At Clemson, the motto is “Best is the Standard.”
Since he took over at Clemson in 2008, Dabo Swinney has used this motto to build the program. The standard just is not set on the football field, it is set in every aspect of the program.
When you pull up at the Allen Reeves Football Complex in Clemson, it’s obvious the standard has been set. It is a facility that is un-like any other in college football.
From the moment you walk into the door, you are greeted by the Tigers’ three Waterford Crystal National Championship Trophies and their two Golden College Football Playoff National Championship Trophies. If you look to your right, you see the entrance to the P.A.W. Journey Program, emphasizing Swinney’s vision that building successful young men off the field is more important than the success they have on the field.
Of course, we know about all the other bells and whistles the $55 million, 142,000 square foot facility offers. In case you forgot there is the replica of the Hill and Howard’s Rock. There is the 23,000-square foot weight room, the slide, the barber shop, the bowling lanes, the game room, the golf simulator, the outdoor basketball court, putting green, 9-hole miniature golf course, the wiffle ball field, volleyball court, horseshoe pit, a fire pit and BBQ area and the recently added sports science facility.
Other schools have since tried to equal or match Clemson’s outstanding facilities—including a school down the road in Columbia—but they are unable to. Clemson’s football facilities, which also includes the connecting 80,000 square football indoor practice facility and three outdoor practice fields, were built with one goal in mind, “to be the best.”
Throughout the facility, Clemson proudly displays its other traditions, All-Americans, great players of the past and championship trophies. In all, the Tigers proudly display their 24 conference championships, 22 bowl victory trophies, seven division championships and one national runner-up trophy to go with their three national championships.
Of course, being the best was established in the culture at Clemson long before it moved into the Allen Reeves Football Complex. The Tigers did not move into the facility until January of 2017, a few weeks after they won the 2016 National Championship.
The new facility and all of its amidites have added on to what was already a great culture at Clemson, a culture that values family and the overall college experience. Of course, as we know, the Tigers have since won another national championship since the 2017 move in date and there are no signs of them slowing down any time soon.
So, while other schools, like at South Carolina, play catch up in the arms race of college football and try to build similar facilities, Clemson is unique to itself. And its not unique just because it has a miniature golf course.
It’s unique because it was built on the culture Swinney established at Clemson long before the Tigers started winning championships. It was built for a family, in particular the “Clemson Family” with the motto “Best is the Standard” in everything that they do.
Of course, it does not hurt to have three national championships displayed in the main lobby, either. There better than one Heisman Trophy, I guess.
Move over Alabama, Clemson is the new King of College Football. In our new magazine “Little Ole Clemson”: The Best “Little” Dynasty Ever, we examine not just the 2018 team’s run to being “the best ever” but examine the last four seasons and how Dabo Swinney turned Clemson into the new dynasty of college football. We also take a look at the role former athletic director Terry Don Phillips played. We go behind the scenes at the Tigers’ run to a second national championship in three seasons and the previous three national championship runs. It also features stories on the Power Rangers, the 2018 senior class, high quality photos and much, much more.
We are pleased to announce that our latest magazine is ready for Preorders. Get your order in today to make sure you get a copy of this collector’s edition.