With town support so intense, they actually changed their city name to match the university. Clemson, South Carolina, ranks 13th on our Top 100 College Football Towns of America Countdown.
To celebrate 100 days until the start of the college football season, HERO Sports is counting down the Top 100 FBS College Football Towns in America. Each day, through Aug. 24, a new city will be revealed. We will analyze the city, the program, the good and bad of the city as well as the bottom line. If you got a problem, @me on Twitter.
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13. Clemson, South Carolina — Clemson
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Outside of Alabama, there is no more consistent program the last decade than Clemson. (Photo: Clemson Universtiy Athletics )[/credit]
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The Program
Frank Howard turned Clemson into a national commodity. Danny Ford won a national championship in 1981 and finished in the top 20, nine out 11 years. Despite national relevance and big wins Dabo Swinney still spent the majority of his tenure at Clemson trying to shake the term, "Clemsoning."
After three straight College Football Playoff berths and a national championship in 2016, Clemson has become synonymous with consistent winning and near-dominance in college football. The ACC is its playground. Swinney has coached the Tigers to seven straight double-digit-win seasons, losing just four games the last three years.
This season the Tigers are national championship contenders once again. The preseason coaches poll has them ranked second behind Alabama. As good as Clemson's offense can be, the Tigers may have the greatest defensive line in college football history. Christian Wilkins, Clelin Ferrell, Austin Bryant and Dexter Lawrence could all go in the first round of the upcoming NFL Draft. A fourth straight playoff berth seems almost a given for Swinney and the Tigers.
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The City
While the town itself is home to approximately 14,000 people, 81,500 people show up every Saturday and turn the tiny town into the inside of a shaken up Sunkist soda.
As for the surrounding areas, there's no accident that many of our top college football towns find themselves looking admirably at the Blue Ridge Mountains, and Clemson is no different. Situated at the foothills with Lake Hartwell close by, Clemson has the envious disposition of being both in the country, but a modern 21st-century town.
The university has made sure of that as fantastic restaurants, bars and shops decorate College Avenue. According to National Asset Services, "On average, a Clemson Tigers home football game is responsible for sustaining 198 jobs and producing $10.3 million in total output, $733,000 in net state revenue, and $542,000 in net local government revenue." If it has not been made clear, the town is sustained by the university. It only makes sense that in 1948 the town renamed itself from Calhoun to Clemson.
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The Good
As already mentioned, a game at Death Valley is a regional event. And nothing gets the crowd more ready for a game than the Tigers' tradition of rubbing Howard's Rock on "The HIll." Many former Clemson players have detailed the visceral reaction that comes from rubbing the rock. Its importance defined by 24-hour security during rivalry week against South Carolina.
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The Bad
There is a "secret book" at Cooper Library on the Clemson campus that nearly all who have attended the university sign. Two things: Number one, is it really a secret if everyone knows about it? Two, they already have something that records every Clemson student; it is called the Office of Admissions.
The whole pomp and circumstance of it all comes across like some two-bit failed imitation of some of the Ivy League traditions often played out on television or in the movies. You already have one of the best traditions in college football; stick to that.
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Bottom Line
The town and school are interchangeable, and it is just how the Calhoun officials intended when they changed its city name. The college football is in peak form and you may find no better environment for a Saturday game in 2018 than Clemson, South Carolina. Although with Charlotte and Atlanta both two hours away, it is highly likely, outside of game day, you'll be traveling elsewhere.
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