

Championships record in the 60

hurdles before accepting her second career trophy on the awards stand.

Photos by Kirby Lee

• NCAA Champion in the 60 hurdles, her second career crown

• Established NCAA record with time of 7.78 at the Tiger Challenge on Jan. 11

• Established NCAA Championships record with time of 7.79 to win the trophy

• USTFCCCA Southeast Region Indoor Athlete of the Year

• ACC Indoor Track Athlete of the Year• ACC Champion in the 60 hurdles, her second

career crown• All-ACC in the 200 dash• USTFCCCA National Athlete of the Week on

Jan. 15• Two-time ACC Performer of the Week• Armory Collegiate Most Outstanding

Competitor• Named to watch list for The Bowerman, given

annually to top male and female in collegiate track & field

a season FoR the ages

rollins’ 2013 indoor accomplishments


Every kid who has ever played base-ball in a sandlot or used a broom-stick for a bat in the schoolyard has dreamt of one day playing in the big leagues, and Scott Firth admits he certainly fits that description.

“If that’s not what you’re going for then you might as well hang it up,” he said with a laugh. Because of that, one might assume Firth would jump at any chance to fulfill his dream, but the Clemson senior pitcher has actually turned it down…twice.

Firth was drafted in the 32nd round of the Ma-jor League Baseball First-Year Player Draft by the Philadelphia Phillies in June after going 4-0 with a team-best 2.09 ERA in 24 relief appearances for the Tigers last season, but the right-hander de-cided to return to Clemson for his senior year. He called it a “tough decision,” but he has no regrets over making it. And he should know — he’s made it before.

Firth was recruited to Clemson out of Buffalo Grove, IL, after he was spotted by former Tiger Assistant Coach Tom Riginos playing in a tourna-ment at the East Cobb Baseball complex in metro Atlanta. Buffalo Grove is a northern suburb of

Firth has been one of the top pitchers in the Atlantic Coast Conference early in

the 2013 season.Photo by Rex Brown

GReaT SCoTTby Steven Bradley, IPTAY Media

m a r c h 2 0 1 3 ❘ 41

Chicago, and Firth wanted to relocate to a warmer climate to play his college ball and find a big-time program at which to do it, and Clemson fit the bill on both counts.

But even before he arrived on campus, Firth was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the 36th round of the 2009 MLB draft, though he said turning down the opportunity to turn pro wasn’t nearly as difficult that first time as it was the second.

“It was kind of the same situation,” Firth said. “I knew coming into that decision that I loved Clemson, and I was excited about coming here and being part of this program. Last year was maybe even a tougher decision because I see guys my own age signing, and that’s exciting for them and they’re having fun playing pro ball and everything. But when it came down to it, it just really wasn’t the right time for me and I felt like I still wanted to ac-complish some things here.”

To many observers, it seemed Firth had accomplished plenty. Coming into the 2013

season, Firth had pitched 56 times for the Tigers across his three years and had an 11-2 record and a 2.81 ERA during his career. He had won 11 of his last 12 decisions and had been just as good in Atlantic Coast Confer-ence play, posting a 6-1 record with a 3.01 ERA in 21 appearances.

But of Firth’s 56 career appearances, only 11 of them had been starts. And while he had put together stellar numbers as a reliever and spot starter, Firth came into this season deter-mined to prove he could lock down a spot in the weekend rotation.

“I’d always been a starter growing up, and I was happy to fill that relief role last year,” he said. “That’s where the team needed me, and I was definitely excited about that. I got to pitch a lot, and that’s fun. But I just knew that I wasn’t showcasing my ability in the best way, and I knew with a couple little adjustments that I could.”

Those adjustments were also partially a product of his role in the bullpen. Blessed

with a fastball in the low- to mid-90s, Firth came to rely on that pitch and his slider al-most exclusively and rarely used his curveball and changeup at all. While he was still get-ting batters out, he said the mentality he had adopted to become a power pitcher out of the bullpen had diminished the part of pitching he enjoyed most — the mind games.

“I didn’t really feel like I was pitching the way that I’d always pitched,” Firth said. “I re-ally got away from my game last year. I was just coming in throwing fastball-slider and trying to blow people away, and I really like using all my pitches and mixing people up. That’s really pitching to me, instead of maybe throwing, which is what I was doing a little bit last year. That’s really the fun thing about pitching is being able to throw it where you want and keep people guessing and get some ugly swings. That’s the fun part.”

But what Firth views as the fun part is not a part of the game every pitcher relishes, accord-ing to Clemson pitching coach Dan Pepicelli,

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firth Comes Back with Something to Prove, adapts his game to make it happen


who said it is a sign of Firth’s maturity and mental toughness to be willing to adapt his game to being a starter.

“That’s the testament to what a great kid he is — because once a guy is a power pitcher, very few want to give up that mid-90s fastball to throw 80 or 90 pitches down in the zone with a mix like a starter does,” Pepicel-li said. “I think he understood that it’s just another challenge he took on, and I love the way he’s throwing right now.”

Through his first five starts of the season, Firth had a 2-3 record but an outstanding 2.48 ERA, and he had allowed 32 hits in 32.2 innings pitched and struck out 20 batters against only seven walks.

On opening weekend, Firth threw 7.0 in-nings of two-hit ball in a 12-2 victory over William & Mary, and then came back the next Sunday to toss 8.0 innings of five-hit ball as the Tigers blanked Wright State 7-0 to sweep the series.

Having been given the role of Sunday start-

er by Head Coach Jack Leggett, Firth wore his white cap, the ones Clemson reserves to wear when it is going for a series sweep, as he spoke with IPTAY Media for this story after his gem ensured the Tigers would achieve that feat against Wright State. Firth admitted he is relishing his role as the anchor of the weekend rotation, a role he has certainly thrived in dur-

ing the early part of the season.“It’s definitely a good posi-

tion to be in to be starting on Sunday, and get to come out and wear the sweep hats ev-ery now and then,” Firth said. “Sunday is an important day

because that’s your momentum going into the next week.”

Much has been made in the early part of the season about the stable of young talent on Clemson’s team and the bright future it has ahead. But for Firth, a co-captain who calls himself “the old guy” on the team, the future is now. He was on the 2010 team that went to

Above: Firth has moved into a starting role as a senior after serving as one of Clemson’s top relief pitchers in 2012.Photo by Dawson Powers

At left: Firth was selected in the 32nd round of the 2012 Major League Draft by the Philadelphia Phillies, but elected to return to Clemson for his senior season.Photo by Rex Brown, IPTAY Media

m a r c h 2 0 1 3 ❘ 43

the College World Series and is admitted-ly very aware this season is his last chance to get back to Omaha, and Firth believes this young Clemson team might be just precocious enough to have a chance.

“They’re young, but they all have great heads for the game,” Firth said. “So it’s not a situation maybe like normal where you would expect the younger guys to floun-der a little bit at the beginning. These guys just have their heads screwed on straight, and they’re gamers. So it’s really taken a lot of the adjustment time out of it.”

With that, Firth has gone about the business of proving himself capable of not only holding down a spot in the starting rotation, but excelling in it. And while Firth himself may have felt he had something to prove by coming back this season, his pitching coach seemed to find that notion almost peripheral.

“He didn’t have much to prove to me, I’ll tell you that,” Pepicelli said. “He could have been a starter and a very good one last year, and just out of necessity he never got that opportunity. We needed him to come in maybe in the eighth inning and save a game or maybe the fifth and save a game. So he didn’t need to prove anything to me. He had to change the way he pitched a little bit, and I

think he’ll tell you that. He had to work down in the zone more, not try to elevate and strike people out all the time, but he’s done a fantas-tic job. And it begins with his mind. He’s just all about the team, and he’s just a phenomenal kid.”

As for his future in baseball, Firth makes no bones about his ultimate goal being able to pitch professionally. In the preseason, he was

rated the No. 20 senior in the nation and No. 15 prospect in the ACC for the 2013 draft by Baseball America, as well as the No. 5 college prospect in South Carolina for the 2013 draft by Perfect Game.

But all that ballyhoo was in the pre-season, when Firth was still known as pri-marily a relief pitcher capable of making spot starts. With the way he is pitching as a full-time starter, it seems likely that Firth’s stock is on the rise. And ultimately he came back to school for his senior year not just because he loved Clemson and its atmosphere, he came back to prove he is a better pitcher than perhaps anyone else realized.

“I think that’s really what it came down to,” Firth said. “I knew in my heart that

I had a lot more ability and talent and drive to show people, and I didn’t really feel like I was getting that chance necessarily. And that’s something that stung a little bit, and I wanted to come back and accomplish some different things that we haven’t accomplished here yet. So that was the mindset coming back, and that’s the mindset going forward.”

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Firth came to Clemson by way of Buffalo Grove, IL.Photo by Tyler Smith


Freshman women’s ten-nis player Liz Jeukeng is quiet but thoughtful as she speaks. After only a few minutes with her, it is clear that she prefers her racquet

do most of her talking. She is eloquent, clear, and is without the hesitation of a person unsure of her message.

Jeukeng is incredibly mature, and uses words of conviction as she dis-cusses her history, goals, and on-court performance. She is able to bounce around topics effortlessly, and handles each question as a prototypical senior might, when In fact, she’s barely old enough to be a senior - in high school.

Jeukeng has burst onto the national scene early in her career. She enrolled in January after completing high school requirements early, and joined Nancy Harris’ club. It took her just four singles matches to earn a national ranking. After just seven appearances, she moved into the top 30 in the nation after knocking off two top-15 players, and earning four other wins over ranked players.

She also maintains a full 12-hour course load at a top-25 public university, and aspires to (eventually) attend medical school. Not bad for a 16-year-old. Sixteen.

Originally a member of the 2014 recruiting cycle, Jeukeng traveled the country playing the sport she loves while being homeschooled. While she and her family now make their home in Boca Raton, FL, Jeukeng’s journey to Clemson has been unique.

The second of four siblings, Jeukeng was born in her parents’ native Cameroon in May of 1996.

The family moved to the United States when Liz was just two years old, settling first in the Kansas City area through a series of coincidences.

“We weren’t supposed to go to Kansas City originally. We didn’t even know where it was,” Jeukeng joked. But the family’s nine-year stint in KC proved to be important in the young star’s future, as it was the place where she first picked up a racquet.

“My dad got me into tennis when I was seven or eight,” she said. “I got serious in tennis when I was nine, when I was watching on TV. I de-cided that was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life, so I started entering tournaments, and moved up the rankings.”

Jeukeng’s game is fun to watch. She mixes a big forehand with a powerful one-handed back-

hand, similar to some of the players after whom she models her game.

“I love to watch Roger Federer. He’s my idol. I also loved to watch Justine Henin. I loved her game.”

Both Henin and Federer are known to employ the one-handed backhand technique in their games, and Jeukeng is working to develop hers as well. Like many other aspects of her life, she was led to that form through challenging circumstances.

“My biggest strength is my back-hand. A couple of years ago, I fell on my wrist, and was forced to use it, and have just used it ever since. I believe it makes me really unique as a player.”

Coaches rave about her talent on the court. The tennis has of-ten come easy to her, but it has been the adjust-ment to team tennis and the balance with school that has proved to be one of her greatest chal-lenges. Many players enter college tennis without experience on a team. Much of the junior circuits are heavily individually based, as players repre-sent themselves. In college, each match counts toward the team’s overall score.

The other aspect of team tennis is the cama-raderie. Although the team is made up entirely of freshmen and sophomores, it has been the support of her teammates that have helped her along.

“For me, it is hard. In the first college match when everybody was cheering, I was so scared

SweeT SixTeen

by Jeff Kallin | photos by Rex Brown, IPTAY Media

Despite

the fact

She Should

Still be in

high School,

liz Jeukeng is

Making a name

for herself at

Clemson

At the age of 16, Jeukeng has already ascended into the top 30 of the ITA rankings.

m a r c h 2 0 1 3 ❘ 45

because I didn’t know what was going on. I didn’t know if I had to cheer, or what to do. Now, I’m getting used to it; the girls are walking me through it, and helping me to be part of a team.”

Not only is she playing a new type of game with the team, but she is also in a new type of school environment. That means new forms of communications, different social cues and as-pects, and the necessity to form and maintain her own relationships.

“I was homeschooled, so now I have daily interactions with other individuals. It’s been a little difficult, because I have to communicate in a new way. But, everyone is so nice. They un-derstand where I am coming from, being home-schooled and trying to get adjusted. They’ve re-

ally helped me out.” Jeukeng seems to be adjusting nicely, as she

continues her semester, and even considers tak-ing on a double major. In addition to profes-sional tennis goals, she and her sister have always dreamt of becoming doctors.

“My older sister will attend medical school this fall. She and I both want to become doctors. She’s going into cardiology, and I am interested in neurology. The brain is interesting to me, and I really want to explore it, and discover new things.”

Whether it is on the court or in the classroom, Jeukeng has set lofty goals for herself. What makes her so special, however, is that she holds herself accountable to the highest standards.

“I want to do the best I can. You never know what will happen every day. So, you just work day by day. I want to turn pro eventually, and I want to become No. 1 in the world if I can. That’s always been one of my goals.”

With all that she has accomplished by 16, the future looks bright for this Tiger. She has a humble competitiveness that keeps her quietly confident.

Tennis is unlike many other collegiate sports, in that there are no subs. There are not timeouts. Many times, it’s just you and your opponent, and that’s just how Jeukeng likes it.

“I love that tennis is an individual sport. The only one that is similar, to me, is boxing. I love the one-on-one combat.”

She’s keenly aware of her immense talent, but has to be prodded to elaborate. Jeukeng is full of so much potential, and is so young that she has only begun to scratch the surface of what she hopes to become.

“I try not to pay attention to the success, or the attention that comes with it, or comments. Win or lose, I am just focused on my goals.”

She may have set high goals, but with as much as she has done by 16, there is little doubt anyone is willing to question her.

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Jeukeng enrolled at Clemson in January after graduating early from high school.


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m a r c h 2 0 1 3 ❘ 47

Sometimes in sports, one plus one equals three, especially when it comes to the Maden brothers and their impact on the Clem-

son University men’s tennis program. Yannick and Dominique Maden have proven their success not only individually, but also as a team. Hail-ing from Stuttgart, Ger-many, The Maden broth-ers brought their talents to Clemson knowing the program was centered around team values, and complement each other as well as the team’s suc-cess through their play.

The dynamic duo showcased their talent this fall at the Inter-national Tennis Asso-ciation tournament in Tulsa, OK where they upset the No. 1 seeded and second-ranked team in the country in the doubles main draw. The

Maden duo had a 17-3 doubles record and an undefeated 7-0 mark in dual match play through March 18. They were ranked 11th

in the country as of March 12, but the suc-cess hasn’t altered the duo’s motivation to reach success as a team. Instead of com-

peting with each other, the German duo builds on each other’s strengths and picks each other up in pressure situations.

Head Coach Chuck McCuen sees the positive impact of the brothers’ Maden on the Clemson program every day.

“I think they (Maden brothers) accent each other,” he said. “I don’t think they compete against each other. They are always encouraging each other to be their best.”

Clemson enjoys the benefits coming from a

DynaMiC Duoof Clemson

Men’s TennisBrothers yannick and Dominique Maden Team Together

to Try and lead Tigers Back to nCaa Tournament

by Kathryn Andreoli

Yannick (left) and Dominique Maden helped the Tiger men’s tennis team to a top-25 national ranking early this season.Photo courtesy of Clemson Sports Information


lifetime of competition between two broth-ers – now competing on the same Division I program.

“Body language is so important to us,” Mc-Cuen said. “You can sense when one of them is down and the other one is so quick to re-spond. It’s something that retriggers their fo-cus back into the match.”

Yannick, a senior financial management major, was the first of the Maden brothers to come to Clemson after hearing about the program through former Tiger Morritz Det-tinger.

“Yannick came to Clemson a semester ear-lier, and when he found out I wanted to go to college, he told the coach at the time,” Dominique said.

Competing athletically at the highest level, and pursuing a world-class education in the United States, appealed to both Yannick and Dominique in their decision to come to Clemson.

“In Germany, we don’t have a big university sys-tem,” Dominique said. “When you go to school there, you basically have to stop playing tennis or do everything by your-self.”

Yannick joined the Clemson men’s tennis program in the fall of 2009. After sitting out his freshman season, he broke ground in finish-ing the 2010-11 season with a 14-6 overall record, including a 7-4 mark in ACC competition. He ended the year with an 8-3 overall record in home matches and a 5-3 ledger in away matches, playing at No. 2 singles. He finished with a 6-3 record at No. 1 singles and a 9-11 record in doubles in the spring of 2011. Yan-nick keeps his composure consistently by fo-cusing on the task at hand.

“I always want to win. I try to keep my head clear,” he said.

Dominique Maden followed in his broth-er’s footsteps at Clemson in 2010 and quickly reached success. He compiled an 8-6 record at No. 4 singles and a 3-3 mark at No. 3 singles. He finished his first season with a 14-15 over-all singles record and 10-10 record in dual matches with partner Wesley Moran.

Prior to Clemson, the Maden brothers had ironically never played doubles together. The

German duo made their debut in the fall of 2012 when they were finalists in the Southern Intercollegiate Championships in Athens, GA on September 7-10. October brought further success to the brothers when they advanced to the final eight in the main draw of the All-American Tournament and the final four of the ITA Carolinas Regional Tournament.

The brothers agree that they bring out each other’s strengths when teaming up for a dou-bles match.

“I play better when I play with Dom,” Yan-nick said. “Our game styles are similar, but we still have individual qualities that work out. It adds up well.”

McCuen agrees that the brothers work best together, particularly with the way they work together to cover ground.

“Movement is what they do best,” he said. “Doubles is all about covering open court and your partner. They have done a great job read-ing each other and moving more efficiently as a team. They know each other so well.”

Competing and training in the offseason is a crucial tool for athletes, especially over school vacations. McCuen encourages his athletes to do so.

“We always encourage our kids to compete and play over Christmas break,” he said. “You have to.”

Yannick and Dominique enjoyed success in the pro circuit in January when they com-peted in the International Tennis Federation

men’s tournament in Schwieberdingen, Ger-many. The duo defeated Stefan Seifert and Peter Torebko of Germany 7-6 (4), 6-7 (8), (10-7) and advanced to the final round of the tournament.

Their success in doubles will hopefully help the Tigers reach the NCAA tournament this spring.

“It’s the whole team atmosphere,” Yan-nick said. “Since we started the season well, it is easy to keep working. We went up in the rankings and we have extra motivation.”

The competitive edge and work ethic of the Maden brothers make them one of the most successful doubles teams that the Clem-

son men’s tennis program has ever seen. The two continue to work hard in practice to try and help lead the Tigers to their 25th NCAA Tournament appearance. Clemson’s last ap-pearance was in 2007, but the dynamic duo is working to change that this year.

“We want to win as many matches as pos-sible, but the ultimate goal for us as a team is to make the NCAA,” Yannick said.

At left: Yannick Maden has held down the top singles spot in Head Coach Chuck McCuen’s lineup all season.

At right: Dominique Maden had a 4-0 singles record in dual matches prior to

an injury that forced him to miss a good deal of time this spring.

Photos by Dawson Powers

m a r c h 2 0 1 3 ❘ 49


In 2012, the Clemson rowing team fin-ished the season ranked No. 20 and just missed making the NCAA Championships for what would have been a fifth straight season. Now underway this spring, the Ti-gers are working even harder to get back to the NCAA Championships in 2013.

“We finished 20th in the country last year, which wasn’t where we wanted to be,” said Clemson Head Coach Robbie Tenenbaum. “The team has worked on becoming more fit and more technically focused. Our fitness has been able to carry our speed down the race course, but I believe we have had a re-newed emphasis on our technique to pro-pel us down the course. The two have made a big difference, and it is mostly coming from our student-athletes. They are incred-ibly motivated, especially the seniors who want to make sure that they end their ca-reers at the NCAA Championships and they are not going to be denied.”

The Tigers competed in two regattas in the fall season, where they recorded three first-places finishes in five races. That suc-cess gave the team some confidence and momentum heading into the spring.

“Fall was outstanding for us,” Tenenbaum said. “We did some things differently this fall. We held everyone accountable and to a higher standard and everyone responded really well. We put some time standards on the rowing machine in order to be allowed to travel and race, and nobody wanted to be left out, so everyone really stepped up.

“We had a great result at the Head of the Oklahoma and beat a strong Stanford team, which gave everyone a big boost. Overall, we had a competitive fall season which gave everyone confidence and set every-

one up to train harder throughout the fall and into winter.”

The 2012-13 version of the rowing team features 30 returning letterwinners with the addition of 31 newcomers to give Clemson a good mix of youth and experience. Clem-son also returns its entire coaching staff from last season. Tenenbaum returns for his third season as head coach of the row-ing program, his fifth season overall. Assis-tant coaches Jessica Leidecker and Melanie Onufrieff return for their third and second seasons, respectively.

Returning second-team All-American and All-ACC rower Heather Cummings and All-ACC rower Kate Biladeau are two of nine seniors on the 2012-13 squad. The senior class also includes Ameerah Aly, Katie Brug-geling, Vanesa Ewais, Kristin Manna, Emily Massey, Sarah Monn and Caroline Thomas. They will look to make their third appear-ance in the NCAA Championships in four years.

“Anytime you have great leaders, espe-cially at the top of the program, it really helps. Right now, in the First Varsity 8+, we have a senior coxswain in Katie Bruggeling along with Heather, Ameerah and Kate, who are all seniors. It really helps to have that maturity level.”

The Tigers also have 11 juniors that will be counted on in the varsity boats as well. All-ACC rower Laura Basadonna and sec-ond-team All-American Laura D’Urso are two juniors that will spend their third sea-son in the First Varsity 8+. Along with Ba-sadonna and D’Urso, Stephanie Cameron, Sarah Egan, Maria Jose Gutierrez, Kelsey Igo, MJ Keys, Jackie Kovach, Kathleen Scibelli, Meghan Sisk and Kathryn Wiley add depth

to the varsity lineups.From a lineup perspective, the Tigers

return seven of eight rowers and the cox-swain in the First Varsity 8+ from last season. In the Second Varsity 8+, six of the eight and the coxswain return from 2011-12. With so many returners, the competition to claim spots in the top two boats is high.

“Our team is a bit better this year,” Tenen-baum said. “We have more people fight-ing to get into the First Varsity 8+ and we have never really had that before. We have had a big separation between the first and second eight. Now, we have a lot of people fighting to get into the 1V8 and the 2V8 and I think that bodes well for us as we try to be more competitive at the upper end.”

The Tigers look to fill the Varsity 4+ boats with younger talent this season. The First Varsity 4+ won an ACC Championship last season but return only the coxswain from that crew.

“The Varsity 4+ is fine. We are work-ing hard to develop some of our younger student-athletes to race in that event. Our novices are also doing a really great job this year and have been able to help us stay competitive in that event.”

The 2012-13 roster also features 13 inter-national student-athletes from six different countries.

“It helps our program tremendously to have these international student-athletes. The kids come in and have great experience. They are highly motivated and it helps the

2013 SEASON OUTLOOK | ROWINGby Davis Simpson

Clemson looks to return to the NCAA Championships for the fifth time in the

last six seasons this spring.Photos by Rex Brown, IPTAY Media

m a r c h 2 0 1 3 ❘ 51

competitiveness of the team. It also helps create a good atmo-sphere on the team because we have people from all over the state, all over the country, and all over the world and that makes for a unique and special dynamic.”

Clemson is in the midst of a schedule that features nine teams that competed in the NCAA Championships in 2012. The Ti-gers opened the season with three straight home regattas, starting with Duke and East-ern Michigan on March 9. The Tigers faced Boston University, Indiana, Purdue and Syra-cuse on March 16 and Alabama and Marist last weekend.

The Tigers are about to hit the road for two straight regattas. Clemson will travel to Redwood Shores, CA on March 30 and 31 to take on California, Oregon State and Stanford. Two weeks later, they will travel to Cambridge, MA to face Boston, Darmouth

and Yale on April 13. The Tigers will then host 19 teams in the Clemson Invite on Lake Hartwell on April 20 and 21.

“We are really excited about the season,” Tenenbaum said. “We have a lot of high quality opponents on our schedule. Nine opponents were in the field of 16 at the NCAA Championships last season, so we know we are going to be challenged week in and week out. We are excited to be able to have the skill to put ourselves up against the top teams in the country and give our-selves a chance.”

Clemson will again play host to the ACC Championships (April 28) on Lake Hartwell

for the fourth straight year and the 11th time overall. In 2012, the Tigers finished sec-ond as a team and took an ACC Champion-ship in the Varsity 4+ race.

“We just have a great place to row,” Te-nenbaum said. “It’s the best place to row in the conference. It’s the only place in the ACC where you can host a six-lane race. The other teams like coming here as well be-cause it is a very fair course no matter what the conditions are.”

Following the ACC Championships, the Tigers will look to earn a bid to the NCAA Championships in Indianapolis, IN from May 31 to June 2.

ROWING ROSTER

The Tigers’ second varsity 8+ got off to a strong start with a win over Duke and Eastern

Michigan on March 9.Photos by Rex Brown, IPTAY Media

name Class hometown

Stephannie Allen So. Orlando, FL Ameerah Aly Sr. Longwood, FL Marie Arnold So. Hannover, GermanyLaura Basadonna Jr. Torino, ItalyDanielle Baskin Fr. Moorestown, NJ Kate Biladeau Sr. Lutz, FL Alexis Brierly Fr. Glocester, RI Katie Bruggeling Sr. St. Catharine’s, Ontario Marissa Bruton Fr. Greenville, SC Stephanie Cameron Jr. Alexandria, VA Carlee Chapin Fr. Elk Grove, CA Joanna Coombs Fr. Andover, MA Heather Cummings Sr. Virginia Beach, VA Laura D’Urso Jr. Dunross, Culdaff, Ireland Hannah DeFrank Fr. Harrisburg, PA Alana de Klerk So. Greenville, SC Samantha Duggan So. Christchurch, New Zealand Sarah Egan Jr. Gold River, CA Katie Eidson Fr. Charlotte, NC Vanesa Ewais Sr. Jacksonville, FL Courtney Fallon Fr. Shrewsbury, MA Erin Ferguson Fr. Rock Hill, SC Isabel Freimuth Fr. Dallas, TX Julie Gilbert Fr. Fenton, MI Maria Jose Gutierrez Jr. Lima, Peru Caroline Hackler So. Dresden, Germany Laura Haselden So. Spartanburg, SC Danielle Hayden So. Severna Park, MD Milena Heuer Fr. Leer, Germany Kelsey Igo Jr. Frederick, MD Rachel Jones Fr. Salisbury, NC MJ Keys Jr. Christchurch, New Zealand

name Class hometown

Sarah Koering So. Vineland, NJ Jackie Kovach Jr. Wyomissing, PARebecca Kretzer Fr. Richmond, VA Giulia Longatti So. Como, Italy Tatiana Lundstrom Fr. Westerville, OH Kristin Manna Sr. Mullica Hill, NJ Emily Massey Sr. Quincy, FL Sarah Monn Sr. Skillman, NJ Cristina Morcom So. West Palm Beach, FL Kay Murphy Fr. Mansfield, VA Emily Mutschler Fr. Huntingtown, MD Kerianne Pacheco So. Oakland, NJ Jessica Patterson Fr. Alpharetta, GA Katherine Peters Fr. El Paso, TX Katherine Reft Fr. Herndon, VA Alison Rehfus Fr. Jacksonville, FL Carissa Richardson So. St. Catharine’s, OntarioGenevieve Schwemmer Fr. Ambler, PA Kathleen Scibelli Jr. Walkersville, MD Meghan Sisk Jr. Richmond, VAAnna Skochdopole Fr. Indianapolis, IN Hannah Soblo Fr. Columbia, SC Caroline Thomas Sr. Cheraw, SC Darby Ward Fr. Bluffton, SC Paula Wesselmann Fr. Flensburg, GermanyKathryn Wiley Jr. The Woodlands, TXClaire Wilson Fr. Bay Village, OHAurelia Wurzel So. Blevio, Como, ItalyDana Zielinski Fr. Southamption, PA

Head Coach: Robbie Tenenbaum, Assistant Coaches: Jessica Leidecker, Melanie Onufrieff


As a member of the San Francisco 49ers’ staff, Clemson alumnus Jeff Fer-guson interacts with Jim Harbaugh on a daily basis. In fact, one of his favorite

mantras is something he first heard from the mouth of the emotional coach.

“One thing that he says, which I think is unbelievable,” Ferguson explained, “is, ‘Every morning when I wake up, I’m go-ing to attack each day with an enthusiasm unknown to mankind.’ That was the way he played. That was the way he grew up.”

Ferguson has attacked the athletic train-ing field with similar gusto, rising to the pinnacle of his profession in two decades. His official title with the 49ers is Director of Football Operations and Sports Medicine, which means he played an integral part in San Francisco’s National Football League franchise winning a conference champion-ship and playing in Super Bowl XLVII.

“There are only 32 teams,” Ferguson said. “In the athletic training profession we look at that as the pinnacle of our career.”

Ferguson’s Pickens County connection predates his college days. He graduated from Daniel High School, mere miles from Clemson’s campus, before enrolling in his hometown university in 1989. During the next four years, Ferguson worked as a stu-dent assistant with the Tigers’ athletic train-ing staff, including then-assistant Danny Poole.

“When he was in school here, he didn’t get in trouble,” Poole recalled. “He came in and did his work with a smile on his face. Even when he was in school, it never seemed like he had a bad day.”

“That’s where I developed my passion,” Ferguson said of his alma mater. “That’s

where I developed a sense of detail, loyalty. I believe treating people as you want to be treated is important. Those things are all important, and I learned them all at Clem-son.”

Along with Poole, who he describes as one of his closest friends to this day, Fergu-son says he felt the impact of many people during his time in Clemson. One of his fa-vorite mentors was longtime athletic trainer Fred Hoover, who encouraged Ferguson to continue to pursue the field for which he demonstrated an early passion.

Hoover, whose presence impacted many during his years of service at Clemson, was among the people Ferguson cited as influ-ential in his development during his col-lege years. The Clemson native credits some key people, both from the institution and the surrounding community, for aiding his rise up the corporate ladder as an athletic trainer.

“I’ve been very fortunate to work with some very talented people throughout my career,” he said. “There were a lot of folks that saw something in me that I probably didn’t see. Fred, Danny, Reno Wilson was the basketball trainer at the time. I just think it’s hard work and loyalty and a lot is being in the right place at the right time.”

It was during his time working in the Clemson athletic department that Fergu-son got his first taste of life in the NFL. He took a summer internship with the New England Patriots in 1992, an experience he says planted the seed that eventually led him back into professional football.

“At the time, I didn’t really have any as-pirations of going to the National Football League,” Ferguson said. “I thought I would be in intercollegiate athletics. That was my thought process.”

SuPeR Bowl exTenSion

Clemson alum Jeff ferguson Played integral Behind-the-Scenes Role with nfC Representative San franciscoby William Qualkinbush

Photo courtesy of San Francisco 49ers

m a r c h 2 0 1 3 ❘ 53

A few years after leaving Clemson, Fergu-son’s career began to take off during an eight-year stint at Kansas State. His work with the Wildcat football team allowed him to cross paths with Bill Snyder during his first stint as the head coach at Kansas State. He served in several capacities in Manhattan, KS, and as the Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Medicine, his staff was named the best in the Big 12 in 2003-04.

It was then that Ferguson came home to Clemson to pursue a career in private indus-try. He moved his family closer to his parents, who still reside in Clemson, and bought a house right next to Poole’s. Ferguson worked outside of an athletic organization for a while, but it was — as he put it — “a tease” to his family and friends in the area.

When the 49ers called about him joining

their staff, Ferguson immediately expressed an interest in the position. All it took was a trip out to the West Coast to convince him to accept the offer to become the team’s top athletic trainer.

Now in his sixth year with the organization, Ferguson added a few more responsibilities to his job description. Now — in addition to his day-to-day tasks related to his athletic training role — he is also tasked with overseeing the

strength & condi-tioning program, team logistics, and the equipment and video opera-tions departments for the team. The promotion is a re-flection of both the team’s faith in Fer-guson and his dedi-cation to doing his job, whatever it en-tails, to the best of his ability.

It is a mentality that extends to all situations, includ-ing this year’s Su-

per Bowl against the Baltimore Ravens. Dur-ing the two weeks of preparation, Ferguson and the rest of the staff maintained a steely focus on the task at hand, just as they had during each previous week of the season.

“No matter if it’s a regular season game, preseason game, playoff game, or the Super Bowl, we’re going to prepare for that game,” Ferguson said. “We have a routine. My re-

sponsibility was to reduce any drag for players and coaches (during Super Bowl week).”

One of the most special qualities about Fer-guson is the way he has remained unchanged by success. From the mountaintop, he still remembers his small-town roots and the im-pact the people of Clemson made in his life. He comes back to spend time with Poole and his family, as well as other family and friends, every year.

Poole, now the Head Athletic Trainer at Clemson, still remembers the eager student that is now one of the most accomplished people in America in the athletic training dis-cipline. Now, he sees him as a colleague and close friend with whom he shares a unique bond — a bond that was forged in the hills of Clemson and now extends from sea to shin-ing sea.

“His love for our profession was evident, even at that point in time in his life,” Poole said. “As he’s gone up through the ranks, go-ing from here to the position he’s in now with the 49ers, it’s pretty impressive.”

Ferguson would never say those things about himself. But Clemson shouts his prais-es, and the shouts were never more audible than on Super Bowl Sunday when one of its native sons celebrated the chance to be a part of football’s most prestigious game.

Jeff Ferguson (front row, left) was a student athletic trainer for the Tiger

football team from 1989-92. He is now the Director of Football

Operations and Sports Medicine for the San Francisco 49ers.

Photo courtesy of Clemson Sports Information

“(Clemson is) where I developed my passion. That’s where I developed a sense of detail, loyalty. I believe treating people as you want to be treated is important. Those things are all important, and I learned them all at Clemson.”

— Jeff Ferguson


When he took the po-dium at Littlejohn Coliseum to address an audience of IPTAY Representatives, ath-letic department em-

ployees and guests gathered at the 2013 IPTAY National Meeting, Director of Athletics Dan Radakovich called this “a great time of change for Clemson Athletics.”

“The next few months will be a constant re-view of what opportunities are in front of us to continue to move Clemson forward,” he said. “That’s my charge. In the next few months, we’re going to have discussion and discovery ongoing about projects — finishing the West-Zone, something over at our tennis facility needs to be done, our soccer facility, our base-ball facility and a real study of the building that we’re in.”

But while facility upgrades were the essence of Radakovich’s message of change, he could have easily been alluding to the very event at which he was speaking, as well. The IPTAY Na-tional Meeting had traditionally been held the Thursday after National Signing Day, but this year not only the date changed, so did the lo-cation. On Feb. 16, the biggest annual get-to-gether for Clemson Athletics’ fundraising arm was back on its home turf after spending many years — as many as anyone could remember — in what some might call enemy territory: Columbia.

“I don’t think we’ve given quite enough ap-plause to the fact we are not in Columbia to-night,” Clemson Head Football Coach Dabo

Swinney said. “I didn’t know what the IPTAY National Meeting was and had never been un-til my first year here, and I’ve never quite un-derstood why it was in Columbia. To me, this is a great night to be able to bring this back to Clemson and celebrate a tremendous organiza-tion.”

With the event back on its home campus, IPTAY invited the nearly 700 attendees to the Tigers’ baseball game against William & Mary that afternoon. The day continued with an open house at the Clemson Football Indoor Practice Facility before moving to the WestZone at Me-morial Stadium for a cocktail hour, and finally to Littlejohn for dinner and the program.

“We wanted to make a weekend of it,” Ex-ecutive Senior Associate Athletic Director for IPTAY External Affairs Bill D’Andrea said. “I think it’s an opportunity to embrace IPTAY as a dynamic organization. It’s like Dr. (R.C.) Ed-wards said, ‘It would probably be hard to mea-sure what IPTAY has done for this university.’”

The program, emceed by WYFF News 4 Co-Anchor Geoff Hart, began with an invocation from IPTAY President-Elect Fred Faircloth. Next up was current IPTAY President Charles Dalton, who shared news about the organiza-tion’s success and growth over the past year.

Dalton said IPTAY brought in $19.2 mil-lion in total contributions in 2012, a figure that represented an increase of about $600,000 from the previous year. For the current calen-dar year, IPTAY already had over 1,000 new donors through Feb. 10, which is on pace to exceed its goal of 2,000 new donors for the year.

“The primary purpose (of the event) in my mind is to thank all the IPTAY Reps, the coun-ty chairs, because they are the ones who really do all the work,” Dalton said. “They work hard all year long signing up new members, answer-ing questions, getting IPTAY members to in-crease their donations. They really carry the lion’s share of the IPTAY operation.”

Keeping with the theme of change, Dalton announced unprecedented modifications to IPTAY’s organization, policies and structure to allow Clemson to adapt to the changing land-scape of college athletics. Among them, IPTAY will now be headed by a chief executive officer, for whom a search is already under way and who will report directly to the IPTAY Board of Directors and University President Jim Barker.

Following Dalton, Radakovich took the stage and recognized IPTAY Rep of the Year Scott Runyon of Charleston, SC, as well as runners-up Ronnie O’Kelley of Seneca, SC, and Faircloth of Rock Hill, SC, along with the Young Alumni Rep of the Year, Scott Sampson of Clemson.

When Radakovich concluded his remarks, TIGEROAR — a student men’s a cappella group — took the stage to entertain the crowd by performing versions of “Jenny (867-5309),” “Carolina Girls” and “Tiger Rag.”

Next was a pair of student-athletes, volleyball player and special education major Alexa Rand and then quarterback and sociology major Tajh

‘GReaT TiMe of ChanGe’

Nancy Harris of women’s tennis was one of three Clemson head coaches to

speak at the IPTAY National Meeting.

iPTay national Meeting Charts Course for future of Clemson athletics

by Steven Bradley, IPTAY Media

photos by Rex Brown, IPTAY Media

m a r c h 2 0 1 3 ❘ 55

Boyd, to share their stories about how the scholarships IPTAY had provided had affected their lives.

“There’s absolutely no way I would have been able to afford going to an out-of-state university without the scholarship that you all helped to provide,” said Rand, a native of Mentor, OH. “My teammates, coaches and friends on the other sports teams have truly become part of my family, and I cannot imagine being any-thing other than a Tiger.”

After the current athletes spoke, another departure from past formats occurred, as a former student-athlete, Jim Sutherland, a 1967 graduate and former bas-ketball standout, was introduced.

Finally, to close the evening, a trio of head coaches — women’s tennis coach Nancy Harris, men’s basketball coach Brad Brownell and Swinney — took the stage. Brownell expressed his ex-citement about the direction of his program and urged Clemson supporters to be patient as he built it.

“I feel good about the future of our basket-ball program,” he said, “but this wasn’t a job that was ready for a quick fix. It takes time to

do it the right way.”Swinney, the final speaker of the night, said

the football program hopes to build on its first 11-win season since 1981 and its bowl victory over No. 7 LSU this season.

“I’m not afraid to dream,” he said. “Every year, the first thing I do is I want to know where the national championship game is go-

ing to be played. And it’s in Pasa-dena this year. And I’m dreaming about it: Loading up and here we go, a bunch from Clemson, SC, to Pasadena to the Rose Bowl to

play, I hope, Alabama in the national champi-onship. I believe there is power in the spoken word, and I’m not afraid to speak that. And I don’t want our players afraid to dream big. … I’m telling you, there’s nothing we can’t do at Clemson University if we’re willing to work for it, if we’re willing to pay the price.”

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Clockwise from top left: Charles Dalton currently presides over IPTAY’s Board of Directors.Dan Radakovich spoke on the climate of change within the Clemson Athletics landscape.Former Tiger basketball star Jim Sutherland was fittingly a guest speaker at the IPTAY National Meeting inside Littlejohn Coliseum.Alexa Rand was one of two student-athletes who addressed the IPTAY representatives on the value of an athletic scholarship at Clemson.


FooTBALL SeASon TICkeT APPLICATIonS WILL Be MAILeD In LATe MARCh.PRIoRITY DeADLIne- MAY 6, 2013

Season tickets may be renewed online, through the mail, or at the Clemson Athletic Ticket Office. Season ticket holders can save $8 off the order fee by ordering online. Season ticket applications will be mailed in late March to all IPTAY donors who paid 50% of their donation by February 15, 2013.

2013 SeASon TICkeT PRICeSSeason Tickets $330WestZone Club $1,400 (minimum IPTAY donation level $2,800)WestCovered $700 (minimum IPTAY donation level $1,400)Tiger Den $1,020 (minimum IPTAY donation level $1,400)Southeast Club $355

SeAT ChAnGeSThe ticket office will continue to use the IPTAY

Seat Equity Plan for the 2013 season. IPTAY donors who currently have season tickets will have the first opportunity to maintain their seats for 2013 by remaining at an IPTAY level that matches or exceeds their IPTAY Seat Value. If a donor does not maintain their required IPTAY level, those seats will be moved and allocated based on level and availability at the time of assignment. Any available seats will be assigned according to IPTAY level and then priority points within each level. Donors who wish to improve their seats may request a change on their online or paper ticket application.

New season ticket holders will be assigned by IPTAY level and priority points within each level.

TIPS FoR WRITInG A RequeSTClemson IPTAY donors are very loyal from year to year

making seat location improvements challenging for the ticket office. Please keep the following points in mind when making a seating request.

1. Be as specific as possible and include as many options as possible. Use specific sections and rows in your requests.

2. Improvements are based on donors releasing their current seats and are filled by IPTAY level and priority points within each level.

3. If you wish to sit with another IPTAY donor, please include their name and IPTAY number in your request and have them include your name and IPTAY number in their request.

Each request is reviewed, but the volume of requests does not make it possible for the ticket office to contact each donor.

Example Request: Please move my current seats to the following areas:

Option 1: Lower deck South between sections D and G

above row Z on an aisle.Option 2: Lower deck South between sections D and G

above row Z close to an aisle.Option 3: Lower deck North between sections Q and N

above row Z on an aisle.Option 4: Lower deck North between sections Q and N

above row Z close to an aisle.

DIGITAL TICkeTInGIn 2011, the Athletic Ticket Office implemented

digital ticketing at Clemson Memorial Stadium. Digital ticketing allows donors to print single game tickets at home, transfer tickets to other fans, and eliminate duplicate tickets in the stadium. IPTAY donors have the opportunity to request print at home tickets for any single game tickets on their ticket application.

2013 SInGLe GAMe TICkeT InFoRMATIonIPTAY donors may purchase single game tickets in

advance on their season ticket applications. Single game tickets are assigned by IPTAY level and points within each level after season ticket locations have been finalized.

Single game tickets will go on sale to the general public once IPTAY season and single game ticket assignments are complete in early July.

• Georgia $75 (Available in Kickoff Package with SC State Game Only for $85)• SC State $35• Wake Forest $50• Boston College $50• Florida State $70• Georgia Tech $55 (Thursday night)• The Citadel $35• Kickoff Package $85 (IPTAY donors at Jervey level or higher-limit 6 per donor)• Youth (18 and under) tickets will be available for the • SC State and The Citadel games for $10.

AWAY GAMe TICkeT InFoRMATIonAway game tickets will be available on the season

ticket applications. Away game tickets are allocated based on IPTAY priority points. For some away games, a priority point cutoff as well as ticket limits may be put in place to give as many IPTAY donors as possible the opportunity to purchase tickets. In the event that the number of orders received for an away game exceeds the available allotment, a priority point cutoff will be established and those who do not meet the point requirement will be notified and refunded the purchase price.

Syracuse has not set a ticket price but you may request tickets on the online application or the paper application. The ticket office will contact you once a ticket price is set for payment information.

@ NC State $65 (Thursday night)@ Syracuse Price to be Determined@ Maryland $55@ Virginia $42

@ South Carolina $80South Carolina Ticket Limits:100-299 Priority Points: 2 tickets maximum300 Priority Points and Above: 4 tickets maximum

PAYMenT MeThoDSThe Clemson Athletic Ticket Office accepts payment

by Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express, and check. Please make checks payable to CUAD.

2013 FooTBALL SeASon TICkeT InFoRMATIon

GeneRAL InFoRMATIonChildren two years old and under

are admitted for free.

FaCUlty/staFF

Full-time Clemson University faculty and staff members have the opportunity to

purchase two season football tickets at a reduced rate. Please contact the ticket office

for further information at [email protected] or call 656-2118.

hanDiCap seating

Customers that require accessible seating may submit a request for these seats on their ticket application. Please specify

accessible or wheelchair so the ticket office may better serve you. Due to a limited number of handicap seats, we allow a

maximum of four tickets to be purchased in those specific areas based on availability.

Any additional seats will be seated best available based on IPTAY priority.

impoRtant Dates

March 14Season ticket applications

available online.

May 6Priority deadline for season tickets.

June 15Remaining IPTAY pledge due.

June 26Last day to make any changes to your

mailing address for season tickets.

JulySingle game tickets become

available for the public to purchase.

AugustSeason tickets and parking passes mailed.

m a r c h 2 0 1 3 ❘ 57

Dear IPTAY Donors:

Prior to the 2008 football season, the Clemson University Athletic Department announced the IPTAY Seat Equity Plan for Memorial Stadium which created a value associated seating system for all IPTAY donors, while reaffirming IPTAY’s commitment to the goal of providing exceptional scholarship opportunities for Clemson student-athletes.

When the IPTAY Seat Equity Plan was implemented and announced in 2008, one component of the plan allowed for the IPTAY Board of Directors and staff to review the seat values associated with each section after a five-year period. The seat sections have remained similar and a modification of the seat values associated with each section will be implemented for the 2013 football season. These changes are noted on the attached map of Memorial Stadium. It is important to note that we are not re-seating Memorial Stadium and that all IPTAY donors will be given the first opportunity to maintain their current seats. When implementing this modification, it is important for the Clemson University Athletic Department to ensure that IPTAY and our donors are doing everything possible to help Clemson reach our competitive and academic goals.

Continuing to maximize the strength of Clemson Athletics and IPTAY is critical to the Clemson Athletic Program because IPTAY’s mission is to provide for the educational expenses of all its student-athletes, the operations and maintenance of Vickery Hall (the center for the Clemson student-athletes’ academic and enrichment program), the operations of IPTAY and, when funds are available, assist the Athletic Department on specific funding requests.

The 2008 IPTAY Seat Equity Plan ushered in a new era for IPTAY and Clemson Athletics and the modification of the IPTAY Seat Equity Plan will allow Clemson Athletics to continue to pursue championships. It is our hope that you will embrace the modification and take great pride in both the athletic and academic success of our student-athletes. We thank you for your support throughout the years and for your continued support in the years to come.

In Solid Orange,

2013 IPTAY Per Seat Minimum Donation

Seat Equity Plan Equation:IPTAY Seat Value x Number of Seats =

Required IPTAY Donation

BEGIN WITH SCHOLARSHIPSCHAMPIONSHIPS

®

2013 IPTAY Per Seat Donation

Yellow - $750 Gray - $550 Orange - $400 Red - $190 Purple - $120 Blue - Non-Priority Seating Green - Seats Unavailable

Bill D’AndreaSenior Associate Athletic Director

for External Affairs

Travis FurbeeDirector of IPTAY

Annual Fund

seat equity plan2.indd 1 7/25/12 2:56 PM

Dear IPTAY Donors:





In Solid Orange,





®






Annual Fund


Dear IPTAY Donors:





In Solid Orange,





®






Annual Fund


Dear IPTAY Donors:





In Solid Orange,





®






Annual Fund



Over the next few weeks you will be receiving your 2013 football season ticket/parking application. Whether you are ordering online or mailing in your order I hope you will take a few moments and make sure that you understand the IPTAY parking assignment process and how the changes to the seat equity plan can affect donor parking for the upcoming season. Unlike tickets in Memorial Stadium where if you donate the required seat value you are guaranteed to keep your seats; parking is re-assigned on an annual basis to adjust for donors that have upgraded/downgraded

their membership levels. Adjustments are also made to work around construction projects. Fortunately the latter shouldn’t be an issue for the 2013 season. However, because many donors have upgraded to a new level of giving to match the increase in seat value we can expect parking assignments to change in high demand areas.

So what is the parking assignment process? All donors are ranked in order of their priority points within the group of donors that give at the same level. Then, using the parking level eligibility/estimate chart that is available online at www.

clemsontigers.com and in hard copy with your ticket application, donors that meet the suggested giving level for that specific lot are reassigned to their space(s) from the previ-ous year. But as parking requests are made donors at higher levels of giving can request to be moved and can cause reassignments for donors that they have priority over. For ex-ample; all Heisman ($10,000) and Fike ($7,000) donors that didn’t re-quest a change are placed into their space(s) from the 2012 year. If they did request a change those notes are reviewed and assigned to available spaces. This is repeated for each level and each parking lot/street. Every attempt is made to use spaces that are open either by someone dropping out of IPTAY or they have requested a change. However, fol-lowing the parking assignment pol-icy if a higher level donor requests a space then they have priority to be assigned to that space. The eligibil-ity/estimate chart if followed can be a helpful guide when requesting your parking to stay the same or to be improved. Unfortunately, noth-ing can be guaranteed until all ap-plications are returned in early May and the demand on each lot/street is determined.

If you are currently giving below the level estimated in the chart then I would encourage you to give a 2nd and 3rd option when ordering your tickets/parking. Also, if you are in a financial position to upgrade your membership you can contact our office at 1-800-CLEMSON and talk about how your increased support can affect your 2013 football park-ing assignment. If you have any ad-ditional questions, please contact us at 1-800-CLEMSON or [email protected].

1.

2.

3.

Number ofSeason Tickets $10,000 $7,000 $5,600 $2,800 $2,100 $1,400 $700 $350

13 - 18

7 - 12

2 - 6 2Numbered

Spaces(side-by-

side ifavailable)

2Numbered

Spaces;1 Primary

and1 Secondary

(not side-by-side)

1Numbered Space and

1Premium Area(lot 1, 12, 3A, 4)

1Area

1Area

1Numbered

OR 1Premium

Area

2Numbered Spaces

(side-by-sideif available);

1 in 13,STI, 14, 24,or Brooks

2Numbered Spaces;

1 Primary1 Secondary

(not side-by-side);1 in 13, STI, 14,

24, or Brooks

1Numbered Space;

1 Premium Area;

2013 Football Parking Information

$4,200

1Numbered

Space

Numbered1

1 in 13, 14,STI, 24,

or Brooks

Parking Lot Availability Estimates for Each IPTAY Donation Level

Heisman Donors: $10,000 North Lot, Ave of Champions (under the North stands), Fike Lot (Williamson Rd side)

Fike Donors: $7,000 North Lot, Ave of Champions (under the North stands), Fike Lot (Fike side), WilliamsonRoad woods (#2714 - 2758)

McFadden Donors: $5600 Centennial Blvd, Ave of Champions (Jervey to IPTAY) Williamson Road near Gate 1 and/or Gate 5

East side of Littlejohn (tailgate show side), Centennial Blvd LotJervey Donors: $4200

IPTAY Donors: $2800Lot 3 (north and west side), Press Box Extension, Centennial Extension, Heisman St, Williamson Rd,

Lot 8, Cemetery Hill, Motor Homes, Ravenel Rd, Lot 2, Lot 2A, Lot 5, ML#2, Heisman Lot, Dillard, Hunter Hall 1&2* and the AOC Lot

Howard Donors: $2100Shotgun Alley, Lot 6, Lot 7 (numbered), Lot 1(area), ML#1, Jervey, Lot 3J (area), Doug Kingsmore

Stadium, Klugh, Earle Hall, Gentry Hall, South Palmetto Blvd, Fort Hill St, Calhoun DriveSirrine Lawn, Lot 3E

Tiger Donors: $1400 Lot 10, Lot 20, Lot 3A, Lot 12, Lee Hall, West Library/Rhodes Hall

Champion Donors: $700 Lot 21, Lot 4, Sikes Hall, Lot 25, Strom Thurmond, Lot 11, Lot 9, Lot 22

Orange Donors: $350 Lot 13, Lot 14, Brooks Center, Lot 24

Lot availability for each donation level depends on annual demand.Parking is reevaluated annually based on current donors’ giving level and priority point totals.

1Numbered

Space

1Numbered

Space

Numbered1

1 in 13, 14,STI, 24,

or Brooks

Numbered1

1 in 13, 14,STI, 24,

or Brooks

(1, 12, 3A, 4)1

NumberedOR 1

Premium Area;AND 1 in 13,14, STI, 24,or Brooks

1 in 13, STI, 14,24, or Brooks

These lots are not available as secondary parking spaces when you order more than 6 season tickets unless you are at the $5600 level or above: Lot 1, 3A, 4, 9, 12, 21, 22, 25, Sikes Only lots 13, 14, 24, Brooks and STI are available for secondary parking passes when you order more than 6 season tickets.

If you are interested in increasing your IPTAY level to secure a better parking space assignment please call 1-800-CLEMSON prior to ordering season tickets.

If you are requesting a parking space for an RV/motor home you will need to be a minimum $2800 donor for eligibility. Please submit the dimensions of yourvehicle so that an appropriate space can be assigned.

Where will I be parking for the 2013 Football Season?2013 FooTBALL PARkInG InFoRMATIon

m a r c h 2 0 1 3 ❘ 59

nCaa Compliance

Warning: Do not ContaCt

ProsPeCts!

Did you know, your actions may cost Clemson University a five-star recruit? The NCAA strictly limits the role a rep-resentative of athletics interest may take with regard to prospects. The limitation prohibits representatives of athletic inter-

est from making in-person, on- or off-campus recruiting contacts (i.e., attending a contest and speaking with a pros-pect), or written (posting a message on a prospect’s Facebook or Twitter site), or telephonic communications with a pro-spective student-athlete (any student that is a 9-12 grade high school student, two year college transfer, or a four year college transfer that has been released by his or her institution) and the prospective student-athlete’s relatives or legal guardians. This prohibition also includes contacting high school coaches and guidance counsel-ors to seek information on prospects.

Remember, Clemson University coaches and staff are the only group that may have recruiting contacts with prospects or the pros-pect’s relatives or legal guardians.

Are you a representative of athletics interest?

Yes, if you have ever:

• Attended Clemson University;

• Participated in or been a member of IPTAY;

• Contributed to the athletics department or IPTAY;

• Assisted or have been requested by the athletics staff to

assist in the recruitment of prospective student-athletes;

• Assisted in providing extra benefits to enrolled student-athletes or their families, or

• Been otherwise involved in the Clemson University ath-letics program.

Once an individual is identified as a representative of the institution’s athletics interest, that person remains a Clem-son University booster forever.

What can a representative of athletics interest do to help?

Representatives of athletic interest are per-mitted and encouraged to provide articles and email our coaches about a prospect and help Compliance Services by reporting rules viola-tions and protecting the prospect’s eligibility.

Clemson University is held responsible for any actions taken by a representative of athletics inter-

est relating to prospects or current student-athletes. The penalties for breaking these rules, whether by accident or intentional, is severe. Any violation may jeopardize a young person’s opportunity to attend and compete for Clemson University as a student-athlete, no matter how minor it may seem. In addition, Clemson University will be exposed to NCAA sanctions and the representative of athletics inter-est could be disassociated from our program. Please contact Compliance Services at [email protected] or at (864) 656-1580 with any questions. We thank you for your continued cooperation and support.


Teammates greet Tyler Colvin at the plate after he launched a walkoff grand slam over the right field fence against Oral Roberts to help Clemson to the College World Series in 2006. Colvin is now an outfielder with the Colorado Rockies.Above photo courtesy of Clemson Sports InformationBelow photo by Rex Brown, IPTAY Media

Colvin’s Walkoff Helps Tigers to ’06 College World Series

m a r c h 2 0 1 3 ❘ 61

iPtaYMr. Furman ulmer

passed away January 26. He was an IPTAY Member for 36 years.

Mr. James D. king passed away February 15. He was an IPTAY Member for 59 years.

Mr. Alexander Sutton

passed away February 16. He was an IPTAY Member for 31 years.

Mr. Thomas Fuller passed away February 20. He was an IPTAY Member for 37 years.

Mrs. Anna Guerry

passed away February 26. She was an IPTAY Member for 67 years.

Mr. Joe Martin passed away March 6. He was an IPTAY Member for 61 years.


Office ParkOffice Park

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m a r c h 2 0 1 3 ❘ 63

IPTAyDONOR

photosSam Foister (CU student) at the

leaning tower of Pisa in Italy in May 2012.

(L-R) Richard (‘68) and Margaret Scott, Ted (‘65)

and Rita Petoskey and Bill (‘62) and Susan King

on a cruise to the French Polynesia.

John Walter, Louise McWhinnie and Jim McWhinnie in Chiang Mai, Thailand in October 2012.

W. Kevin (‘97) and Mary Beth Sharp gave birth to twin boys, Colton Taylor Sharp and Camden William Sharp on March 5, 2013.

E-mail photos, information & IPTAY number to Lindsey Leonard at [email protected], or mail IPTAY, Attn: Lindsey Leonard, PO Box 1529, Clemson, SC 29633

m a r c h 2 0 1 3 ❘ 63

Nathan and Kit Hinkle’s new puppy,

Stono, ready for rainy Clemson games.

Clayton Allen Rodwell, born Oct. 8, 2012,

son of Foster (‘03) and Leslie Rodwell

(‘99) of Greenville, SC.

Jaycee Mar Sorrow is the daughter of Andy and Cheryl Sorrow and is a brand new sustaining

Tiger Cub member. She was born Dec. 31, 2012.

Edward Aufuldish (‘90) and Martha Fifer Aufuldish (‘90) at Machu Picchu, Peru last year.

Hamp Lindsey (‘77) with his children Anna (‘12) and Wade (MBA ‘12) in

Venice, Italy. Frank Watts (‘81) at the Taj Mahal in India.

Reagan Turner, daughter of

Jason and Ashley Turner with

the tiger snowman she and

her dad made in February. Charles Ables (‘65) proudly wears his

Clemson Chick-Fil-A Bowl shirt while

vacationing in Antigua, W.I.


Before we had seen the first pitch at Doug Kingsmore Stadium, 2013 was already a special year for Clemson Head Coach Jack Leggett. On January 10 he re-ceived a letter from American

Baseball Coaches Association Executive Di-rector Dave Keilitz informing him that he would be inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame in Dallas, TX between Jan. 2-5 in conjunction with the 2014 ABCA Con-vention.

To be inducted into any national Hall of Fame is certainly an honor, but it seems a little more noteworthy to be recognized while you are still coaching the game. Leggett will join Clemson golf leader Larry Penley as ac-tive Tiger coaches to be inducted into the Hall of Fame of their respective sports while still an active coach.

As far as active coaches in any sport in the ACC…well, in basketball there are two; Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski and North Carolina coach Roy Williams. That is pretty good company.

This is also a special anniversary season for Leggett as it is his 20th year as Clemson’s head coach. A look to Leggett’s resume shows this special honor is certainly warranted.

In the first 19 years of his tenure at Clem-son, the Tigers have advanced to the NCAA tournament 18 times. Clemson has made six trips to the College World Series, including three seasons in which the Tigers reached the Final Four.

Leggett took Clemson to the Final Four of college baseball in 1996, 2002 and 2010.

Only Penley (7), former Clemson men’s soccer coach Dr. I.M. Ibrahim (6), and for-mer men’s track & field coach Bob Pollock (4) have led Clemson to more “Final Fours” in

NCAA Tournaments or meets than Leggett.Entering this year, the University of Maine

graduate who captained that school to the 1976 College World Series, had 847 victories. An incredible 223 of those wins were against top-25 teams. That equates to 26 percent, the second-highest percentage of victories gained against top-25 teams in Clemson history in any sport. Only former men’s soccer coach Trevor Adair had a higher percentage (.306).

That stat tells you all you need to know about Leggett’s personality as a coach. He is a competitor who is not afraid to challenge the best. At Clemson, he has averaged 11.7 wins per year over top-25 teams and has played an average of 23 per year.

Playing this level of competition, his pro-gram ranks seventh in total victories during his 19 years as head coach with an average of 44.6 wins per year. Florida State is first and Miami is tied for fifth during that time. Georgia Tech is 10th on that list and North Carolina is 11th. So, five of the top 11 schools nationally for the 1994-2012 time period are

from the ACC.That shows you how significant Leggett’s

accomplishments have been.In my mind, what is most remarkable

about Leggett’s accomplishments is that they were achieved after he took over for a legend. In coaching circles, you want to be the guy who replaces the guy who replaced a legend.

How many times have you seen consecu-tive Hall of Fame coaches in a program’s his-tory in any sport? Prior to this year, it hap-pened once in Clemson Athletics history,

as Frank Howard replaced Jess Neely as football coach in 1940. Both men are in the College Football Hall of Fame.

Now it will happen again with Leggett’s induction. His pre-decessor, Bill Wilhelm, was in-ducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2011. Wilhelm coached Clemson for 36 con-secutive years (1958-93) without having a losing record. He won 1,161 games, took Clemson to 11 ACC titles and 16 top-25 seasons. Like Leggett (so far), he took Clemson to the College World Series six times.

Aside from all these great ac-complishments there are many intangibles that deem this Hall of Fame induction most appropriate.

Leggett is one of the most respected coaches Clemson has had in any sport. Wil-helm noticed that from the time he coached against Leggett when he was the young leader of the Western Carolina program. In the mid-1980s, in only his mid-30s, Leggett was named to the NCAA Baseball Tourna-ment Committee. You have to be a widely respected coach to be named to that group, regardless of age.

Jack Leggett has a spirit about him. If there was a designated captain of the Clemson head coaching staff, it would be him. When he speaks at a coaches council meeting, the others listen. He is an avid supporter of all sports and there have been many occasions, especially in recent years, when fellow coach-es have gone to him for advice.

It is rare to be inducted into a Hall of Fame while still an active coach. But Jack Leggett deserves it.

Hall of Fame Worthy

by Tim Bourret

Jack Leggett. Photo by Rex Brown, IPTAY Media

m a r c h 2 0 1 3 ❘ 65

WHILE YOU’RE HERE, VISIT OUR

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April 4: Soulfetch featuring Jamie Wright

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orange the expirenece march 2013

Documents

iptay number

iptay officesomething

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t h e e x p e r i e

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new phone number

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