The impact of the studentathlete wellness programs at Clemson.
16
CLEMSON LEGACY
A young Clemson legacy made a legacydefining kick to secure an ACC title and CFP berth.
20
TEAM ZERO AND BEYOND
Eve Jackson has established herself as a true Clemson Tiger, both on and off the mat.
24
THE FUTURE IS BRIGHT
Clemson Men’s Golf builds on an historic season with an elite 2025 recruiting class.
26
FOLDS OF HONOR: MORE THAN GOLF
Katherine Schuster participated in the Patriot All-America for the fourth time in December 2024.
28
THE CLEMSON JOURNEY
The Tiger Paw, a crucial part of Clemson Assistant Coach Tevin Hester’s story.
Ashby Burton
Kelsey Tibbs
Ben Winterrowd
CO-EDITORS ART DIRECTOR CONTRIBUTORS
Tim
Ashby
Cate
Kelsey Tibbs
Linda
Jonathan
Autumn
Nik
Jeff
Reed
Billy
Ross
30
FROM TEN DOLLARS TO NINETY YEARS
Dr. John Timmerman talks IPTAY’s influential history during the organization’s 90th anniversary.
34
HONORING EXCELLENCE
Nicky McCarter honored as the recipient of the 2024 Bond Distinguished Athletes Award.
40
FOUNDED ON FAMILY
Former Head Coach Nancy Harris shines light on the first fifty years of Clemson Women’s Tennis.
GRIT AND GROWTH
44 Chase Hunter’s passion, perseverance, and historic Clemson career.
48 The South Carolina native is leaving a lasting legacy in the Palmetto State.
HOMETOWN HERO LOYAL MCQUEEN
Orange: The Experience is published four times annually exclusively for donors to the IPTAY Scholarship Fund. A minimum priority contribution is $60, but contributions of all amounts are welcome. To join IPTAY or renew your membership, call 864-656-2115 or log on to ClemsonTigers.com/IPTAY. To advertise in this publication, contact Mike Money by email at mmoney@clemson.edu.
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As we dive into 2025, I’m thrilled to reflect on the incredible success our Tigers have achieved in and out of competition. In December, 39 student-athletes earned their Clemson degrees, a testament to their hard work in the classroom. Clemson continues to lead with a 96% Graduation Success Rate, ranking us among the best public power institutions—a milestone we proudly celebrate.
Additionally, Clemson Athletics set a new department record with a 3.34 cumulative GPA in the fall semester. Over 79% of Clemson student-athletes achieved a 3.0 or higher, and 108 achieved a 4.0. As our Director of Athletics, Graham Neff, always says, “Clemson keeps the main thing the main thing.”
This fall, we witnessed some unforgettable moments: another stellar men’s soccer season and football’s thrilling ACC Championship victory that secured a spot in the College Football Playoff. With winter sports in full swing and spring sports just around the corner, I hope you’ll join us on campus to cheer on our talented student-athletes.
As a reminder, the February 15 IPTAY pledge deadline has just passed.
Meeting your 50% pledge unlocks access to the 2025 Clemson Football ticket and parking application coming this spring. If you missed the deadline, don’t worry—our team is here to help. Please reach out to our office with questions. Your support is critical, and we’re deeply grateful for all you do to uplift our student-athletes.
The rapidly evolving college athletics landscape, including the proposed “House Case” settlement, presents new challenges and opportunities. We have provided updates on Clemson’s stance during this transitional period, and I encourage you to familiarize yourself with these updates and FAQs found below.
IPTAY’s mission to support our student-athletes remains unwavering, as it has for over 90 years. Your contributions to IPTAY—and now, to the 110 Society—are more vital than ever. As announced in November, donations to the 110 Society made between July 1, 2024, and June 30, 2025, earn IPTAY Priority Points.
For the many of you who have already contributed to the 110 Society, thank you for your commitment during this transitional time. If you haven’t
yet, I encourage you to join us in strengthening Clemson’s future. Have questions? Reach out to our office— we’re here to support you every step of the way and answer any questions you may have about the impacts of your gift.
Clemson’s legacy of excellence thrives because of dedicated supporters like you. On behalf of IPTAY, our studentathletes, and Clemson Athletics, thank you for being an integral part of our success. What we do is not possible without each of you.
As always, GO TIGERS!
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MOMENT IN CLEMSON HISTORY
On March 12, 1982, Clemson’s Barbara KennedyDixon scores the first-ever points in the inaugural NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament when the Tigers played Penn State.
TIGER LETTERWINNERS
BY: TIM BOURRET
SPOTLIGHT
Former Clemson Hall of Fame
Women’s Basketball Coach Jim Davis has had countless former players go into various levels of the coaching profession. One currently serving as a head coach at a Power 6 Conference basketball school is Erin Batth.
Batth is in her second year as head coach at Providence College in Rhode Island, a member of the Big East Conference. The 2023-24 season was a successful first year for Batth as a head coach after serving 17 years in various capacities with Division I programs nationwide. She took Providence to the Women’s National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) in her first season.
“It is not a surprise that Erin Batth has gone into coaching and has had a successful run,” said Jim Davis, who recruited and coached Batth for four years at Clemson. “She was very studious as a player in the game and has been involved in the technical aspect since she was a freshman.”
“Erin was a big reason for our success because she was the toughest post player I ever coached. We fronted the post most of the time, and she would get hit in the nose or the mouth when battling for position, and she would get right back out there.”
“Erin has served her time as director of basketball operations, an assistant coach and now the head coach of a Division I program. She is brilliant and has a great personality when it comes to recruiting.”
For Batth, a fascinating basketball journey started as a player at Clemson in 1997. She earned second-team Defensive All-America honors twice and was a second-team All-ACC selection.
Clemson went to the NCAA Tournament and won at least one tournament game all four years (199798 through 2000-01). The Tigers finished in the final top 25 in three of her four seasons. Clemson won the ACC Championship in 1999, one of just two league championships in Clemson Women’s Basketball history.
As a senior, Batth averaged 12.1 points and 8.7 rebounds per game. She finished her impressive four-years with 972 points, 722 rebounds, and 116 blocked shots.
Off the court, Batth served as Clemson’s representative to the ACC Student-Athlete Academic Board, the NCAA Student-Athlete Advisory Board, and was a Clemson Minority Council representative. She received the 2001 ACC “Top Six” Community Service Award, which she shared with current Clemson Defensive Line Coach Nick Eason.
“I learned so much from Coach Davis. I still use some of his crazy oneliners when I talk to our team,” Batth laughed. “He was a great, tough coach, but he taught me so much about the profession.”
“I still talk to him today; we talked over the Christmas holiday.”
Batth was the first player from Clemson drafted into the WNBA,
going to the Cleveland Rockers in 2001. She played professionally with Panathinaikos, Apollon (in Greece), and Migros (in Turkey). Her WNBA experience also included time with the San Antonio Silver Stars and the Sacramento Monarchs.
Batth began her coaching career as an assistant coach at Virginia Commonwealth in 2004-05. “I was fortunate that my best friend, Julia Huddleston, was an assistant coach at VCU, and they needed an assistant to coach post players,” said Batth. “That is how I got my start.”
After a stint in administration with the NBA’s Sacramento Kings and WNBA’s Sacramento Monarchs, she returned to college basketball at the University of Virginia as director of basketball operations for Hall of Fame Coach Debbie Ryan, a position she served for three years.
Batth returned to the sidelines as an assistant coach at Towson between 2010-12, then served in the same capacity at Tennessee Tech in 201214 and Georgia State in 2014-17. She started at Liberty University in 201718, working under former Clemson assistant Carey Green, her position coach at Clemson.
That experience led her to the NC State program, where she helped the Pack to three straight ACC Tournament Championships and four NCAA Tournaments, including an Elite Eight in 2022. That team won 32 games and finished third in the final AP poll.
The University of Michigan came calling in 2022. As assistant coach and recruiting coordinator, she helped the Wolverines to the NCAA Tournament and earned a 23-10 record.
Providence then called.
“I have been fortunate to work under some great coaches and at great programs. It has been good to work at different programs at different conferences.”
“I have been blessed, and it all started at Clemson because I had a great experience with the coaches and my teammates, some of my closest friends today.”
“I will always be a Tiger through and through.”
CREATE YOUR NEW Tiger Tradition
Owning a condo at Lakeside Lodge Clemson is like owning your own piece of Clemson. It’s here for you on every game day, graduation, reunion, or when you just need a break from everyday life.
When you can’t be here, rent your condo to other fans and offset the cost of ownership through our hotel management rental program. When you are here, you’ll be just 2 miles from campus, on the lake, and have access to some of the best amenities of a luxury resort, including our restaurant and bar, Traditions on the Lake.
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BEYOND THE GAME
BY: CATE DARLING
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL | JUNIOR | ALPHARETTA, GA MIA MOORE
WHEN DID YOU FALL IN LOVE WITH THE GAME OF BASKETBALL, AND WHY DO YOU LOVE IT?
MM: I played basketball starting at six or seven but probably didn’t fall in love with it until middle school. My dad played basketball, so he was in my ear a lot. My first sport was track growing up. I did the pentathlon and got a gold medal at the Junior Olympics. My mom ran track, so she was kind of mad that I picked basketball as my first sport, but my dad was happy. I like that it’s a team sport and being able to play with other people, sharing the ball, and the excitement that comes with it.
YOU HAD A GREAT SEASON LAST YEAR, AVERAGING JUST OVER 15 PPG. WHAT DREW YOU TO CLEMSON’S PROGRAM?
MM: Poppie recruited me since seventh or eighth grade, and he’s always been one of those people you just get drawn to. He’s positive and outgoing, and he’s a family guy. So, I knew that I had to
be coached under him one of these years, because he wants me to reach my full potential. So I was like, why not give it a shot? Also, the atmosphere of Clemson. My neighbor went to Clemson, so I came up here for a few games. I loved the atmosphere, how the culture here is very family-based, and that the community is involved in the school. So, I was just excited to be a part of something that’s family-like.
WHAT IS SOMETHING COACH POPPIE HAS SAID THAT HAS STUCK WITH YOU?
MM: To not settle. That’s one of his biggest things. Even though we’re having success right now, people are still doubting us. We can’t be steady or happy with the outcomes we have gotten so far. We just have to keep going and keep thinking that we haven’t done anything yet because we still have a long way to go. Although people are starting to see that we’re a special team, we just have to keep going.
WHAT ARE SOME OF THE KEYS TO SUCCESS BOTH INDIVIDUALLY AND AS A TEAM THIS SEASON?
MM: For me, being more physical and aggressive. It’s being aggressive and not settling on both ends of the court, offense and defense. As a team, sticking together and playing team basketball, not letting one person do everything. We all need each other, and we can’t win without each other. So, sticking together, paying attention, and focusing on the little things. That’s what makes us successful.
WHAT ARE SOME THINGS YOU LIKE TO DO FOR FUN?
MM: I like to cook. Over the summer, before things started happening back to back, I would cook more. I also enjoy hanging out with friends, family, and my dog. I like to chill and watch Netflix. I like the show The Ultimatum.
BALANCING PERFORMANCE & WELLNESS
The impact of the student-athlete wellness programs at Clemson.
BY: GABE SMITH
Becoming a student-athlete is a dream for many, and while it is a privilege in many aspects, there is a weight of expectations that often create unseen struggles. At Clemson, wellness isn’t just seen as physical health, it also ensures that student-athletes thrive emotionally and mentally. Insert Logan Hartnell, Clemson Athletics’ Director of Student-Athlete Wellness. Dr Hartnell has a mission to redefine how mental health and performance are viewed and addressed within athletics. His team is dedicated to providing holistic support beyond traditional approaches. “Our goal is to create a space where studentathletes feel valued as people first, not just performers,” he explains.
BREAKING THE STIGMA OF MENTAL HEALTH
Amidst the misconceptions surrounding mental health and sports, there is innovative work within Clemson Athletics under Dr. Hartnell’s leadership (with a team comprised
Waiting until things are at their worst is exactly what we want to prevent. Addressing concerns early or even taking the time to reflect can lead to better outcomes and greater self-awareness.
“
of Cassidy Boyle, Megan Cato, and Sabrina Gomez Souffront), with creative ways of equipping student-athletes for success both on and, more importantly, off the field. Breaking the stigma of mental health and athletics is one of the most significant barriers to studentathletes reaching out for help. Dr. Hartnell acknowledges this challenge head-on. “A common misconception is that mental health resources are only for people who are struggling or in crisis,” he explains. “But the truth is, nothing must be ‘wrong’ for someone to benefit from mental performance work.” Dr. Hartnell and his team have spent countless hours combating the misconception and normalizing conversations about mental health within athletics. By promoting open dialog, they are fostering an environment of seeking support, which is viewed as a sign of strength rather than weakness. “We often hear people say, ‘It’s not bad enough yet’ or ‘I don’t need help,” he noted. “But waiting until things are at their worst is exactly what we want to prevent. Addressing concerns early or even taking the time to reflect can lead to better outcomes and greater self-awareness.
SHIFTING THE NARRATIVE IN ATHLETICS
In today’s world of college athletics, it is imperative to shift this perception as the high-pressure environment that student-athletes are being exposed to daily is often predicated on physical toughness and performance above all else. “There’s this narrative that this generation of student-athletes is weaker because they’re more open about their
mental health,” Dr. Hartnell explains. “But I’d argue the opposite. They’re more self-aware and have access to resources that previous generations didn’t. If those resources had been available 30 or 40 years ago, I’m confident they would have been just as utilized.”
PROMOTING RELATIONSHIPS AND SUPPORT
Clemson’s mental health team is actively working to break down the stereotypes through visibility and education. This could come through informal conversations, educational workshops, or initiatives like whiteboard prompts in common areas to spark dialogue. The goal is to create opportunities for connections. “It’s about relationships,” Dr. Hartnell says. “When student-athletes see us as approachable and invest in their wellbeing, they’re more likely to engage with our resources.” This approach of being proactive not only benefits individual student-athletes but also enhances team dynamics and overall performance. As Dr. Hartnell pointed out, “When student-athletes feel like their authentic selves, when they feel connected to their values and identity, they show up differently. They perform better, communicate more effectively, and find greater meaning in their experiences.”
A HOLISTIC APPROACH TO WELLNESS
Clemson Athletics’ approach to student-athlete wellness extends far beyond just mental health. Dr. Hartnell’s team takes a holistic approach encompassing mental performance, physical recovery, and
overall well-being. “Our mission is to ensure that our student-athletes thrive not just in competition but in life,” he says. This unique approach is evident in Clemson’s innovative resources, such as recovery spaces and performance training opportunities available to student-athletes. “The float tank is a great example,” Dr. Hartnell noted. “It’s not just about physical recovery, it’s about giving student-athletes the space to pause, reflect, and decompress from the pressure that they face daily. For an hour, they can step away from their responsibilities and reset.” Dr. Hartnell highlights that these resources are not only for student-athletes experiencing challenges. “We encourage everyone to use them, whether they feel stressed or not,” he states. “It’s about optimizing their well-being and helping them feel more like themselves.”
State-of-the-art facilities like the Athlete Recovery Center (ARC) play a key role in this. By allowing studentathletes to focus on techniques like mindfulness, visualization, and goal setting, student-athletes can equip themselves with the tools to enhance focus and resilience. “These skills aren’t just for competition,” Hartnell emphasizes. “They translate into everyday life, preparing our studentathletes for success long after their playing days are over.” Integrating this piece of mental performance and recovery, it underscores Clemson’s commitment to addressing the unique challenges of the modern studentathlete. Social media, for example, is
a dual-edged sword that can amplify connection and comparison. Our student-athletes are under a microscope in ways that didn’t exist decades ago,” Hartnell argues. “Even something as simple as logging off social media for mental clarity isn’t always an option when NIL deals and branding depend on staying plugged in.”
FINDING BALANCE FOR SUCCESS
Despite these modern challenges, Clemson Athletics remained steadfast in its dedication to providing a supportive environment. “At the core of it all, our resources are about helping student-athletes find balance,” Hartnell says. “When they’re supported physically, mentally, and emotionally, they’re better equipped to handle whatever comes their way.” With initiatives like these, Clemson is setting a new standard for how collegiate student-athlete programs can prioritize
wellness. Dr. Hartnell and his team are proving that success isn’t just about winning championships in competition, it’s about cultivating healthy, wellrounded individuals who are prepared to excel in all areas of life.
THE IMPORTANCE OF IPTAY IN SUPPORTING STUDENT-ATHLETE WELLNESS
Your support of IPTAY provides Clemson student-athletes with these transformative resources, including unrivaled facilities and mental performance services. Thanks to your continued support, Clemson Athletics can raise the standard for holistic wellness while also preparing studentathletes to thrive far beyond their time in college sports. Clemson’s focus on performance and wellness highlights how the generous contributions of more than 22,000 IPTAY members continue to make a impact on our studentathletes.
Former Clemson Co-Offensive Coordinator Jeff Scott, known for his success with the Tigers’ 2016 and 2018 National Championships, is making a new play—this time in the world of custom home building. His new venture, Haven Valley, is a custom home building company in the Upstate of South Carolina. Scott has now joined forces with Jim Anthony as a featured builder at Longview Carolina, Anthony’s latest visionary development.
Jim Anthony, who has developed over 30,000 acres including the iconic Cliffs Communities and partnered in Riverstead, brings his expertise to Longview Carolina—a 180-acre gated agrihood. Located just minutes from downtown Easley and 20 minutes from both Clemson and Greenville, the community offers spectacular 360-degree panoramic views from Georgia to North Carolina.
Residents of Longview Carolina enjoy a blend of nature and modern amenities, including pickleball courts, a swimming pool, over 2 miles of hiking and biking trails, and a mountain top facility with breathtaking vistas. The community will also feature a working organic farm, providing fresh produce through a CSA program.
Scott is constructing a model home in Longview Carolina, showcasing Haven Valley’s dedication to quality and integrity. This collaboration with Anthony underscores their shared vision of creating exceptional living experiences. With Anthony’s rich background, including collaborations with golf legends and designers like Tom Jackson, Ben Wright, Jack Nicklaus, Tom Fazio, Gary Player, and Tiger Woods, Longview Carolina is set to be a premier destination for those seeking a vibrant, connected lifestyle.
Discover what it means to live “Worlds Apart, Yet Minutes Away” at Longview Carolina, where the best of nature and modern living converge.
SCAN ME
L: Jeff Scott, Former Clemson Co-Offensive Coordinator R: Jim Anthony, Luxury Developer and Conversationalist
Family walking 2+ miles of trails
Enjoying an evening social on the Mountain Top patio space
CLEMSON LEGACY
A young Clemson legacy made a legacy-defining kick to secure an ACC title and send Clemson to its seventh College Football Playoff.
BY: ROSS TAYLOR
It’d be easy to dismiss saying Nolan Hauser was born for this.
The words admittedly feel a bit melodramatic or histrionic.
Yet, on Dec. 7, 2024, the hopes of Clemson Football’s 22nd ACC title, its 28th overall conference championship and its seventh all-time College Football Playoff berth rested on the right foot of the 19-year-old son of two former Clemson athletes. And with one kick covering 56 yards, the Clemson legacy from an often-mispronounced
family created his own Clemson legacy and made an entire sport learn his name in giving the Tigers a dramatic 34-31 win against No. 8 SMU in the ACC Championship Game in Charlotte.
To those watching the television broadcast on ABC, the moment sounded like this roughly 12 minutes before midnight:
“One of the great high school kickers in the history of the United States. It’ll be a 56-yarder, the wind really not a factor. Snap and hold are good.
That one is … GOOD! At the buzzer! Clemson wins the ACC!” bellowed playby-play announcer Sean McDonough.
“Just an absolute ROCKET off the foot of Hauser,” added analyst Greg McElroy once the extended roar of the crowd finally began to settle about a full minute later.
Beyond just the magnitude and stakes of Hauser’s walk-off gamewinner, the moment became buzzworthy for another reason. Video from the ABC broadcast showed Hauser (pronounced “HOO-zer”) winking at Clemson Head Coach Dabo Swinney just before the kick, and the wink quickly went viral on social media. The college football world then became privy to the atypical confidence of Clemson’s precocious, true freshman.
That level of confidence and swagger was apparent to those inside the program from the first few days of Hauser’s tenure. As a midyear enrollee, he arrived at Clemson in December 2023 in advance of his first semester in January, making him eligible to travel with the team to the 2023 TaxSlayer Gator Bowl and practice with the squad in a limited capacity during its bowl preparation.
During one practice at the Jacksonville Jaguars’ indoor facility, Swinney called on Hauser out of the blue and lined him up to test his mettle by simulating a game-winning field goal. Hauser and his fellow specialists had already changed shoes and prepared to load the bus, believing their portion of practice was over, but Hauser scrambled to put his cleats back on and trotted out for his first actual test in front of his new teammates.
Defensive end T.J. Parker tells the story the best.
“When I first met Nolan in Jacksonville for the Gator Bowl, we had lined up like a 55-yarder. I said, ‘Bro, you’re going to miss this. You’re from high school,’” Parker recounted after the ACC Championship Game. “He looked me dead in my eyes and said, ‘I can make this [kick] with my eyes closed.’
“He kicked it, and it could have went from about 60. So, the confidence in him is through the roof. That’s what you need in a kicker - to go out there and make game-winning kicks like that, man. It definitely won’t be his last.”
After the ACC Championship Game, Hauser was asked specifically about what led to his viral wink against SMU.
“Coach Swinney looked at me, and he said, ‘Put the ball through,’ and I went, ‘You know it,’” Hauser said while mimicking his nod. “You’ve got to go in with that confidence.”
In September 2024, ClemsonWorld’s Davis Potter published an article entitled “Generational Goals” that highlighted the multi-generational impact of the overlap of the Hauser Family and the Clemson Family. (The full article has been re-published in full on pages 1819 courtesy of ClemsonWorld).
“ ”
“Coach Swinney looked at me, and he said, ‘Put the ball through,’ and I went, ‘You know it.’”
Nolan’s mother, Sheri Hauser (née Bueter), was an All-American soccer player at Clemson and Clemson Athletic Hall of Famer from 1994-97, and his father, Scott,played baseball at Clemson from 1995-97 and went 6-2 as a pitcher on Clemson’s College World Series team of 1996. Nolan’s sister, Ella, was a member of Clemson’s women’s soccer team that earned the program’s first College Cup appearance in 2023.
Just 20 miles from his hometown of Cornelius, N.C., Hauser’s family and friends were in attendance as he nailed the first walk-off field goal of 50 or more yards in a conference championship game since conference title games were created in 1992. The three-point win moved Clemson to 40-12 in one-possession games since 2011, and Clemson’s 76.9 percent winning percentage in one-score games is nearly 10 percent better than any other school nationally in that span.
“We’ve won a bunch of close games over the years,” Swinney said. “I always tell our guys we’re built for that. But that one was pretty special.”
Hauser’s walk-off field goal was Clemson’s first since Chandler Catanzaro’s 37-yarder beat LSU in the 2012 Chick-fil-A Bowl. But for as much
as Catanzaro’s walk-off holds a place in Swinney’s heart as a seminal steppingstone win of his tenure (a panoramic of that kick in fact hangs in his office directly across from his desk), Swinney had to give a nod to Hauser’s kick as one of the most impactful in Clemson history.
“[Catanzaro’s kick] was awesome, but that won a bowl game. That was a huge win for us, but this was to win the league. This was to go to the playoff,” Swinney said. “It was massive, and it was a freshman kicker in his hometown.”
Hauser’s moment came with all the spoils: an ACC title, a College Football Playoff berth, an interview on ESPN’s SportsCenter and the adulation of a fan base and sport. But there was one fringe benefit: the nation now knew the name of a family with deep Clemson roots.
“I’d say 99.9 percent of the time, it’s HOW-zer,” Hauser said on ACC Network’s ACC PM, recounting how most people pronounce his name. “Then someone will come up and say Nolan HOO-zer, and it’s like, ‘Oh? You got it!’”
GENERATIONAL GOALS
Former soccer star’s daughter is having her own historic Clemson experience.
BY: DAVIS POTTER
The bright blue eyes and long blonde hair are telltale signs of their kinship.
Sheri Bueter Hauser said it’s not uncommon to get a phone call from her oldest child, Ella, with a story about how even strangers in the Clemson area can’t help but notice the resemblance.
“You have to be Sheri Bueter’s daughter,” they’ll say to Ella.
In the mid-1990s, Sheri was a recognizable force for Clemson
Women’s Soccer. Ella has followed in her footsteps.
A senior midfielder, Ella is going through the final season of what’s been a historic experience as a member of the women’s soccer program. Ella contributed to a 2023 season that saw Clemson make its first-ever appearance in the Women’s College Cup, soccer’s version of the Final Four.
“It was an experience like no other,” Ella says.
Sheri was the one making history three decades earlier.
Women’s soccer was introduced as a varsity sport at Clemson in 1994, the same year Sheri became a member of the inaugural team. Growing up near Cincinnati, Ohio, Sheri was heavily recruited by the University of Cincinnati, the Ohio State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, to name a few. She hadn’t heard of Clemson at the time.
As fate would have it, the coach Clemson hired to start the program, Tracey Leone, helped coach Sheri in an Olympic developmental program. That relationship, combined with the desire to be a part of something new, lured Sheri to the Upstate.
“That was just exciting, trying to be that team that came in at a ground level that nobody had any expectation or really hope for,” Sheri says.
Sheri started on four NCAA Tournament teams, including Clemson’s inaugural Elite Eight team in 1997. She was a three-time all-ACC Tournament first-team selection, the first player in the program to pull off that feat.
She went on to play for the U.S. women’s national team in 1998, but her fondest athletic memories are from Clemson. She was inducted into the Clemson Athletic Hall of Fame in 2009, which she calls “one of my biggest badges I like to wear,” and still holds the program record for assists in a career (40) and season (t-13).
“To think about how my coaches kind of built that team around my ability to distribute the ball and how successful I
was in that, that is another thing that I really am proud of,” Sheri says.
The game has come full circle for mother and daughter. And while they may share some physical traits and school colors, there are some differences between the two.
“I’m more of a defensive-minded player, and she was more an attackingminded player,” Ella says. “It’s kind of funny because she had all the speed. I got the endurance from my dad.”
ALL IN THE FAMILY
Sheri and Ella aren’t the only members of the Hauser clan with Clemson ties.
While in school, Sheri met her husband, Scott Hauser ’98, a pitcher for then-baseball coach Jack Leggett’s teams. A native of Mount Airy, North Carolina, Scott earned a scholarship offer from Clemson after Leggett scouted one of his high school games.
“It was kind of meant to be one of those things,” Scott says.
The couple’s middle child, Nolan ’28, is the latest addition to the Clemson Family. He’s a freshman kicker on the football team.
Clemson’s game day atmosphere initially piqued Nolan’s interest, and the family culture coach Dabo Swinney has instilled in the football program ultimately sold him on his parents’ alma mater.
“(My family) is 2 1/2 hours away,” Nolan says. “They can come to a practice whenever they want. You can’t do that everywhere. I think that’s a really important decision of why I picked Clemson.”
Ironically — and perhaps fittingly — family has helped continue a proud Clemson legacy that’s formed naturally for the Hausers.
“You’re a member of something, and a lot of people aren’t proud to talk about or make (their alma mater) a point of conversation,” Scott says. “But when you’re from Clemson, you talk about being from Clemson and going to Clemson.”
Davis Potter is an Associate Editor of ClemsonWorld. This story originally appeared in the Fall 2024 issue of the magazine.
BY: CHANDLER SIMPSON
TEAM ZERO AND BEYOND
Eve Jackson came from Utah State to Clemson and has established herself as a true Clemson Tiger, both on and off the mat.
When the 2022 Mountain Rim Gymnastics Conference Champion Utah State Gymnastics team sat down at their team banquet, Eve Jackson had no idea how much her life was about to change.
“We were at our banquet; we had just won a (conference) championship, and everyone was so excited,” said Jackson, who had just completed her sophomore season. “Then Coach Amy just drops this news - she’s leaving and taking another job…at Clemson…and Erik [Lewis] is going with her.”
“We all looked around in shock. Like, what is going on?”
And then, for Jackson and her teammates, a little bit of panic set in. They had five days to decide if they wanted to enter the transfer portal.
“Transferring had never been a ‘normal’ thing in gymnastics. No one ever really did it, it just wasn’t a thing. So, when I told my advisors I thought I wanted to go in the portal, their response was just ‘...what?’”
“I didn’t want to stay at Utah State without Amy,” Jackson recalled. “I’ve known her since I was eight - she coached at my club gym.” She loved Utah State but wouldn’t love it without Amy Smith.
So, Jackson made what she called “the first big decision I’ve ever made completely on my own” and entered the transfer portal. “I didn’t even tell my mom,” she recalled. Her phone rang almost immediately.
It was Erik Lewis.
“He called, like, right away and said, ‘Hey, we’d love to have you with us. Do you want to come on a visit to Clemson?’ and my answer was yes.”
Jackson and some of her Utah State teammates who had also entered the transfer portal had all spread out across the country to their respective homes. They kept Lewis’s phone calls
to themselves, which led to a surprise reunion when they all showed up in Clemson for their official visit.
“I got off the plane and saw Molly [Arnold], Brie [Clark], Rebecca [Wells], Kielyn [McCright] and Trinity [Brown] and was like, ‘Wait, what are you girls doing here?’,” said Jackson.
They all committed to Clemson on the same night. The Clemson Gymnastics program was starting to take shape.
For the program’s first year, the Tigers didn’t officially compete, and Team Zero spent the year driving between Easley Gymnastics and Electric City Gymnastics (Anderson) for practice. With the addition of freshman Lilly Lippeatt, seven girls made up “Team Zero.”
“I would say for the first year, those practices were pretty different,” Jackson said. “We only had seven girls in the gym, but it was also kind of intimate because we were building a foundation and acting like a family.”
During the Team Zero year, Jackson also established her role off the mat at Clemson. She was a Paw Pal in her first fall at Clemson - a weekly mentor with a student at Ravenel Elementary and was a part of the 2022-23 POWER: Women’s Leadership Academy cohort.
“Being a part of POWER was so fun,” said Jackson. “It was truly so fun to get to know my fellow student-athletes that I might not otherwise have gotten to know.”
The 2023 cohort, of which Jackson was a part, got to take a five-day trip to Chicago to meet with some of the city’s biggest brands and most influential figures for a one-of-a-kind professional development experience.
“My biggest takeaway from POWER was finding your voice,” she said. “You may not have the loudest voice or be good at public speaking, but it’s the smaller things like talking to your
“
I didn’t want to stay at Utah State without Amy ... I’ve known her since I was eight - she coached at my club gym.
“
teammates individually and making sure that your team is ok from the inside. I’m not one of those super vocal people on my team that some of the other girls are, and we need them, but I get to know the girls individually on a personal level. POWER has enabled me to want and learn how to do that.”
“I’m sort of an anxious person, and I think now that I’ve gone through POWER, I would tell my younger self to take a chill pill and not be scared and to voice your opinions when you have them.
“I’m grateful for POWER and how it’s changed me and made me become more of a leader.”
“That was one of the coolest experiences ever,” she said. “I got to be on set at different shows and worked with the Women’s World Cup and the men’s CONCACAF Gold Cup. I got to meet Stu Holden (Clemson men’s soccer, 2003-04), Alexi Lalas, and Landon Donovan while I was handing them their shot sheets.”
“I also got cookies and lunch for them, normal intern things. But being on set, in that environment, was so cool. I definitely want to do something in the entertainment/sports industry once I finish Clemson.”
Jackson was able to parlay that into another internship in the fall, working
In the summer of 2023, Jackson scored an internship with Fox Sports in their production and talent development department.
again with Fox and for the Atlanta Falcons and Carolina Panthers.
“I got to be at those games every Sunday,” she said. “I was shadowing the sideline reporter, which was very cool. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and I’m so thankful I was able to do that and have that opportunity. Not many people get those opportunities, especially being an athlete, because gymnastics takes up a lot of your time.”
While she was balancing school and an internship in the fall of 2023, Clemson Gymnastics’ second season as a program began, but this one was different. This was the first season of competition — Team One
Jackson would play a critical role for the Tigers as a part of team one, competing in three events at almost every meet, with the potential to
compete as an all-around. The Tigers were still driving back and forth for practices until October when Clemson’s brand-new, 21,000-square-foot facility home for day-to-day operations and a full practice facility finally opened.
“When we realized the gym wasn’t quite going to be ready for the start of the school year, there were a lot of ‘what ifs’ and ‘how will this work’ running through my mind, but we had waited this long, what was another two months,” Jackson said.
When the facility opened, it was a game-changer for the program. No more one-hour round trip drives to and from practice, no more split practices, it was time for the team to be together, on campus, all the time.
Just in time, too, because the first meet was coming.
Jackson and the Tigers put together an incredible first season, winning three of their first four meets. One of her best meets of the season came when she returned to Los Angeles for the Tigers’ meet against UCLA. In front of her family, including her uncle, former Philadelphia Eagles wide reciever DeSean Jackson, Eve set a career-high on vault with a 9.900 and turned in a dynamic floor routine for a career-high 9.925 score.
“It was absolutely incredible to have him there,” she said. “He’s so busy, but for him to be able to come and see what I do in person really meant a lot to me. Having my entire family there was very, very cool.”
Clemson earned a spot in the NCAA tournament, eventually falling to Iowa State, but Jackson and Team One had cemented themselves in Clemson history.
The rest of the spring semester was busy for Eve, as she was afforded the opportunity through Student-Athlete Development to participate in a microinternship at Def Jam Records in New York City while preparing for graduation. Jackson shadowed four departments and helped create marketing plans and activations for various projects.
“I got to work with some of their older artists and some of their upcoming artists,” said Jackson. “I made marketing plans and activations for them, and that was incredible. I got to work with artists whose music hasn’t been released yet, so we were the first to hear it, which was just really, really cool.”
Eve graduated from Clemson in May of 2024 with an undergraduate degree in communications but decided her collegiate gymnastics career wasn’t finished yet. She and teammate Rebecca Wells announced that they were returning for another year.
This fall, Eve continued to show what it means to be a student-athlete, with her class/internship schedule working so that she had to practice separately from the rest of her team. All her hard work is paying off, however, because at the time of this writing, Eve is ranked No. 2 in the ACC on the uneven bars.
When her Clemson career is over, Eve Jackson will leave with two degrees, multiple internships completed, and many memories as a Tiger, but most importantly, she will leave with the distinction of being one of the founding members of the Clemson Gymnastics program.
BY: TIM BOURRET & BEN WINTERROWD
The Clemson Men’s Golf program had a standout 2023-24 season.
Jordan Byrd’s Tigers won the NCAA Chapel Hill Regional, marking the program’s first Regional Championship in 20 years, captured two tournaments, and finished 22nd at the NCAA National Tournament.
Optimism surrounds the program as it moves forward. This year, two freshmen, Rich Wills and Colin Salema, were integral to the starting lineup. In November, Byrd secured a unanimous Top 10 recruiting class, including one of the nation’s top junior players, someone Byrd has observed closely since birth.
Wills and Salema competed in all five tournaments this fall. Wills posted a 72.42 stroke average across 12 stroke-
THE FUTURE IS BRIGHT
Clemson Men’s Golf builds on an historic season with promising freshmen and an elite 2025 recruiting class.
play rounds, while Salema closely followed with a 73.08 average over the same number of rounds.
Wills’ fall season highlights included a 2-0-1 record at the Barbara Nicklaus Match Play at Muirfield Village in Dublin, Ohio. He followed that with strong finishes at the Golf Club of Georgia (20th place) and the Steelwood Collegiate, playing his final six rounds of the fall at one-under-par.
Salema tied as the top Tiger at the Valero Texas Collegiate, held at the TPC San Antonio, a course that also hosts the PGA Tour’s Valero Texas Open.
“The lights were not too bright for Rich and Colin this past fall,” said Byrd. “We played one of the toughest schedules in the country, both in terms of competition and golf courses.”
Clemson’s first three tournaments of the year were held at premier venues: Inverness Country Club in Toledo, Ohio, TPC San Antonio, and Muirfield Village. Each course has hosted PGA Tour events or significant championships.
“Those are difficult courses, especially Muirfield Village, one of the toughest courses for scoring on the PGA Tour,” Byrd said. “We threw a lot at them, and neither blinked.”
The challenges extended beyond golf. Both freshmen adapted to rigorous academic demands, improved physically, and developed intense pretournament preparation routines.
Byrd expects continued progress from both players in the spring semester. “I told them it’s going to be easier in the spring because everything was new to
them in the fall. Plus, the road trips won’t be as long, and the courses will be easier. Playing three PGA Tour-level courses is tough for any freshman.”
“I believe the future is bright for both of them because they are coachable. They want to learn and have solid allaround games,” Byrd added. “Their approach is important for the program’s future because they’ll set the tone for the freshman class arriving in 2025.”
The incoming 2025 class is ranked in the Top 10 by all major junior golf recruiting services. College Golf Commits ranks the class seventh, Golfweek ninth, and NBC Golf 10th.
The class features Jackson Byrd (Saint Simons Island, Ga./Frederica Academy), Tip Price (Greenville, S.C./Greenville High School), and Samuel Duran (Panama City, Panama/ International School of Panama). All three are set to enroll at Clemson in August 2025 after what promises to be active summers.
“We couldn’t be more excited about the 2025 class that has signed with Clemson,” said Byrd. “These three young men will immediately impact our team and for years to come. All three come from outstanding families that have sacrificed for their children and raised great young men. They are men of character and integrity with high aspirations for their games.”
Jackson Byrd, Coach Byrd’s nephew and son of five-time PGA Tour winner Jonathan Byrd, is ranked among the nation’s top 10 juniors by NBC Golf (5th), Golfweek (6th), and Golf Commits (7th). As a first-team AJGA All-American in 2024, Jackson earned All-America honors for three straight years.
He also brings more international team competition experience to Clemson than any player in program history, having represented the U.S. in the Junior Ryder Cup (Italy), Junior Presidents Cup (Canada), and Toyota Cup (Japan). He was also a member of the East Wyndham Cup Team. These honors were earned through outstanding performances, including a win at The Ping Invitational, a runner-up finish at
the Junior PGA, and third place at the Ralph Lauren Junior Classic.
Byrd won The PING Invitational in October, shooting seven-under-par 209 (69-71-69), his third top-10 finish since November 2023. He earned a spot on the U.S. Junior Ryder Cup team with his runner-up finish at the 2023 Junior PGA Championship. Byrd was also the 2022 GIAA Class 3A4A Individual State Champion and won the 2021 Matt NeSmith Junior Championship.
Another highly touted signee, Tip Price, is from Greenville, S.C. Price has won over 10 high school events, qualified for the U.S. Junior in 2023, and achieved four top-10 finishes in 2023-24, including a win at the Morgan Lucas Championship and third place at the AJGA Will Lowery Championship. He also helped Greenville High School win the county championship last May. Price first gained national recognition in
2018 when he won the Drive, Chip, and Putt competition at Augusta National in the 10-11 age division.
The third member of the class, Samuel Duran, comes to Clemson from Panama, where his father oversees the country’s Korn Ferry Tour event. Former Clemson Golfer Carson Young won the event in 2022.
Duran is Panama’s No. 1-ranked junior golfer and a three-time Central American Junior Champion. He has competed in prestigious events such as the Latin American Amateur Championship and the AJGA Panama Junior, where he finished tied for 10th. Duran recently won his last four junior events in Panama and made the cut at the 2024 Latin American Amateur Championship.
Byrd’s recruiting efforts reflect his vision for the program’s future. “This group’s talent and character will shape Clemson golf for years to come.”
FOLDS OF HONOR: MORE THAN GOLF
Katherine Schuster participated in the Patriot AllAmerica for the fourth time in December 2024, carrying the name of a local hero on her bag.
BY: CHANDLER SIMPSON
The Patriot All-America Invitational takes place annually from December 27-31 at The Wigwam Golf Resort in Litchfield Park, Ariz. It is the combined effort of the Arizona Golf Association, the West Valley Mavericks, the Golf Coaches Association of America, the Women’s Golf Coaches Association and the Wigwam Golf Resort in conjunction with the tournament’s beneficiary, the Folds of Honor Foundation.
This Championship’s unique aspect and foundation is that the players also honor our military heroes. At the
opening ceremony, each golfer receives and carries a commemorative PING golf bag that bears the name, rank and branch of a fallen or wounded hero. All the golfers can also visit Luke Air Force Base, the training center for our nation’s F-16 and F-35 fighter pilots. There, they meet with the General, fighter pilots and crew and tour the base while participating in activities rarely seen by civilians.
The players carry the bag and honor that soldier throughout the week. Upon conclusion, the bags are shipped back to the player’s school, where they
are auctioned off with the proceeds benefiting the Folds of Honor charity.
Clemson senior Katherine Schuster has participated in the Patriot AllAmerica Tournament for four seasons, and you could argue that the 2024 version was the most special. Schuster got to carry the bag with the name “Captain Kimberly N. Hampton” embroidered on the side.
Captain Hampton is a local hero.
Captain Kimberly N. Hampton of Easley, S.C., was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Army in 1998, then rapidly rose through the ranks in the almost all-male bastion of military aviation to command a combat aviation troop. CPT Hampton was assigned to 1st Battalion, 82nd Aviation Battalion, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C. She was killed on Jan. 2, 2004, in Fallujah, Iraq. She was the pilot of a Kiowa, OH-58, Observation Helicopter when it was shot down by enemy ground fire and crashed. She was the first female military pilot in the US to be killed in Iraq.
Schuster’s participation in the Patriot was less about golf and more about the experience of getting to honor the fallen. Carrying the bag of a pilot was extra special for Kat, who is from the birthplace of flight and is working toward a pilot’s license. Schuster finished the tournament at +4, T40.
Schuster penned a letter to CPT Hampton in an Instagram post following the event:
Dear Captain Kimberly Hampton, I had the honor and privilege of carrying your name for your final mission at the 2024 Patriot All America. I truly
hope that you had just as much fun as I did both on and off the golf course. We were able to reconnect with some friendly faces, made a couple of new friends, jammed out to some sweet tunes on a few holes, and we even got to go fishing on a hole…that was fun (haha). There is so much that I wish I could tell you. I just want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart for accompanying me on this beautiful journey. You taught me lessons that I will cherish forever- having courage, passion, grit, and pursuing what you love no matter the outcome. Every year I look forward to competing in the Patriot All America because everything about this tournament holds a very special place in my heart. This event has opened my eyes in many ways over the past 4 years. From the amazing people, the “why,” and the remarkable experiences. During my time at Clemson, I have become very close with a few of your family members. They have become important people in my life, and I would even consider them to be family. I was first
introduced to them by my college coach because of my passion for golf and my love for flying. So, being able to share these experiences with you: carrying your name during my final Patriot All America and bringing your bag back home to South Carolina has truly been an honor, and it makes me so happy. We are blessed to be free because of the brave like you. God Rest your soul. Your Friend, Kat Schuster
The Tigers will now carry a Folds of Honor branded Honor Bag tag throughout the season displaying the number of Folds of Honor scholarships awarded at Clemson since inception. Each number symbolizes the sacrifice made by those who protect our families and freedoms.
Following the season, both the men’s and women’s teams will be auctioning off a new bag and headcovers. The nationwide FOH program gives collegiate golf teams the opportunity to support U.S. military and first responder families.
BY: AUTUMN FROITLAND
THE CLEMSON JOURNEY
The Tiger Paw, a crucial part of former Clemson student-athlete and current Clemson Assistant Coach Tevin Hester’s story.
The Clemson Track & Field program has seen many successful studentathletes secure their names in the history books. From Olympians, National Champions and multi-time All-Americans, it can be challenging to create a legacy that stands out. When looking through the record books, a name stands out as his journey allowed him to place his name with program records and all-time honors. However, the thing that inks his name in history is something that all the others can’t claim. Tevin Hester, the nine-time First Team All-American and seven-time ACC Champion, can now add “Coach” to his historic Clemson journey.
Growing up, Hester played and participated in various sports, but he was the first person in his family to pursue track and field. In high school, Hester shifted away from other sports and began focusing on track. Being from a small town, he didn’t have all the resources that others may have when competing in track, so he often found himself utilizing areas like parking lots to train.
“We didn’t have the resources to be great,” Hester said. “We didn’t have a track, so we would just practice in the parking lot, or when we had the opportunity, we would go to a track at another school in the county. It was a concrete track, so after every run, you would have to change your spikes.”
Despite the struggles, Hester remained focused on track, and when it came time to begin his college journey, he knew that he wanted to continue to run track at the collegiate level. Hester looked at different universities, but Clemson always stood out to him. One of the things that Hester loved the most about Clemson was that the expectation, for every sport, is excellence.
“I just wanted to go to a school conducive to excellence, that standard
of excellence and winning,” Hester said. “All the other schools I visited were like, ‘We have this gear and these nice things,’ but I didn’t really care because I didn’t have those nice things growing up, so I just wanted to be successful.”
With a focus on excellence and a goal of winning, Hester worked hard to make an impact on the Clemson Track & Field program. In addition to being a nine-time First Team All-American and a seven-time ACC Champion, Hester was also named the ACC Indoor and Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year in 2015 and was the ACC Indoor and Outdoor Most Valuable Player in 2015 and 2016.
After graduating from Clemson, Hester went pro for two years but found different challenges when competing at the professional level. Hester found himself back at Clemson to train and was provided an opportunity to be volunteer coach with his former group. From that moment forward, Hester’s entire purpose shifted towards coaching.
Hester spent two and half years coaching at Pittsburgh until he was given the unique opportunity to come home to Clemson.
“I ended up accepting a position here once Coach Elliott called me and the rest is history,” Hester said. “I feel like I am meant to be in this position, and it is my purpose to be able to lead people and see their full potential. [Clemson] is a place where I have been successful as a student-athlete and now as a coach. I can visualize everything that needs to happen because I feel like I have already been through it, and I am a product of it.”
Now entering his second coaching season at Clemson, Hester has already seen success from his group on the track as he led athletes to be crowned
ACC Champions and be named AllAmericans. Hester also witnessed one of his current athletes, junior Aleksandra Stoilova, be named to the Olympic Team for Australia as she went to Paris for the Olympic Games this past summer.
Being a former Clemson studentathlete, Hester has seen Clemson Athletics grow and develop as new teams have been welcomed and exciting new facilities have been built to better enhance the development and success of each athlete. The track and field facility has also changed since Hester ran at Clemson, as the facility now has a banked track, which was not installed until after Hester graduated.
While he has only coached at Clemson for a short period, his time at Clemson is extensive, as Hester called this place home long before his coaching career began. With his position, Hester has been provided a unique opportunity to lead athletes toward success in the uniform he used to wear not long ago.
“I love Clemson University, I love what it has been able to do for me, but seeing it do the same thing for the people who come after me, I think, is just great,” Hester said. “That pride in representing the Paw, if you have a paw on your chest, you are representing it proudly. You are representing your last name, your family, and the University. I think it is just a testament of how great things are here, the resources we have and the people looking out for us coaches so we can look out for the athletes as well.”
As the 2025 Clemson Track & Field season continues, Hester will look to find more success and work on developing his student-athletes towards success. The history that Hester left behind as a student-athlete will continue to grow as he finds ways to add to his legacy as a Clemson Coach.
FROM TEN DOLLARS TO NINETY YEARS
Dr. John Timmerman talks IPTAY’s influential history during the organization’s 90th anniversary.
BY: NIK JOHNSON
For the past 90 years, IPTAY has been the team behind our Clemson Tigers. From what first started in the home of Dr. Rupert Fike back in 1934, IPTAY was founded to deliver support and resources to the student-athletes of Clemson University, providing them with a competitive advantage in both athletics and academics. Unlike anything else of its time, IPTAY was a
trailblazer in the collegiate athletics fundraising space, influencing other universities to follow suit and adopt similar models in the coming decades. Now, over 90 years later, IPTAY has grown into the nation’s preeminent collegiate athletics fundraising organization, all while continuing to operate under its original mission of empowering Clemson student-athletes on the field, in the classroom, and in life.
As IPTAY celebrates its 90 year anniversary, we celebrate those who have helped IPTAY become the model athletic fundraising entity in all of college sports. While there have been many influential figures who have led the IPTAY organization over the years, very few have embodied the Clemson spirit quite like Dr. John Timmerman.
Dr. Timmerman is as true of a Clemson Tiger, and IPTAY member, as you will find walking around these hills. His love for the Tigers stems back from when he was just nine years old, when his father, a 1928 Clemson graduate, took him to his first Clemson vs. South Carolina football game. Since that day, John has missed only four Palmetto Bowl games while attending every one of the rivalry games played at home in Clemson’s Memorial Stadium.
He first became involved with IPTAY as a teenager, attending local Clemson meetings with his father in their hometown of Hartsville, SC, listening to Coach Frank Howard deliver updates about the team and their upcoming season. Coach Howard’s words continued to resonate with Timmerman until he stepped foot on Clemson’s campus as an undergraduate student. Before attending his first class as a freshman in 1958, John walked down to the old Fike Fieldhouse, reached into his pocket, and gave the IPTAY office
Some may not have been able to give more than 10 a year, but they might have gotten ten other people to do the same thing. “ ”
a crisp ten-dollar bill to pledge his support for the Tigers. He has been an IPTAY member ever since.
His involvement with IPTAY did not stop at an annual donation. After finishing at Clemson and graduating from The Medical College of Virginia School of Dentistry and practicing in the U.S. Army Dental Corps at Fort Jackson, he remained in Columbia to continue his dental career. It was there that he became a part of local Clemson Clubs and “jumped at the chance” to become an IPTAY REP, setting the stage for many more years of service to IPTAY in his future.
In the mid-1970s, Dr. Timmerman was elected to the IPTAY Board of Directors. He served several years on the board before ultimately becoming the 16th President of IPTAY in 1980, leading the charge that fueled Clemson’s first football National Championship in 1981. He has since remained on the Board of Directors as a life director, still attending quarterly board meetings and still never missing a Clemson vs. South Carolina football game.
Dr. Timmerman has had a seat at the table for many significant points over the course of IPTAY’s 90-year history. Through all of the change, he credits the strength and longevity of IPTAY’s success to the Clemson Family and the loyal IPTAY members who have dedicated their resources towards propelling IPTAY’s mission forward. Not only the individuals with the capacity to give financial support, but also those who continue to promote IPTAY’s mission within their communities and
across the country. “No matter what people’s level of monetary contribution might be, using their relationships with others in the community to promote Clemson carries a lot of weight, too.” said Timmerman. “Some may not have been able to give more than 10 a year, but they might have gotten ten other people to do the same thing.” That is the Clemson spirit that has allowed IPTAY to continue to flourish and remain the leader in collegiate athletics fundraising for the past 90 years. He also credits IPTAY’s distinguished reputation to the long standing synergy between itself and other entities across Clemson’s campus. “Something of great importance through the years has been the relationship between IPTAY, the Clemson Athletic Department, the Alumni Association, and the Clemson University administration,” John explained. While other successful organizations might look to specific pivotal moments or key decisions in their history, IPTAY’s success is reliant on consistent steady leadership and always doing things the Clemson way. Through decades of change over the past 90 plus years, the lockstep collaboration between all parties across campus has proven to serve as a strong foundation for endured success.
IPTAY has come a long way in its first 90 years of operation. From what started with a handful of individuals pledging ten dollars a year, IPTAY has progressively increased its capacity of student-athlete support to now providing funding for scholarships, facilities, academic support, nutrition
services, mental health coaching, Tiger Band, and cheerleading. Now, as the organization begins to operate within an unprecedented era of collegiate athletics, it is time to answer the call and continue to elevate Clemson Athletics and Tiger student-athletes forward. “Clemson has to be willing to adapt to these changes in order for our fans to continue to experience the quality of athletics that we are accustomed to in all sports,” said Timmerman. With change comes opportunity, and that is exactly what IPTAY and its members have in front of them today. By continuing to hold true to its long-standing mission of prioritizing what is best for the Clemson student-athlete and doing so with integrity, IPTAY is equipped to remain at the forefront of a competitive collegiate athletics environment and sustain its level of success for another 90 years and beyond.
“Now more than ever, it is time for us to step up in whatever way we can as individuals,” said Timmerman, encouraging his fellow IPTAY members. “Whether it be financially, promoting Clemson within the community, or making sure the seats are filled in Memorial Stadium or whatever venue on campus.”
Dr. Timmerman’s Clemson story is a testament to the loyalty and unwavering commitment of the entire Clemson Family. His love for the Tigers, along with the likes of thousands of IPTAY members across the world, will continue to make a difference for Clemson Athletics in this new era. Just as it has done for the past 90 years.
PHOTO OF THE ISSUE
Head Coach Erik Bakich led the 2025 Tigers in an exhibition againt The Savannah Bananas.
The Savannah Bananas played Clemson in its first-ever exhibition against a college team. They faced the Tigers (with Banana Ball rules) at Doug Kingsmore Stadium on November 7.
HONORING EXCELLENCE
Nicky McCarter honored as the recipient of the 2024 Bond Distinguished Athletes Award.
BY: ASHBY BURTON
The Bond Distinguished Athletes Award, now in its eleventh year, was established by Margaret Segars Bond (‘84) and her late husband, Steve Bond (‘80), a former Clemson golfer. This prestigious award was born from the Bonds’ desire to create a lasting legacy that celebrates Clemson student-athlete alumni who have achieved remarkable success beyond the athletic arena. With a vision to highlight those making meaningful contributions in their communities and professions, the Bonds have cemented a tradition of honoring character, citizenship, and service.
Each year, the award is symbolized by a customized gold ring and an engraved plaque prominently displayed at the Nieri Family Student-Athlete Enrichment Center. Recipients are also recognized during a gameday ceremony at Memorial Stadium, further underscoring the importance of their contributions. To qualify, recipients must have lettered in a Clemson sport
and be more than ten years removed from graduation. Above all, honorees embody the spirit of Clemson through their personal and professional achievements.
“It is such a great honor to carry on Steve’s Clemson legacy and his appreciation for what Clemson gave to him as a student-athlete,” said Margaret Bond. “It’s hard to believe the award is in its eleventh year. Steve would be proud of how our vision has continually honored such deserving individuals and brought a spotlight to Clemson.”
This year, the award recognizes John N. “Nicky” McCarter, Jr., a Clemson alumnus whose dedication to service and leadership exemplifies the very essence of the Bond Distinguished Athletes Award.
A LEGACY OF LEADERSHIP
Nicky McCarter arrived at Clemson in 1973 as an administrative management major and a walk-on linebacker for Clemson Football. Due to injury, his
time on the field was cut short, but his connection to the football program and the University endured, shaping relationships that would later influence his career and philanthropic efforts. In 1980, McCarter earned his Bachelor of Science in administrative management and launched his career at Defender Services, where he now serves as President and CEO.
Beyond his professional success, McCarter is a pillar in his community. He is deeply involved in various organizations, including the South Carolina Waterfowl Association, the Synovus Bank Advisory Board, and the Indian Waters Council Executive Board. A past president of the South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame, McCarter has also made significant contributions as a Mason and a Shriner. He is a recipient of the Order of the Arrow, a 2019 Clemson Distinguished Service Award honoree and member of the Thomas Green Clemson Society. In 2023, he received the highest honor in South Carolina, the Order of the Palmetto, and has been recognized with the Accelerate South Carolina.
A COMMITMENT TO CLEMSON
McCarter’s unwavering dedication to Clemson is evident in his extensive service to the University. He serves on multiple boards, including the Clemson University Board of Trustees, to which he was elected by the South Carolina General Assembly in 2008. During his tenure, McCarter has served as Vice Chair and contributed to various committees, leaving an indelible mark on the university’s governance. His service has included the University’s Board of Visitors, Alumni Board of Directors, and the Professional Development and Continuing Education Board.
As a dedicated member of the IPTAY Board of Directors, McCarter has worked tirelessly to support Clemson student-athletes. His generosity reached new heights in 2021 when he became an Athletic Cornerstone Partner
with a transformative $2.5 million gift to IPTAY and Clemson Athletics. This extraordinary contribution officially named the McCarter Family IPTAY Center and significantly bolstered the resources available to Clemson’s current and future student-athletes.
HONORING A TRUE CLEMSON TIGER
“It’s hard to find a better representative of their alma mater,” said Margaret Bond. “From his time as a student-athlete to his dedication to the South Carolina community, and his commitment to Clemson all made him an easy choice as the eleventh award winner. I’m honored to recognize Nicky for his service and leadership, which define the Bond Distinguished Athletes Award.”
For Margaret Bond, this year’s recipient embodies the vision she and Steve set out to achieve. “The recipients and their families are amazing and admirable people. Nicky McCarter is the newest addition to this wonderful circle of individuals that I have gotten to know over the years. He certainly embodies the qualities Steve and I set out to honor. Nicky’s servant heart to Clemson, his family, and his community make him a ‘homerun’ selection for the 2024 Bond Distinguished Athletes Award.”
Nicky was honored at the September 28 Clemson Football Homecoming Game vs. Stanford with a special pregame ceremony, an interview on the Tiger Tailgate Show, and on-field recognition during the game.
LOOKING AHEAD
As the Bond Distinguished Athletes Award enters its second decade, it continues to shine a spotlight on the extraordinary accomplishments of former student-athletes. The award not only celebrates individual achievements but also serves as a reminder of the values that define Clemson—integrity, service, and an unwavering commitment to excellence.
Through the generosity of Margaret and Steve Bond, and the enduring legacy of recipients like Nicky McCarter, the Bond Distinguished Athletes Award ensures that Clemson’s tradition of excellence will inspire generations to come.
With each passing year, the Bonds’ vision remains steadfast: to honor those who have carried the Clemson spirit into the world and made it brighter. This year’s honoree, Nicky McCarter, stands as a shining example of that legacy.
FROM GARNET & GOLD TO ORANGE & PURPLE
Eric Sabin’s journey from a Florida State student manager to a Clemson Executive Senior Associate AD.
BY: JONATHAN FRANCHI
It’s not often that rivals switch sides.
As college sports have risen in popularity over the years, rivalries have strengthened, especially that of big-time conference rivals. It takes a special place, with special people and a welcoming atmosphere for someone to jump ship with a longtime conference rival. Once, as a student equipment manager for Florida State for four years, Eric Sabin stated, “I used to bleed garnet and gold, but now I only bleed orange and purple.”
Growing up in Jupiter, Fla. in the southern part of the state, Eric Sabin was a Florida State Football student
equipment manager. Working under legendary coach Bobby Bowden at Florida State is how Sabin got his start in college athletics, but he had a decision to make after his four years. Following in his father’s footsteps, Sabin earned a degree in finance from Florida State and had to decide whether to further pursue a career in athletics or in finance. Figuring this was his one chance to have a career in athletics, the Fla. native took an entry-level business operations position for San Jose State Athletics. In this role, Sabin was able to gain meaningful experience in many areas, such as finance, operations, and
event management. Using what he learned at San Jose State, Sabin then became the Senior Associate Athletic Director for Finance at the University of Memphis, where he also received a Master’s degree in Sport Commerce.
After his time at Memphis, Sabin came to Clemson in July 2019 and is now the Executive Senior Associate AD of Finance and Operations. He was also able to pursue his Doctorate in Higher Education Leadership. He is very grateful for his time at his previous schools which helped him prepare for his position at Clemson, but Sabin noticed a distinct difference in Tigertown.
“What’s most unique about Clemson is the overall support that we have from IPTAY, the campus, and the community, and the traditions we have here are second to none. Florida State has a lot of traditions as well, but I feel like Clemson’s traditions are natural and create such a unique environment. I’ve worked at a lot of places that refer to family, but at Clemson, family just means more.”
In his role, Sabin oversees both the finance and operations departments of Clemson Athletics, which are similarly structured. Sabin is tasked with many special projects while navigating the current issues, along with what is coming next.
“I ultimately act on behalf of the athletic director to ensure that the ship keeps moving. We’re a big organization with a lot of moving parts, so a big part of my job is communication and coordination. There is a lot of forecasting and looking around the corner to see what’s coming next. I also have to make sure that my teams are well-equipped with the resources and information they need to do their jobs at a really high level. Sometimes people refer to us as firefighters because we’re putting out a fire and then moving to the next one, but at the same time, we’re trying to prevent fires as well.”
During his time at Clemson, the school has seen multiple ways to maximize opportunities for their sports programs. Recently, Clemson started programs for women’s lacrosse, softball, and gymnastics with state-of-the-art facilities. These sports have seen great success nationally and in the Clemson
community, but they require a lot of work from people behind the scenes.
“I enjoy seeing the experience that fans and our student-athletes get, as well as people within athletics and the larger community. The unique experiences that we create for people, that’s what really drives me. When it came to the women’s sports expansion with lacrosse and gymnastics and the first-class facilities we built, we knew, based on the blueprint that we had with softball, that if we provided some of the best facilities in the the world to student-athletes, we’re going to get the right athletes to come here for the Clemson experience.”
When discussing some other aspects of his position, Sabin pointed to some good challenges that his job brings about, such as looking for innovative ways to grow while staying true to Clemson and its rich traditions. Creating new experiences and opportunities for fans is always a challenge and
something that helps cultivate new ideas. However, the Florida State alum is ultimately grateful for being a part of the Clemson family.
“My favorite thing about my job here at Clemson is honestly the opportunity to come to work every day. Of all the places I’ve worked, working for Graham Neff, this university, and this athletic department is so special and truly is an amazing opportunity. I feel blessed to have the chance to work here and to take advantage of that opportunity.”
Now, having been in Clemson since 2019, Sabin has fully embraced the Clemson culture and has no plans to leave. Working his way up and staying patient through the process, Sabin has been able to thrive in his role at Clemson. Although he was once a Seminole, Eric Sabin is now proud to be a Tiger for life.
2024 RING OF HONOR INDUCTION
Kim Graham-Miller and C.J. Spiller were induted into the Clemson Ring of Honor on Oct. 19.
BY: JEFF KALLIN
All-Americans Kim Graham-Miller and C.J. Spiller were inducted into the Clemson Ring of Honor on Oct. 19, 2024, in conjunction with the football game against Virginia. Spiller was honored before the game, while Graham-Miller was honored at the beginning of halftime.
Graham was a five-time All-American and four-time ACC Most Valuable Player in track between 1990 and 1993. Spiller was a unanimous All-American and ACC Player of the Year in football in
2009 and a two-time All-ACC running back over his career between 2006-09.
The Ring of Honor is the highest award bestowed by the Clemson Athletic Department. Recipients must have made an outstanding contribution to the heritage of Clemson Athletics, be a member of the Clemson Athletic Hall of Fame, and be a graduate of a fouryear institution for consideration.
Graham was named one of the top 50 female athletes in ACC history in 2002, one of just six Clemson athletes
selected. She was also named to the 50-year anniversary team for indoor and outdoor track.
Graham came to Clemson from the state of Virginia and was a 15-time ACC Champion (including relays), most of any track athlete in Clemson history. Three times, she was named the Most Valuable Athlete for the ACC Outdoor meet, but she was still the only women’s track athlete to accomplish that feat. She also was the ACC Indoor Track Meet MVP once.
Nationally, Graham finished runnerup in the 200 meters at the NCAA outdoor championships in 1992 and finished fourth in the 200 in 1991 and 1993. She was the winner of the Frank Howard Award for bringing honor to Clemson for the 1992-93 academic year.
Internationally, Graham won an Olympic Gold Medal at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta as a member of the United States 4X400 meter relay team. She was the national USA Champion in the 400 meters in 1998.
The 1993 Clemson graduate was inducted into the Clemson Hall of Fame in 1998. She is now the head men’s and women’s track coach at the University of California-San Diego.
Graham joins Tina Krebs (2003) and Michael Green (2017) as members of the Track and Field program to be inducted into the Ring of Honor, and is the sixth woman in any sport to earn the recognition.
Spiller, a native of Lake Butler, Fla., joined Clemson as a running back in 2006 and embarked upon a superlative career that resulted in his induction into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2021 in only his second year of eligibility.
Over his career, the two-time AllACC selection set the NCAA record for career kickoff returns for touchdowns with seven, and his 7,588 career allpurpose yards still rank third in NCAA history. That total remains an ACC record and ranks first all-time among Power Conference players.
As a senior in 2009, Spiller earned unanimous first-team All-America honors, including a first-team selection as a kick returner and second-team selection as a running back, according to the Walter Camp Football Foundation
(WCFF), the sport’s oldest All-America team. Spiller became the first player in history to be named an All-American at two different positions in the same year by the WCFF.
That year, Spiller also became the first player in ACC history to record more than 1,000 yards rushing and 500 yards receiving. He set an ACC record for all-purpose yards with 2,680, which still stands today. He finished sixth in the voting for the 2009 Heisman Trophy.
Spiller was also an All-American in track in 2008-09 and was a member of the 4×100 relay team that finished third in the nation in the spring of 2009. Following his collegiate career, Spiller was a first-round draft choice (No. 9 overall) by the Buffalo Bills in 2010 and went on to an eight-year NFL career. He was named to the Pro Bowl in 2012 for his more than 1,200 rushing yards that season.
A 2008 All-ACC Academic Team selection, Spiller earned his degree from Clemson in December 2009, garnering a standing ovation from the Clemson University Board of Trustees during his commencement. In addition to his selection into the College Football Hall of Fame, he was inducted into the South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame in 2020 and into the Clemson Athletic Hall of Fame in 2021. He is presently entering his fourth season as Clemson’s running backs coach.
Spiller becomes the eighth former football player inducted into the Ring of Honor, joining Banks McFadden, Steve Fuller, Jeff Davis, Fred Cone, Jerry Butler, Terry Kinard and Levon Kirkland. Frank Howard, Danny Ford and the 1981 National Championship team are also part of the Ring.
FOUNDED ON FAMILY
Former Head Coach Nancy Harris shines light on the first 50 years of Clemson Women’s Tennis.
BY: NIK JOHNSON
As Clemson Athletics celebrates its fiftieth anniversary of varsity women’s sports, it also marks the playing of the fiftieth season of Clemson Women’s Tennis. As one of four inaugural women’s programs to first wear the Paw in 1975, Clemson Women’s Tennis has since developed into one of the most storied programs in all of Tigertown.
Leading the charge for almost half of those fifty years was Head Coach Nancy Harris. In her twenty-three seasons at the helm of Clemson Women’s Tennis from 1998-2020, Harris led the Tigers to five ACC titles, nineteen NCAA tournaments, ten Sweet 16’s, and two Final Four’s, while also claiming ACC Coach of the Year honors in 2014.
Though her resume in competition play is worthy of legendary status on its own, it was the impact she had on the lives of her student-athletes that will forever cement her as one of Clemson’s coaching greats. “We have a lot of trophies that we are certainly very proud of… but the thing I always told them I am most proud of was the kind of women they were and the difference they’re making in the lives of others,”
Harris said, reflecting on her time at Clemson.
Harris founded her program on a family-first mentality, instilling in her student-athletes the strong core values that she acquired from her own family when she was a child. It was important to her that her teams were unified and truly cared for one another like members of their own families, while values such as hard work, always giving your best effort, and believing in yourself were just some of the perpetual pillars of her coaching message. She also emphasized the importance of her student-athletes graduating with a degree from Clemson and setting themselves up for a lifetime of success after their four short years on campus. “I always told them, ‘We’re not just recruiting you for these four years. We’re recruiting you for a lifetime,” said Harris.
Those family values translated into historic success on the tennis court. Her 2004 squad was the first team of any women’s sport in Clemson history to reach a Final Four, also making her the first head coach at Clemson to lead a women’s program to such a
feat. The program went back to the Final Four the following season, putting Clemson on a very short list of women’s tennis programs at the time who had reached multiple National Semifinals. It was then that the Clemson Women’s Tennis brand was first launched into the forefront of the national tennis spotlight, further setting the stage for a long and successful future of the program. “We continued to increase the expectations of what Clemson Women’s Tennis could accomplish,” said Harris.
Not only did the standards of the program rise during Harris’ tenure, but the entire nation followed in line as Clemson pioneered a new style of gameplay in the college game. With roots in professional tennis, Harris implemented a more dynamic playing approach that mirrored the strategy of the professional game, having major influence at the college level across the country.
With humility, Nancy credits the teams and coaches before her who laid the groundwork to allow her to continue building the women’s program and bring strong recognition to the sport of women’s tennis. Those like Coach Mary
Kennerty King and Coach Andy Johnston were instrumental in paving the way during the first half of the program’s history. Harris also credits the efforts of the Clemson Athletics administration for not only supporting the growth of women’s sports at Clemson, but making them a clear priority in their plans for the future. “We had an administration that was very very interested in bringing women’s sports forward,” noted Harris. “They wanted to help the women’s programs become some of the best programs at Clemson. Not just the men’s programs.”
That philosophy is fruitful today, as female student-athletes at Clemson are in a position to thrive like never before. Within the past decade, Clemson has introduced four new women’s programs (Golf, Softball, Lacrosse, and Gymnastics) and have built and renovated five state-of-the-art facilities to enable the growth and development of women’s athletics.
One of these facilities is the Duckworth Family Tennis Facility. In what has become a game-changer in areas of competition, training, and recruiting for the Tigers, the Duckworth Family Tennis Facility has propelled Clemson Tennis to new heights. “That facility is the facility of the future,” said Harris. “In terms of what it means to us? It is everything a coach could dream of. It’s magical.” Thanks to loyal and generous IPTAY donors like Ed and Jane Duckworth, the female studentathletes of Clemson Women’s Tennis are equipped with the resources needed for another fifty years of greatness both on and off the tennis court.
“If you’ve got the facilities, the administration, the staff, the wonderful student-athletes, and a great university, great things are going to happen,” said Nancy, speaking on the future of Clemson Tennis. “Just give the young people the opportunity to have everything they need, and if they’re willing to work for it, they can make their dreams come true.” Because of the investment made in the resources for the program, Harris is optimistic for the next chapter of Clemson Women’s Tennis. “The Duckworth Family will be responsible for future National Championships because that facility will help recruit the best studentathletes in the country and around the world.”
As long as that philosophy remains in place for the next 50 years, Clemson is going to be successful not only in women’s tennis, but all women’s sports, and all Clemson sports. “ ”
With these recent additions of several varsity sports and elite facilities, Clemson Athletics and IPTAY are continuing to demonstrate a unified priority in the growth and expansion of all their women’s programs. From what started with just four sports fifty years ago, women’s athletics at Clemson have expanded to now field eleven varsity teams, impacting the lives of hundreds of female student-athletes each year. That impact is reciprocal, as the young women who wear the Paw continue to enhance the tradition and culture of the Clemson Athletics community. “Now that wonderful universities like Clemson have recognized the importance of the women’s role in athletics, that makes us as University even greater,” Harris affirmed.
Since the very beginning of her coaching tenure at Clemson, Nancy could feel the incredible impact the Clemson Family had on herself and her student-athletes. She learned very early in her career just how much the community and alumni truly revere Clemson, and how much the past generations of Tigers want the best for those who follow in their footsteps. “That’s what makes the athletic experience here so special,” Harris said, “The Clemson grad really wants the next generation of Clemson grads to have that same incredible experience as they had. That’s what makes it like family.”
That love and spirit of the Clemson Family is what will continue to propel women’s athletics at Clemson forward into a new era of collegiate athletics.
In the midst of all the change, Nancy believes Clemson’s family oriented culture and collective commitment to the best-interest of the student-athlete will produce even greater success for women’s athletics in its next fifty years. “It’s not a coach or athlete that wins. It’s the entire group of people coming together and being dedicated to moving that sport forward,” Harris said about the Clemson Athletics Family. “As long as that philosophy remains in place for the next fifty years, Clemson is going to be successful not only in women’s tennis, but all women’s sports, and all Clemson sports.”
BY: BEN WINTERROWD
GRIT AND GROWTH
Chase Hunter’s passion, perseverance, and historic Clemson career.
For a long time now under Head Coach Brad Brownell, Clemson Basketball has been highly respected nationally for a multitude of reasons. One of those has been its player development. Former Division I head coach Tom Crean echoed this sentiment early in the 2024-25 season saying, “Clemson is one of the premier individual player development programs in the country [and] they have been for a while. Brad Brownell and his coaches do a great job.” For the first time in program history, the Tigers produced All-ACC First Team players in backto-back seasons with Hunter Tyson in 2023 and PJ Hall in 2024. Now with both playing for the Denver Nuggets in the NBA, it’s Chase Hunter’s turn.
Chase Hunter arrived on campus in Tigertown during the summer of 2019, and to say that a lot has changed in that time is an understatement. At the time of his commitment, Chase Hunter said, “It was a great choice. It checked off all the boxes as far as everything with me. Fits my style, the way that I play.”
He checked off all the boxes for Coach Brownell too, who on signing day said, “[…] He is a very strong, physical defender who should be able to contribute immediately because of his elite athleticism and his ability to score in a variety of ways.”
In today’s ever-changing landscape of collegiate athletics, student-athletes staying for even two or three years at the same school is considered a remarkable feat.
Now contemplate a young player overcoming injuries, lost confidence and other struggles and powering through it all to see the fruits of all that labor flourish in front of him.
Coach Brownell has had a welldocumented mantra in his program for several years: “Clemson Grit.”
“Grit, passion and perseverance toward a long-term goal, and that can be applied to many things,” Brownell explained. “It’s not just about a season. It might be a college career. It might be a professional career. It might be graduating from college. It can pertain to just about anything. You need to have tremendous passion for something in your life if you want to be successful.”
This has described many players who have made their way through Coach Brownell’s program over the years, but it perfectly encapsulates Chase Hunter’s career and paints a picture of
his own passion and perseverance when faced with multiple obstacles over his now six-year career at Clemson.
Coach Brownell talks about toughness being a talent, one of many that Hunter possesses.
Hunter came to Clemson as a Top 100 recruit out of Westlake High School in 2019. Prior to committing and signing with the Tigers, Hunter held offers from Michigan State, Virginia, Houston, Oklahoma, Wake Forest, Nebraska and home state schools Georgia and Georgia Tech.
Even in high school, Hunter showed Brownell what kind of a player he could become. A three-level scorer that could use his elite athleticism to his
advantage and be a high impact player on the floor.
While Hunter started four of his nine games at Clemson as a freshman, his first setback would occur that season. Hunter would suffer a broken foot and miss the bulk of his freshman season after netting double-digit points in two of his first three career games. His last game of the year, he played 10 minutes at Louisville on January 25, 2020.
Hunter rehabbed the foot injury in time to be ready to go for his second season but suffered a broken finger during preseason of the 2020-21 season. Already dealing with a different environment during the COVID-19 pandemic, now he was working his way
- Head Coach Brad Brownell “ ”
“You need to have tremendous passion for something in your life if you want to be successful.”
back from another injury. He played in all 24 games that season for the Tigers who earned an NCAA Tournament berth. He started four contests, but it was difficult for him to get into a rhythm.
One of the first glimpses of Hunter breaking through came during the 2021-22 season at Miami (Fla.). He finished with 15 points and was extremely efficient from the field. He ended that season with nine doubledigit scoring games, including a pair of 20-point performances.
His grit, determination, mettle and a coach working side-by-side with his talented guard led to Hunter’s personal success and the team’s success the next two-plus seasons.
The Tigers went 25-15 in ACC play from 2022-24. Fueled by the play of Hunter in the 2024 NCAA Tournament, Clemosn advanced to the program’s second Elite Eight in its history. Hunter has put his name all over the Clemson record book over his last nearly 80 games. After the interrupted start to his career, Hunter recently played in his 150th game as a Tiger – the most in program history.
“One hundred fifty is crazy. That’s a lot of games,” Hunter said. “It’s been a long journey, I would say. Me and Coach [Brownell] have had a great relationship the whole time and we’ve had our ups and downs sometimes, but he’s always been with me whether I’m playing great, playing bad, he’s been one that’s been riding with me. That was the main reason I came back this year [202425]. I want to ride with him, make sure I came back and make more history this year.”
That history they helped make together with the help of PJ Hall, Ian Schieffelin, Joseph Girard III, his younger brother Dillon and the rest of that team helped advance Clemson to its second Elite Eight in program history. It wasn’t hard for Hunter to recognize the importance of that moment when it happened.
“Me and [Hall] just had a moment in the locker room, and I told him, ‘We made history,’” Hunter said after defeating Arizona in the Sweet 16. “[…] I think that we set this program to a new standard.”
That new standard is something that Hunter is leading again this season. The relationship he has with Coach Brownell and the leadership both bring are integral to the rest of the Tigers’ campaign if they want to reach greater heights.
HOMETOWN HERO LOYAL McQUEEN
The South Carolina native is leaving a lasting legacy in the Palmetto State.
BY: AUSTIN CHRISTENSEN
In the heart of Florence, South Carolina, a young basketball player was growing up and molding her game into one of the more inspiring stories in Clemson Athletics this season. Loyal McQueen, a standout point guard, has always done her best to be more than just a basketball player. On the court, she’s having the best season of her career. Off the court, however, McQueen has proven to be a shining example of perseverance and giving back.
Throughout McQueen’s upbringing, she was passionate about and wanted to pursue basketball. Attention from college coaches started coming in for McQueen when she was on the AAU circuits. Even as a kid in elementary and middle school, McQueen showed she possessed skill and basketball IQ well beyond her years and was playing on AAU teams older than her actual age group.
That skill and basketball savvy earned McQueen, Florence’s finest, plenty of attention from some premier
“
Loyal, you really got an opportunity to play at the next level, but to be able to play Power Five, that’s really special.
“
ACC and SEC coaching staffs as early as her eighth-grade season.
McQueen’s father, Derrick, who played collegiately at Wake Forest, knew that his daughter had special basketball skills but didn’t know where her basketball career would take her. “While we were happy,” he mentioned, “we weren’t sure how to take it. I was like, ‘Loyal, you really got an opportunity to play at the next level, but to be able to play Power Five, that’s really special.”
Carrying that progression and talent into Wilson High School, McQueen was a star player throughout her high school years. Her excellent prep career culminated with over 2,000 points scored. She averaged over 27 points per game with four assists, 3.6 rebounds, and two steals per contest, establishing McQueen as a prized target on the collegiate recruiting trails. She was awarded the Gatorade and MaxPreps South Carolina Player of the Year and ended up being rated as a high four-star recruit.
McQueen’s special high school career – which earned her a retired jersey in the rafters of Wilson High School – helped gain even traction in the collegiate recruiting grounds. McQueen ultimately opted to venture out and take her talents to Atlanta, where she signed with the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, citing the opportunity to help build something with a new staff as an exciting possibility.
During her time as a Yellow Jacket,
McQueen put together a solid freshman campaign, which included a seasonhigh of 17 points against Clemson. She was the starting point guard for the Yellow Jackets, who went on to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament that year. An injury-laden sophomore season limited McQueen to see action in just three games, but it felt like a change was needed. McQueen entered her name in the transfer portal midseason and decided to head to Tuscaloosa, where she would take her winning pedigree to the Alabama Crimson Tide. The change was different for McQueen, who saw a different role in the 2022-23 than what she was used to. Despite seeing action in 31 games for a Crimson Tide team that advanced to the NCAA Tournament, she only made one start and played nearly 20 minutes per game. Although she was coming off the bench, she stayed positive and still found ways to contribute, chipping in nearly seven points and two assists per game.
As a senior for Alabama in 2023-24, McQueen found the form that made her an elite high school prospect. Starting all 34 games for the Tide, McQueen furthered her winning resume and was one of the most valuable contributors on a team that advanced to the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament. In a Crimson Tide win against Florida State in the First Round, McQueen scored 13 points, corralled five rebounds, and dished out six assists while playing all 40 minutes.
When Clemson hired Head Coach Shawn Poppie in late March, McQueen knew she had a choice to make, and just one year of eligibility left to leave a lasting legacy in the Palmetto State.
The new Tiger head coach and McQueen knew each other from when Poppie worked at Virginia Tech and tied to lure the point guard to make her way to Blacksburg. Their relationship goes back several years to when Poppie sat in the McQueen family living room, getting to know Loyal and her family.
Despite having a successful run at Alabama, McQueen turned her thoughts to her home state and to Clemson. She entered her name in the transfer portal with a “do not contact” tag, knowing where her heart was leading her: Home
“It means everything,” McQueen said at ACC Tipoff when asked what it meant to return to her home state to play for the Tigers. At the season-opening event and all throughout her final season, McQueen has stressed the importance of timing and how, despite having the opportunities to play for Clemson in the past, the timing for her to be in Clemson for the 2024-25 season –the 50th season of Clemson Women’s Basketball – was finally right.
With a winning history at every stop she’s made during her basketball journey, McQueen saw the opportunity to build a winner with a head coach she knows and trusts and decided to take it, saying, “We talk about legacy. Leaving Clemson better than I found it. Excited for the year and for the chance to play for Coach Poppie.”
We talk about legacy. Leaving Clemson better than I found it. “ ”
In her time with Clemson, as of this writing, McQueen is averaging career highs in points per game, assists per game, rebounds per game, and is shooting the best percentages of her career, all while leading the Tigers to one of the best starts in recent years. Even with all of her success throughout college and with Clemson, McQueen still hasn’t forgotten where she came from.
After signing with Clemson, and prior to this season, McQueen and several of her Tiger teammates returned to Florence, where she held a free basketball camp for underprivileged
kids. She taught basketball skills and also gave out free school supplies. In addition to the basketball camp, McQueen also visited four different high school girls’ basketball teams in the area, including her alma mater’s, and donated $500 of her own money to each program.
Loyal’s talent as a basketball player could have taken her anywhere, but in the end, she chose to come home. To come back as the hometown hero with her winning pedigree and leave a lasting mark as a player and a person in the Orange and Regalia.
24 MEMORABLE MOMENTS OF 2024
2024 was a year of dedication to continuing the legacy of excellence both within the classroom and on the field to ensure a memorable year in the ACC and nationally.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
The second team in Clemson history to reach Elite 8 of NCAA Tournament, first time in 44 years. WOMEN’S GOLF
GYMNASTICS
The Tigers made many historical moments as they competed in their inaugural season.
ARC
The Athlete Recovery Center opens, providing student-athletes with state-of-the-art recovery resources.
ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT
Clemson Athletics named one of Front Office Sports’ best college athletic departments of 2024.
IPTAY
IPTAY RECORD
a
FOOTBALL
Clemson wins ACC Football Championship, and becomes the first program to win 22 ACC titles.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Shawn Poppie was named the eighth head women’s basketball coach at Clemson University.
SOFTBALL
50 YEARS
Clemson Athletics begins celebrating its 50th anniversary of varsity
LACROSSE
The Tigers started their season in front of a sellout crowd of 1,246 fans in the inaugural game at the lakeside Clemson Lacrosse Complex.
MEN’S GOLF
Clemson competed at the NCAA Men’s Golf Championship and finished 22nd in the nation, its best team finish since 2021.
JERVEY GYM
Jervey Gym underwent renovations and a grand reopening for the updated facility.
CLEMSON VENTURES
CUAD announces the launch of its new revenue generation-focused affiliate, Clemson Ventures.
GPA RECORD
Clemson Athletics set a department
a
Clemson Softball makes its fourth consecutive postseason in its young history.
WOMEN’S GOLF
Annabelle Pancake won the first NCAA Championship match in school history and had its highest individual finish in program history.
record with
3.34 cumulative GPA average in the 2024 fall semester.
sets
membership record with 22,321 donors for the 2024 fiscal year.
women’s athletics.
MEN’S SOCCER
Ousmane Sylla wins the Mac Hermann Trophy, the most prestigious award in all of college soccer.
TRACK & FIELD
Courtney Lawrence wins a Gold Medal for shot put at the 2024 ACC Championships.
ROWING
Clemson Rowing hires US Olympic Team
Coach Adrienne Martelli as the program’s sixth head coach.
WOMEN’S TENNIS Mary Kennerty, first women’s tennis (and women’s basketball) head coach, wins ACC Unite award.
TRACK & FIELD
Gladys Chepngetich claims both indoor and outdoor ACC Freshman of the Year honors.
MEN’S TENNIS
For the second consecutive season, Ryuhei Azuma was named to the All-ACC Singles Third Team.
GROWING SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
IPTAY readies to fund growing scholarship opportunities for Clemson student-athletes.
At its core, IPTAY’s mission is to provide resources to support the academic, athletic, and personal development of Clemson University student-athletes and the competitive success of Clemson Athletics. Of that mission, perhaps the most significant throughout the organization’s more than 90-year history has been to provide scholarships to Clemson studentathletes. With the incredible support from donors, IPTAY has and continues to fund the maximum number of scholarships permitted in each varsity sport allowed by the NCAA. By doing so, Clemson holds a competitive advantage in athletic competition and the opportunity to transform the greatest number of lives through a world-class student-athlete experience.
In 2025, the current scholarship model is expected to change significantly due to the House Settlement, which received preliminary approval on October 7, 2024. Upon final approval, which is expected in April, roster limits will be put in place for all NCAA-sponsored sports. In addition
SPORT
Baseball
Men’s Basketball
Women’s Basketball
Men’s Cross Country
Women’s Cross Country
Football
Men’s Golf
Women’s Golf
Gymnastics
Men’s Track & Field
Women’s Track & Field
Lacrosse
Rowing
Men’s Soccer
Women’s Soccer
Softball
Men’s Tennis
Women’s Tennis Volleyball
to roster limits, there now will be no cap on student-athlete scholarships up to the roster limit. Each institution can decide how many scholarships to award up to the total number of roster spots for each sport. With this change, IPTAY and Clemson Athletics plan to be very aggressive in providing scholarships to our student-athletes.
IPTAY plans to invest in 150 new full scholarship opportunities through a phased approach, which will come at an approximate additional cost of $6 million. These 150 new scholarships are in addition to the 275 scholarships already being provided to studentathletes. These additional scholarships constitute a significant investment in our student-athletes and athletic programs, and IPTAY is committed to providing more student-athletes with scholarships. Below is a breakdown of Clemson’s current varsity sport offering alongside the current NCAA scholarship limits and the proposed roster limits. Each school will have a decision to make regarding the quantity of scholarships available to each sport
program, and Clemson continues to evaluate its exact allotment by sport. With this aggressive approach comes a significant expense and a greater need to support the success of Clemson student-athletes. IPTAY remains the engine that drives Clemson Athletics’ educational mission in the form of scholarships, in addition to providing resources for facility improvements, student-athlete health and wellness, and much more. These new roster limits and the addition of 150 new scholarship opportunities across our various programs means there is now more of a need than ever to fund scholarships for our deserving studentathletes. Your continued support of IPTAY is an investment in the young people across our 21 varsity sports and Clemson’s continued competitive success.
To learn more about IPTAY and support the growing need, log on to ClemsonTigers. com/IPTAY, call 1-800-CLEMSON or email iptay@clemson.edu
One of the most anticipated events for IPTAY Collegiate Club members, the annual Punt, Pass, & Kick competition, recently marked its eighth year as a hallmark benefit of membership. With nearly 10,000 student members in the IPTAY Collegiate Club, this event has solidified its place as an annual tradition. Originally launched in the fall of 2016 on the lower intramural fields, the competition has since grown in scale and prestige, now taking place in the Poe Indoor Football Facility. The only interruption to its annual cadence was in 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic necessitated its cancellation. The competition invites students to test their skills in three stations:
punt, pass, and kick. Each station is scored based on a unique formula that accounts for both distance and accuracy. Alongside the excitement of competing, participants have the opportunity to win prizes and enjoy an exclusive, behindthe-scenes look at Clemson Football’s facilities. Over the years, the event has attracted hundreds of participants each fall, steadily increasing its reach and popularity. It is just one of many exclusive benefits offered to IPTAY Collegiate Club members, showcasing the value of membership.
The event’s success is the result of meticulous planning, which begins as soon as students return to campus in the fall. The IPTAY Student Advisory Board (ISAB) takes the lead in organizing
the event, with guidance from three staff advisors. Payton Bagby, a senior Communication major and chair of the ISAB Events Committee, was a driving force behind this year’s competition.
“The Punt, Pass, and Kick competition has become such a well-known event on campus,” said Bagby. “Bringing this event to life is such a highlight. Each year, we continue to find ways to improve and make it better than it was the year before. I think this year’s group elevated the event even more, and I look forward to seeing how this event continues to grow in the future.”
The enthusiasm extends beyond just those who organize the event.
“It’s awesome to see how much fun ISAB has planning this event and then
seeing how excited Collegiate Club members are when they enter the Poe Indoor Football Facility to compete,” said Kelly Geiger, ISAB Staff Advisor and Director of IPTAY Pre-Collegiate and Collegiate Programs. “Each year, we go to freshman orientation sessions to sign up new students to be IPTAY Collegiate Club members. We talk about this event, and then to see those new students come out and enjoy it, learn more about IPTAY, and see firsthand the impact IPTAY has on Clemson Athletics is special.”
This year’s competition set a new record for participation, culminating in ten winners across various categories, including the top overall male and female scores as well as the highest scores from each class. The success of the Punt, Pass, & Kick competition has inspired ISAB to develop similar events throughout the year. For instance, in 2023, the group launched the Collegiate Club Classic, a basketballthemed skills challenge held on the court at Littlejohn Coliseum. Now in its third year, the Collegiate Club Classic has become another eagerly anticipated event, with this year’s iteration scheduled for March and open to all IPTAY Collegiate Club members. Looking ahead, ISAB plans to expand its offerings even further, using the Punt, Pass, & Kick model to revamp its annual spring event, which will debut later this semester. “I absolutely love the response that we get to our events,” said ISAB Secretary Davan McHale. “A lot of work goes into these events from all 28 members of our Board, and to see the response and knowing that people are this invested in what the IPTAY Collegiate Club is doing is incredible.”
These events also serve as a valuable platform for identifying future leaders within IPTAY. “Seeing who is bought into what IPTAY is doing and the overall mission is definitely something we look for at these events,” McHale added. “Many of our current ISAB members are people that we’ve seen interact and be involved with what IPTAY is doing through Collegiate Club events. It’s easy to find the next group of leadership this way.”
As the semester progresses, IPTAY Collegiate Club members can look forward to even more exciting opportunities and benefits. If you know a current Clemson student, encourage them to join the IPTAY Collegiate Club to take advantage of unique experiences like the Punt, Pass, & Kick competition and more. Events like these not only create unforgettable memories but also foster a deeper connection to Clemson Athletics and the broader IPTAY community.
FROM THE IPTAY BOARD OF DIRECTORS
More than 30 years ago, I walked across the stage at Littlejohn Coliseum and proudly joined the ranks of Clemson alumni—a group I’m convinced is unparalleled in its passion and dedication (perhaps I’m a bit biased, but I’d argue I’m right). Since then, my career has taken me into two industries poised for disruption, offering firsthand lessons in navigating change while staying true to core values.
For over two decades, I worked in one of the largest convenience store chains in the country, and for the past five years, I’ve had the privilege of being part of the staffing and recruiting industry. Both industries have undergone significant transformations due to shifting customer needs and technological innovation. Convenience stores are adapting to the rise of electric vehicles and evolving customer preferences, replacing traditional revenue drivers like gasoline and tobacco with elevated food and drink offerings (if you haven’t tried Spinx fried chicken or a Buc-ee’s BBQ sandwich, you’re missing out!).
Meanwhile, staffing and recruiting are on the cusp of an “Uber-ization,” where technology promises to replace outdated manual processes with seamless, on-demand solutions.
These experiences have taught me that Every organization must embrace
transformation to remain relevant. Without change, obsolescence becomes inevitable. We all know the cautionary tales—Blockbuster, Polaroid— organizations that ignored the signs of change and paid the price. But on the flip side, companies like Netflix, Tesla, and Apple demonstrate the power of listening to the market, adapting, and thriving.
At first glance, you might not think of IPTAY as an organization characterized by agility and innovation. But as someone who’s had a front-row seat for the past nine years as a Board Director, I can confidently say that IPTAY embodies these qualities. Collegiate athletics—and the fundraising efforts that fuel them—are evolving at an unprecedented pace. To ensure we continue to support Clemson’s nearly 600 student-athletes at the highest level, IPTAY has embraced this challenge with determination and adaptability.
And when IPTAY has called on its donors to meet these challenges, you’ve answered—time and time again. A few examples that come to mind:
· Over the past two decades, when we emphasized facility improvement and catching up to and moving past our peers, you stepped up.
· During the pandemic, when we were
limited to less than 20,000 people in Death Valley that year for our home games and much fewer in Littlejohn, leaving us with a significant revenue gap in a highly uncertain economy, you stepped up. When the NCAA granted higher roster limits, thus increasing the opportunity to expand scholarships awarded, you stepped up. · When we placed an unrivaled focus on women’s athletics and grew support for our Hear Her Roar campaign, you stepped up,
· Most recently, when we were granted permission to support the funding of 110 Society through donations, the donors of IPTAY again stepped up
The evidence is overwhelming: When IPTAY faces a challenge, our donors rise to the occasion—and often exceed expectations. This remarkable support is powered by an organization that continually evolves to serve its two most critical constituencies: our 22,321 donors and all student-athletes.
While embracing change is essential, staying true to our mission remains crucial to success. For IPTAY, that mission is clear: To provide resources that support the academic, athletic, and personal development of Clemson University student-athletes and the competitive success of Clemson Athletics. These words have guided us since Rupert Fike and a handful of visionaries founded IPTAY more than 90 years ago, and they resonate even more strongly today.
Looking ahead, IPTAY’s new strategic plan will chart the path for continued adaptation and growth. Centered on three main pillars—transforming the lives of student-athletes, delivering an unparalleled donor experience, and maintaining financial strength— this plan reflects our commitment to excellence.
Change is good and needed, and I can assure you that being the best athletic fundraising organization in the country remains our goal, but along the way, we’ll never compromise the spirit of our mission. We’ll never forget that it’s our donors that drive our success, and most importantly, it’s the lives of our studentathletes that we will transform.
Thank you for being part of this journey. Together, there’s no challenge we can’t overcome.
BILLY MILAM PRESIDENT, IPTAY BOARD OF DIRECTORS
IPTAY MEMORIALS
In loving memory of kind, generous, and dedicated IPTAY members.
Name: James Turner Passed: February 8, 2023
Name: Nell Lominack Passed: February 16, 2023
Name: Carol Cook Passed: June 18, 2023
Name: Charles Glover, Jr. Passed: July 11, 2023
Name: Caroline Lark Passed: September 9, 2023
Name: Kenneth Rillings Passed: October 30, 2023
Name: Frances Maxwell Passed: November 26, 2023
Name: William Wise, III
Passed: December 14, 2023
Name: Russell Caldwell Passed: December 17, 2023
Name: Louise Wilson Passed: December 23, 2023
Name: Mary Jo Slice Passed: December 29, 2023
Name: Richard Sligh, Jr. Passed: January 14, 2024
Name: James Greene, Jr. Passed: January 27, 2024
Name: Thomas Hinchman Passed: February 23, 2024
Name: Robert Squires Passed: March 7, 2024
Name: Charles Whitener, Sr. Passed: March 22, 2024
Name: William Satcher Passed: April 20, 2024
Name: Samuel Lowry, Sr. Passed: May 6, 2024
Name: Bruce Dixon, Sr. Passed: May 25, 2024
Name: Bonum Wilson, Jr. Passed: May 30, 2024
Name: Michael Walker Passed: June 12, 2024
Name: Claude Ragsdale, III Passed: September 5, 2024
Name: Charlie Shealy Passed: September 14, 2024
Name: Jerry Fuller Passed: September 18, 2024
Name: Frank Patton,Jr. Passed: September 22, 2024
Name: David Miller Passed: September 29, 2024
Name: Clyde Bigbee, Jr. Passed: October 3, 2024
Name: John Tice Passed: October 6, 2024
Name: Vicki Campbell Passed: October 14, 2024
Name: Charles Wyatt Passed: October 16, 2024
Name: Ronald Blackmore Passed: October 21, 2024
Name: Fletcher Gaulden Passed: October 20, 2024
Name: Elton Fulmer Passed: November 18, 2024
Name: Kaitlyn McNally Passed: December 20, 2024
Years of Membership: 48
Years of Membership: 12
Years of Membership: 61
Years of Membership: 58
Years of Membership: 48
Years of Membership: 17
Years of Membership: 53
Years of Membership: 52
Years of Membership: 1
Years of Membership: 67
Years of Membership: 62
Years of Membership: 49
Years of Membership: 52
Years of Membership: 53
Years of Membership: 2
Years of Membership: 54
Years of Membership: 51
Years of Membership: 15
Years of Membership: 56
Years of Membership: 43
Years of Membership: 55
Years of Membership: 53
Years of Membership: 52
Years of Membership: 58
Years of Membership: 34
Years of Membership: 72
Years of Membership: 47
Years of Membership: 65
Years of Membership: 44
Years of Membership: 40
Years of Membership: 71
Years of Membership: 70
Years of Membership: 56
Years of Membership: 4
1. Clay Dewberry (‘11) and mom
.... Kathy Shillaber at Black Sand .... Beach, Maui, on Oct. 24, .... 2024.
3. David (‘90), Michele (‘89), .... Alexandra (‘19), and Casey ....Welch at St. John’s Co....Cathedral in Valletta, Malta
.... on July 1, 2024.
4. Matt Farver (‘07) and Craig .. .... Faver (‘76) on our vacation in .. ..Turks and Caicos.
5. Rick & Connie Wilkey
.... visiting the end of the .... Dempster Highway in
.... Tuktoyaktuk, Northwest
.... Territories, Canada.
6. Will, Tanner, and Walker
.... .Cheatham. Patrick & Leigh
.... .Cheatham Lowery. Sam (‘72)
.... . & Terry Blessing Cheatham
.... . (‘73) and Lily Lowery.
.... .Celebrating the reopening
.... . of the Grove Park Inn
.... . Asheville, N.C. after
.... . hurricane Helene.
7. Rick and Carol Jo Lesley .....
.... Baumgarner (‘85), Walt and ....Cathay Cannon Rodgers (‘74),
.... and Rick and Betty Roe
.... enjoyed a 17-day trip to Italy in August 2024.
8. Jim (Faculty Emeritus) & .... Donna (MBA ‘11) McCubbin,
.... and Dan & LeAnne (‘79)
.... Greene, visited the Maasai
.... Mara National Reserve in
.... Kenya.
9. Four Tigers in Tuscany, Italy.
.... Kem (‘78) and Emily (‘79)
.... Lunn, Sandy and John ....Wood (‘78).
10. Chris and Pat Whitmire
.... .. trekking The South
.... .. Shetland Islands
.... .. in Antarctica!
11. Ashley (‘89), McCay, and Riley Johnson at the Desert
.... .View of Grand Canyon, AZ
.... . August 2024.
12. Stephanie (‘91),
.... ..Christopher (‘25), Emily .... .. (‘21) and Chris (‘91) Mann in
.... .. front of the Arc de
.... ..Triomphe.
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CLEMSON FAMILY AFFAIRS
LAST WORD
Earlier in this issue, you read about the Hauser Family and their deeprooted Clemson Family. The Hauser Family and several other Clemson Athletic families share a historical success as a family affair, donning the Paw as letter winners at Clemson.
When Nolan Hauser made his Herculean 56-yard field goal to beat SMU in the 2024 ACC Football Championship game on December 4, 2024, it was another in the long list of contributions to the Clemson athletic program by the Hauser family.
I mentioned on the radio broadcast after he shocked the college football world with the longest field goal in the 20-year history of the ACC Championship game and the longest game-winner in Clemson history he is the offspring of two former Clemson student-athletes, Scott (baseball) and Sheri (women’s soccer.) Nolan’s sister, Ella, was a women’s soccer studentathlete.
You’ve read the Hauser family’s details earlier in this issue, and you can see their impact on Clemson Athletics. Here is a summary of their culminated success:
The Hauser family has played on 13 teams that have played in NCAA
Tournaments or the College Football Playoff in a possible 14 seasons. All four have played on a Clemson team that reached the Elite 8 of an NCAA Tournament or the College Football Playoff. The Clemson teams they have played on have finished in the top 25 of their respective polls, which is ten of a possible fourteen seasons. Additionally, they have played on three ACC Championship teams.
While Sheri is the only Clemson Hall of Famer in the family. Ella is the only member on a Final Four team, and Scott is the only one to play on three top 10 teams.
Without a doubt, Nolan has provided the greatest single moment. The 56yard field goal against SMU came on the game’s last play. It sent Clemson to the College Football Playoff and defeated a top-10 opponent. As Nolan’s career continues, the Hauser Family story continues to be written.
As I mentioned, other families have had multiple members that have had a major impact on Clemson Athletics history. I know not all are accounted for in this list, but here are the first that come to my mind:
Dick Hendley and Lucas Glover rank as the only grandfather and grandson
BY: TIM BOURRET
combination in Clemson history to be selected to the school’s athletic Hall of Fame. Hendley was a star back and baseball player in the 1940s, while Glover was a two-time All-American on the Clemson golf team between 1997 and 2001. He has gone on to a long career on the PGA Tour, including the 2009 US Open Championship.
The Mahaffey family dominated Clemson Basketball during the 195970 era. A Mahaffey led Clemson in rebounding 10 of those 11 seasons. Tom, Donnie, Randy and Richie Mahaffey collected 3,555 points and 2,278 rebounds over 300 combined games, the highest-scoring brothers in ACC history.
The Perry Brothers and the Bostic Brothers stand out regarding Clemson Football brothers. Both Perrys were named ACC Player of the Year, William in 1984 and Michael Dean in 1987. The Bostics were starters on the Clemson offensive line in the 1970s and went on to long NFL careers. Both are in the Clemson Hall of Fame.
One of the top Father-Son combinations concerns golfing Nimmers. Father Tony Nimmer and son Bryson Nimmer were both first-team All-ACC over their respective careers and played on multiple Clemson NCAA Tournament teams.
Another Father-Son combination includes the Davidson’s in baseball.
Father Mark was a starter for Bill Wilhelm’s teams of the 1980s and played on the 1987 Minnesota Twins World Series Championship team. His son Logan was an All-American in 2019 and was a first-round draft choice of the Athletics.
The Arrington family also holds a unique distinction. Vandell was a defensive back on Clemson’s first National Championship football team in 1981. His daughter Deliah is Clemson’s career leader in goal scoring in women’s soccer and is in the Clemson Ring of Honor.
With four new women’s sports added in the last decade, you wonder how the family connections will continue to expand in the coming years.
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