Clemson University Special Collections and Archives

Today is Clemson's 11th annual Give Day! Join your Clemson Family in supporting multiple initiatives across campus. Consider giving to the Special Collections Acquisitions fund to help us collect, preserve, and make accessible Clemson's cherished history!

https://giveday.clemson.edu/pages/history-initiatives

Tomorrow is Give Day 2026! On Wednesday, April 8, you can help preserve Clemson’s history by donating to the Special Collections Acquisitions Fund.

Donations can be made at the link below. Thank you for your support!

https://giveday.clemson.edu/pages/history-initiatives

Clemson women’s participation in organized athletics predated the establishment of the varsity teams in 1975. In the spring of 1959, just four years after Clemson admitted the first women undergraduate students, the school’s women’s club organized a basketball team.

Because women’s participation in athletics was not widespread at that time, the team was composed of Clemson students, employees, and spouses of male students. Their seven-game schedule included games against experienced textile mill teams, Anderson College, Anderson YMCA, and Daniel High School.

The team faced a lack of funding for uniforms and a place to practice and play home games, but as the short season progressed the team garnered support from the student body and attention in the Tiger student newspaper.

The “Tigerettes” may have finished with a record of 2-5, but their willingness to overcome challenges to organize and compete demonstrated that women’s athletics at Clemson was possible.

Herman McGee became the first African American inductee into the Clemson Athletic Hall of Fame when he was inducted in 1976. McGee served as an athletic trainer from 1934-1980, and his 46-year career is still the longest tenure for a full-time Athletic Department Employee.

McGee served as an assistant athletic trainer from 1934-48, head athletic trainer from 1948-57, equipment manager and assistant athletic trainer from 1958-69, and assistant athletic trainer and head baseball trainer from 1969-80. He also led the Block C Club in an unofficial capacity.

McGee and five other inductees of the fourth class of the Clemson Athletic Hall of Fame were honored at halftime of the football game versus North Carolina on November 6, 1976.

Rev. Jesse Jackson, Greenville native and civil rights leader, passed away today at the age of 84. In September 1988, Jackson visited Clemson University and gave a speech at Tillman Hall Auditorium where he encouraged students to vote in the upcoming presidential election.

The Tiger student newspaper gave a recap of his visit and university photographers were on hand to record the event.

Clemson Special Collections and Archives joins the Clemson Tigers community in remembering the legacy of George Bennett, who passed away on Saturday at the age of 92.

Bennett had an indelible impact on Clemson from the moment he arrived on campus in 1951. He immersed himself in student life and became involved in many organizations. By the time he graduated in 1955 he was head cheerleader, president of Blue Key, and president of the Central Dance Association. In 1954 Bennett donated the cannon that is fired after every Clemson touchdown, a tradition that continues today.

After serving in the Army for two years and working for the ESSO corporation, Bennett returned to Clemson in 1967 as the first ever field representative for the Clemson Alumni Association. In 1971 he became an assistant athletic director and in 1977 he became executive secretary of IPTAY. It was in 1977 when he created the plan to have Clemson fans use $2 dollar bills in Atlanta when they travelled to the city for the Georgia Tech football game. Georgia Tech had indicated they wanted to end the series against Clemson, but Bennett’s idea to flood Atlanta with $2 dollar bills demonstrated the economic impact of keeping Clemson on the schedule.

Bennett left Clemson in 1979 to work for Vanderbilt University, and later, Furman University and Baptist Hospital in Nashville. Bennett returned to Clemson again in 1993 as executive director of IPTAY before retiring in 2004.

A little over fifty years ago, on December 6, 1975, the Clemson Women's Basketball team played their first ever game, a home matchup at Littlejohn Coliseum against Davidson. The Tigers won 55-51.

In their inaugural season the Clemson Tigers finished with a winning record of 14-11 and an invitation to the regionals of the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women Tournament.

For more information on the 1975-76 Women's Basketball team and women's athletics at Clemson, visit the exhibits in the lobby of the 4th floor at Cooper Library and lobby of the 1st floor of the Strom Thurmond Institute Building.

sixty-three years ago the Clemson marching band performs at Georgia Tech stadium.

Series 100: Clemson University Photographs.

The Clemson Tigers' first ever matchup with the Troy Trojans was on September 3, 2011. Clemson won the game 43-19.

Rhodes Engineering Research Center under construction, September 3, 1968. Image taken from Cooper Library. Riggs Hall is in the background. (Series 100: Clemson University Photographs).

The Clemson Tigers and LSU Tigers meet for the fifth time in their history, and first time outside of a bowl or playoff matchup. Clemson and LSU’s first matchup took place in the Sugar Bowl on January 1, 1959. Clemson lost a close 7-0 game, and LSU won their first national championship.

The First Friday Parade takes place on campus today, a tradition that began in 1974. Although there have been changes over the years, from the parade route to sororities now decorating banners instead of floats, Clemson students and organizations continue the original parade’s goal to “build school spirit and give everyone an opportunity to demonstrate their support of the Tiger team."