The history of Clemson Tigers football began in 1896, when Clemson University first fielded a football team. Since 1896, the program has an all-time record of 790–466–44, with a bowl record of 28–22. The program has achieved 3 claimed national titles in 1981, 2016, and 2018.
Walter Riggs, often regarded as the "father of Clemson football," brought the sport to Clemson from the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Alabama (now Auburn University). The team's first game, played on Halloween 1896, resulted in a 2–1 record for the inaugural season. Riggs influenced the choice of the team mascot and colors. The Tigers’ early success included their first undefeated season in 1900 under coach John W. Heisman, who led the team to a 19–3–2 record. Heisman’s coaching set a precedent for excellence and innovation.
During the mid-20th century, the program experienced substantial growth under Frank Howard, who coached from 1940 to 1969. Howard's tenure saw Clemson win two Southern Conference championships and six ACC championships. Known for his colorful personality and imaginative storytelling, Howard integrated various offensive formations. His legacy includes the tradition of rubbing "Howard's Rock" before home games and the naming of the playing field at Memorial Stadium as "Frank Howard Field" in 1974.
The late 20th century and early 21st century saw the football program navigate through challenges and successes under multiple head coaches. Danny Ford led the Tigers to their first national championship in 1981, achieving an undefeated season. Ford's era was marked by NCAA sanctions due to recruiting violations, which impacted the program's reputation and success. Ken Hatfield, Ford’s successor, focused on cleaning up the program's image but faced criticism from fans, leading to his resignation. Subsequent coaches, including Tommy West, struggled to achieve consistent success until the hiring of Tommy Bowden in 1999, who maintained bowl eligibility every season, but failed to secure an ACC championship.
The modern era is defined by the leadership of Dabo Swinney, who became head coach in 2008. Swinney revitalized the program, leading the Tigers to multiple ACC championships and two national titles in 2016 and 2018. His tenure has been characterized by significant achievements, including the establishment of Clemson as a perennial contender in the College Football Playoff. Swinney’s ability to recruit and develop talent, combined with strategic hires like offensive coordinator Chad Morris and defensive coordinator Brent Venables, has sustained Clemson’s success. Notably, under Swinney, Clemson became the first team since 1897 to finish a season 15–0.
History
Early history (1896–1939)
Walter Riggs can be characterized as the "Father of Clemson Football", as he brought the game with him from Agricultural and Mechanical College of Alabama (now Auburn University). The fact that Auburn and Clemson share the same mascot is no accident. Riggs allowed his players to pick the team mascot and, although he may have influenced their decision, the players chose Tigers because Princeton University had just won the national championship. Riggs helped organize and coach the infant Tiger team in 1896. With little money to spend on uniforms, Riggs brought some of Auburn's old practice uniforms with him, which happened to have orange and navy jerseys. Because the jerseys had gone through a few washboard scrubbings, they were quite faded, the navy worse than the orange. So Riggs made the school's predominant color orange and the faded condition of the navy became the purplish color, officially known today as Regalia. The team played as a member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA), the first southern athletics conference.
When the Tigers traveled to Greenville on Halloween to play Furman in their very first match, only Coach Riggs and backfield player Frank Thompkins had ever seen a football game played. Today in Clemson, the soccer field is named Historic Riggs field after Walter Riggs. Riggs took the team to a 2–1 record in the inaugural year. He then stepped aside at the urging of the military cadets/students, who felt that he should concentrate on his scholastic duties rather than coach the team for free. William M. Williams coached the Tigers in 1897, guiding them to a 2–2 record. The team beat South Carolina for the first time and was state champion. In 1898, John Penton led the Tigers to a 3–1 record. In 1899, when the Clemson Athletic Association could not afford a coaching salary, Riggs again took over the reins, one of only two Clemson football coaches to return to the position after stepping down. The 1899 squad went 4–2. Riggs' overall record of 6–3 gives him a .667 winning percentage. After decade as a Mechanical Engineering professor, he was named acting president of Clemson Agricultural College in 1910, being confirmed by the Board of Trustees as permanent president on March 7, 1911. He served until his untimely death on January 22, 1924, while on a trip to Washington, D.C. to meet with officials of other land grant institutions.
Riggs hired John Heisman to coach Clemson. Heisman stayed only four years at Clemson, where he compiled a record of 19–3–2, an .833 percentage, the best in Clemson football history. In four seasons, he had two SIAA titles. In his first season of 1900, he coached the Tigers to their first undefeated season (6–0), and first conference championship, outscoring their opponents 222–10 – the 64–0 win over Davidson on opening day was then the largest score ever made in the South. The season had various other "firsts", including the school's first defeat of the Georgia Bulldogs and the Alabama Crimson Tide. The only close game was with the South Atlantic school VPI. The 1902 team again won the SIAA. This was the first season with both Hope Sadler and Carl Sitton at ends. One writer recalls, "Sitton and Hope Sadler were the finest ends that Clemson ever had perhaps." The only loss on the year was the first to rival South Carolina since 1896.
The 1903 team may have been Heisman's best at Clemson. Following a 73–0 defeat of Georgia Tech in 1903, the Yellow Jackets hired Heisman as their first full-time football coach. Fullback Jock Hanvey rushed for 104 yards in the first half. The account in the Atlanta Constitution read "Hanvey, the Clemson full back, outclassed them all. Time and time again he was sent through the line for gains of 10, 15 and 20 yards, and his tackles were spectacular." After the 1903 season, Clemson tied 11–11 in a game billed as the "SIAA Championship Game."
After Heisman left Clemson to become the head coach at Georgia Tech, Shack Shealy, an end for the Tigers in the 1890s, coached the 1904 team to a 3–3–1 record – the only Clemson graduate ever to serve as head coach of his alma mater. Eddie Cochems, a future innovator of the former pass, had just lost out to Phil King for the Wisconsin job, when he accepted to coach Clemson's 1905 team. The team lost to Vanderbilt and Georgia Tech, but shut out Georgia, Alabama, and Auburn while featuring stars left over from Heisman like Fritz Furtick and Puss Derrick. Bob Williams, who beat Heisman in 1902, came to Clemson in 1906, and also coached the 1909 and 1913 to 1915 teams. The Tigers went undefeated with a 4–0–3 record in 1906, with wins over Georgia, Auburn, Tennessee, and the John Heisman-coached Georgia Tech team. Clemson's first forward pass took place during the game with Tech in Atlanta. Left End Powell Lykes, dropped back to kick, but lobbed a 30-yard pass to George Warren instead. Clemson won, 10–0. The 1909 USC-Clemson was the first game broadcast in the state, by the United Wireless Telegraph Company. William Schilletter starred in 1913 and 1914, and was the son of Augustus "Shorty" Schilletter, a German immigrant in charge of the Clemson College dining hall. Frank Shaughnessy led the 1907 team to a. 4–4 record. Captain Mac McLaurin and R. T. Gaston starred at either tackle position. Vanderbilt legend Stein Stone posted just a 1–6 record in 1908. Captain Sticker Coles was All-Southern. Frank Dobson posted 11–12–1 overall record from 1910 to 1912. Wayne Hart had a 3–6 record in 1916. Washington & Lee's Edward Donahue coached the Tigers to 21–12–3 record over three seasons, from 1917 to 1920. Stumpy Banks scored five touchdowns against Furman in 1917 for a school record. Yen Lightsey starred in 1919 and 1920. Doc Stewart coached the Tigers through the transition from the SIAA to the Southern Conference, with a 6–10–2 record from 1921 to 1922. Bud Saunders led the Tigers to a 10–22–1 record from 1923 to 1926.
Josh Cody coached the Tigers from 1927 to 1930, posting a 29–11–1 record. The Tigers were undefeated at home (13–0–1) and against South Carolina (3–0) during Cody's tenure. In 1927 Cody gave Red Sanders his first coaching job as backfield coach. O. K. Pressley made third-team All-American in 1928. "A better center than Captain O.K. Pressley of Clemson is hard to find," remarked former South Carolina head coach Billy Laval. In May 1929, when rumors were swirling that he might leave to coach a bigger-name program, the students, faculty, and staff took up a collection to buy him a brand new black Buick automobile. Raymond Johnson wrote upon Cody's death: "Josh Cody wanted to be Vanderbilt's coach so bad that he gave up the head man's job at Clemson College after four successful seasons." In 1931, Jess Neely (another McGugin product, and a former head coach at Rhodes College and assistant at Alabama) became Clemson's head football coach. During his tenure, Neely led the Tigers to a 43–35–7 record. His final season at Clemson was the turning point in the Tigers' program. His team went 9–1 during that season, finishing second to Duke in the Southern Conference. The Tigers also received their first bowl invitation and bowl victory that year, defeating nationally ranked Boston College 6–3 in the 1940 Cotton Bowl Classic. The 1939 Tigers finished with a No. 12 ranking in the final AP poll. Clemson also had their first Associated Press All-American that year in Banks McFadden. Jess Neely, along with then athletic director Rupert Fike, founded the IPTAY Scholarship Fund, which supports the Clemson Athletic Department. An acronym for "I Pay Ten A Year," as that was what it asked boosters to donate when founded in 1934, IPTAY has since grown into one of the largest and most comprehensive collegiate sporting funds in the nation and a model for other programs.
Frank Howard era (1940–1969) After Jess Neely left to become the head coach at Rice, his line coach, Frank Howard was named his successor. Known for his colorful persona, and penchant for imaginative language with both probable, and improbable stories, in his 30 years at Clemson, Howard compiled a 165–118–12 record, a 3–3 bowl record, won two Southern Conference championships, and six ACC championships. Seven of Howard's teams finished the year ranked in at least one final poll. During his stay at Clemson, Howard also oversaw the athletic department, ticket sales, and was an assistant coach for the baseball team. He also incorporated the Single Wing, T-formation, and I-formation offenses at different points during his coaching career at Clemson.