Clemson University (IPA: ), is South Carolina's land grant institution. Located in Clemson, South Carolina, the school enrolls 17,110 students from all 50 states and more than 70 countries. . In U.S. News and World Report's 2006 issue of America's Best Colleges, the school ranks 34th among the nation's 162 public doctoral-granting universities. Clemson's engineering program ranks 57th in the country.

Clemson is classified by the Carnegie Foundation as a Doctoral/Research University-Extensive, a category comprising less than 4 percent of all universities in America. Academically, the university is divided into five colleges: Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences; Architecture, Arts and Humanities; Business and Behavioral Science; Engineering and Science; and Health, Education and Human Development. The University's most noted academic programs include those in agriculture, architecture, business, education, engineering, nursing, and textile studies.

History

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Clemson University was founded as The Clemson Agricultural College of South Carolina in 1889, a legacy of Thomas Green Clemson, who willed his Fort Hill plantation home, its surrounding farmlands and forest, and other property to the State of South Carolina to establish a technical and scientific institution for South Carolina. Clemson opened its doors to 446 students as an all-male military college in 1893. Clemson's president since 1999 is James F. Barker, a former dean of the College of Architecture, Arts and Humanities. Its Botanical Garden is the State Botanical Garden of South Carolina. Clemson University is served by Clemson Area Transit.

The university's newest academic endeavor is the Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research (CU-ICAR) a 250 acre automotive and motorsports research campus located in nearby Greenville. CU-ICAR will include a graduate school to open in 2006 with Master's and Doctorate level degrees in automotive engineering, offering programs focused on systems integration. The campus also includes an Information Technology Research Center being developed by BMW Manufacturing Company. BMW, Microsoft, IBM, and Michelin are all corporate partners of CU-ICAR. Private sector companies that have committed so far to establishing offices and/or facilities on the campus include the Society of Automotive Engineers and The Timken Company. Plans for the campus also include a full-scale, four-vehicle capacity rolling-road model wind tunnel.

Athletics

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Clemson's athletic teams play under the nickname of the "Tigers". The mascot and football tradition were imported from Auburn University by future Clemson Agricultural College President Walter Merritt Riggs in 1896. Riggs served two terms as head coach for the Tigers, only one of two Clemson coaches to qualify for this singular honor. Clemson is a member of the NCAA's Division I (I-A for football)and is in the Atlantic Coast Conference (Atlantic Division).

Clemson University fields nineteen athletic teams. In men's sports there are: football, basketball, baseball, soccer, tennis, golf, track and field (indoor and outdoor), cross-country, and swimming and diving. For women's sports, there are: basketball, soccer, tennis, volleyball, track and field (indoor and outdoor), cross-country, swimming and diving, and rowing. One of Clemson's rivalries is the in-state University of South Carolina Gamecocks. The two institutions compete against each other in many sports, with the annual football game receiving the most attention.

Football

Clemson's football team plays its home games at Memorial Stadium, better known as "Death Valley". The Tigers football program is currently the leader among ACC schools for conference championships at 13, in addition to 2 Southern Conference titles. The program has also participated in 28 bowl games over the years, winning 15. The 1981 squad also became the first athletic team in school history to win a National Championship, going 12-0 and finishing the year ranked #1 in the Associated Press and Coaches polls. Some of the most notable coaching names in Clemson football history are John Heisman, Frank Howard (whom the playing field at Death Valley is named after), and Danny Ford. Tommy Bowden is the current head coach for the Tigers.

Clemson's football team also has one of the most unique traditions in all of college football. Before each home game, the team gathers at the top of the hill on the east side of Memorial Stadium, where each player proceeds to rub "Howard's Rock" (which is an imported rock from Death Valley, California that was presented to Frank Howard in 1967) and run down the hill onto the field. This tradition has been dubbed "the most exciting 25 seconds in college football" by sportscaster Brent Musburger.

• Southern Conference Champions - 1940, 1948
• ACC Champions - 1956, 1958, 1959, 1965 (co-champion), 1966, 1967, 1978, 1981, 1982, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1991
• Bowl victories - 1940 Cotton Bowl, '49 Gator Bowl, '51 Orange Bowl, '59 Bluebonnet Bowl, '78 Gator, '82 Orange, '86 Gator, '88 Florida Citrus Bowl, '89 Citrus, '89 Gator, '91 Hall of Fame Bowl, '93 Peach Bowl, 2001 Humanitarian Bowl, 2004 Peach, 2005 Champs Sports Bowl

Basketball

The men's and women's basketball teams play at Littlejohn Coliseum. Accomplishments include:

• Men - 1939 Southern Conference Tournament Champions, 1990 ACC Regular Season Champions, 3 Sweet 16 Appearances, 1980 Elite 8, 1999 NIT Runner-Up
• Women - 1981 ACC Regular Season Champions, 1996 and 1999 ACC Tournament Champions, 4 Sweet 16 Appearances, 1991 Elite 8, 1984 Women's NIT 3rd

Baseball

The baseball program has been another successful program for Clemson athletics and play their home games at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. The team has posted a combined 28 ACC regular season and tournament championships (most in the conference), 31 NCAA Tournament appearances (#6 all-time for most appearances), 19 consecutive NCAA tournament appearances (#3 all-time, still active), 14 NCAA Regional Titles, 2 NCAA Super Regional Titles, and 10 College World Series appearances. Most of the baseball program's success occurred under Bill Wilhelm during his 35 seasons as Clemson's head coach. Jack Leggett has been the Tigers' head coach since 1994.

• ACC Regular Season Champions - 1954, 1958, 1959, 1967, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1995, 2006
• ACC Tournament Champions - 1976, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1994, 2006
• CWS Appearances - 1958, 1959, 1976, 1977, 1980, 1991, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2002, 2006 ^*

Soccer

The men's and women's soccer teams play their home games at historic Riggs Field.

Men's soccer was the second program to ever win a national championship, winning the NCAA Tournament in 1984 and 1987. In their 25 appearances in the NCAA tournament, the teams has garnered a runner-up finish in 1979 and 7 appearances in the Final Four, with the 2005 squad being the most recent team to accomplish that feat. In addition to their NCAA titles, the men's program have won 16 combined ACC regular season and tournament titles, with the last one coming in the 2001 ACC Tournament.

The women's soccer program won the 2000 ACC Regular Season Championship and has participated in the NCAA Tournament every year since the start of the program in 1994.

Other Sports

The Tiger golf team has won 9 ACC titles in the program's history. In 2003, Clemson edged out Oklahoma State to win its first National Championship in golf and the 4th overall for the school. In addition to that victory, Clemson also won the ACC and NCAA East Regional titles, making the Tigers the first program in NCAA history to win its conference, regional, and national championship in the same year. In addition, the 1998 and 2001 teams finished second at the NCAA tournament.

Clemson's track and field teams have combined for 26 ACC Championships (12 men's indoor, 11 men's outdoor, 1 women's indoor, 2 women's outdoor). In addition, the men's indoor track team finished second at the NCAA Championships in 1992 and 1993.

Men's cross-country claimed ACC titles in 1978, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1987, and 1988. The women's team captured the ACC title in 1986.

Men's tennis have garnered 11 ACC titles and made 20 appearances in the NCAA tournament.

Women's tennis have won 7 ACC titles and made 13 appearances in the NCAA tournament. The 2004 and 2005 teams made the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament.

Women's volleyball won the 1997 ACC Tournament and 1999 ACC Regular Season championships.

Men's swimming and diving won the 1986 ACC championship, while the women's team won ACC titles in 1987, 1988, 1989, and 1997.

The other home venues for these sports are: Walker Golf Course, Hoke Sloan Tennis Center, Jervey Gym, Rock Norman Track Complex, and McHugh Natatorium. Women's rowing holds home events on nearby Lake Hartwell.

Military Heritage

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Even though Clemson became a coeducational institution in 1955, the university still has an active military presence to this date. The university is home to detachments for Army and Air Force ROTC. In addition to students from Clemson, these detachments also serve students from Anderson University, Southern Wesleyan University, and Tri County Technical College. These following organizations are present among the two ROTC programs:

• Company C-4 Pershing Rifles
• K-7 Scabbard and Blade
• Clemson Rangers
• Maj. Rudolph Anderson Jr. Squadron Arnold Air Society
• Maj. Dennis H. Satler Chapter Silver Wings
• Tiger Platoon

Clemson's AAS squadron was selected to be home of Arnold Air Society's National Headquarters for the 2005-2006 year.

The C-4 Pershing Rifles have won the national drill meet four times: 1999, 2003, 2004, 2005. Company C-4 also does color guard at home football games.

Notable alumni

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• David Beasley, South Carolina governor (1995-1999)
• George H. Ross, executive vice president and senior counsel of the Trump Organization. He is perhaps best known as one of Donald Trump's two advisors on the NBC reality television program The Apprentice
• Strom Thurmond, United States Senator

External links

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