Carolina-Clemson Rivalry
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[edit] Summary
The Carolina-Clemson Rivalry is an in-state college rivalry between the University of South Carolina and Clemson University. The two institutions are separated by just over 125 miles and have been bitter rivals since the 1880s. A heated rivalry continues to this day for a variety of reasons, including the historic tensions regarding their respective charters along with the passions surrounding their athletic programs.
The athletic programs are colloquially known as the South Carolina Gamecocks and the Clemson Tigers. The two schools compete against each other in all but three sports (South Carolina does not sponsor a varsity rowing team, while Clemson does not sponsor softball or equestrian). The teams are members of two of America's premier collegiate athletic conferences; South Carolina a member of the Southeastern Conference and Clemson a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
[edit] History
Unlike most major college rivalries, the Carolina-Clemson rivalry did not start innocently. In fact, the seeds of bitterness were planted even before Clemson became a college.
The two institutions were founded 88 years apart: South Carolina College in 1801 and Clemson Agricultural College in 1889. South Carolina College suffered many setbacks following the Civil War and experienced a variety of changes during the late 1800s, but the greatest threat to the vitality of the institution came in 1890 when Benjamin Tillman was elected as Governor of South Carolina. Thomas Greene Clemson had already bequeathed a considerable sum and devised his Fort Hill plantation to the state in 1888 for an agricultural school. However, only two years earlier South Carolina College had been granted an agricultural department, so building another agricultural school was the subject of fierce debate in the South Carolina General Assembly. Tillman, a farmer and legislator from Edgefield, advocated closing South Carolina College in the legislature and during his campaign for governor based on his belief that the college was an elitist school and did nothing for farmers. Eventually, the legislature accepted the Clemson gift by only one vote and created Clemson Agricultural College. Tillman then became governor, and with the opening of the new agricultural school in 1893 came a shift of federal funds for agricultural education, leaving the trustees of South Carolina College wondering what would happen next. Fortunately for South Carolina College, Tillman only succeeded in reorganizing the college as a liberal arts school while in office. South Carolina College would eventually be rechartered for the last time in 1906 as the University of South Carolina. Clemson Agricultural College went on to become Clemson University in 1964 after expanding its academic offerings.
The turf battles continue between the two institutions regarding their respective missions, along with the competition on the athletic fields, but the political and cultural origins set the stage for the bitter rivalry that remains to this day. "There’s a history of bad blood between these institutions," says Jay McCormick, a doctoral candidate at USC who has extensively studied the early years of the series. "So when athletics came to Carolina and to Clemson, it was natural that they should be a rivalry. The rivalry extends back to political and social origins. It’s not just an athletic rivalry. It’s a manifestation of these things."
[edit] Results
Clemson 64 - Carolina 37 - 4 ties
