History of the Tigers

The Clemson Tigers are the athletic teams that represent Clemson University, located in Clemson, South Carolina. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level (Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) sub-level for football), primarily competing in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) for all sports since the 1953–54 season. Clemson competes for and has won multiple NCAA Division I national championships in various sports, including minor league ACC football, men's soccer, and men's golf.

In 1896, football coach Walter Riggs came to Clemson, then Clemson Agricultural College of South Carolina, from Auburn University. He had always admired the Princeton Tigers, and hence gave Clemson the Tigers mascot. The Clemson Tigers field seventeen athletic teams. The South Carolina Gamecocks are Clemson's in-state athletic rival. The two institutions compete against each other in many sports, but the annual football game receives the most attention. Clemson's main rivals within the Atlantic Coast conferences are Georgia Tech and Florida State.

College Sports Established
1896

Location
Clemson, South Carolina

College Name
Clemson University

Collegiate History
1973 - Present / NCAA Division 1
1921 - 1973 / University Division of the NCAA
1907 - 1921 / Athletic Association of the United States

Conference History
1953 – Present / ACC Conference
1921 - 1953 / Southern Conference
1896 – 1921 / Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association

Nickname
Tigers - Clemson's athletic teams have been nicknamed the Tigers since 1896, when coach (and later university president) Walter Merritt Riggs brought the name from his alma mater, Auburn University. The name came from a Greenville News editor's nickname for Clemson students, and was discontinued in 1972.

NCAA Championships
Baseball 0

Men's Basketball 0

Women's Basketball 0

Football 3
2018, 2016, 1981

Soccer 2
1987, 1984