- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 1,151,271
- Reaction score
- 59
For all the changes happening across college football, the way the ClemsonTigers operate hasn’t really shifted.
That might sound odd in an era driven by NIL deals and growing financial gaps, but head coach Dabo Swinney made it clear Clemson isn’t trying to mirror the sport’s biggest brands. Programs like Alabama Crimson Tide football, Ohio State Buckeyes football, Georgia Bulldogs football, and Notre Dame Fighting Irish football still hold advantages in areas like alumni backing and financial reach.
“At Clemson, we always have to have a chip on our shoulder,” Swinney said on Always College Football with Greg McElroy. “It just is what it is, we don’t have the same alumni base that other schools we have played and had to compete with over the years have. That’s just the way it is.”
Despite that, Clemson hasn’t exactly struggled to keep up. During Swinney’s tenure, the Tigers have consistently delivered against elite competition, owning a strong record against Ohio State while also picking up multiple wins over Alabama and Notre Dame.
“Notre Dame has their own TV station. They make their own rules. They print their own money. They got like their own money machine in the backyard or something,” Swinney said.
The success stretches further. Clemson hasn’t dropped games to Auburn, Texas A&M, or Oklahoma under Swinney, and those runs came alongside two national championships. For a program often viewed as operating outside the sport’s inner circle, the results say otherwise.
Still, Swinney doesn’t believe anything about Clemson’s approach needs to change, even as the landscape shifts.
“The more things change the more they stay the same,” he said. “Now, it is just different (in how it is done). We do not have the same NIL budget as some places have. We do not have some of the same built-in resources from an alumni base and all of that type of stuff.”
“We don’t but guess what? We never have. But you know what we do have? We have enough. We got enough. We just have to be good with what we have.”
To explain that mindset, Swinney pointed to the story of Jesus Christ feeding a crowd with limited food.
“But like Matthew, Mark, Luke and John describe in the Bible, Clemson has enough,” he said. “We may only have five loafs and two fish, but we got enough. We have to bring all we got to the table and use it and be smart. Then we just have to be Clemson.”
“We have won here for so long because we have been unique in how we have done things. We just have to continue to be that.”
Contact us @Clemson_Wire on X, and like our page on Facebook for ongoing coverage of Clemson Tigers news and notes, plus opinions.
This article originally appeared on Clemson Wire: Dabo Swinney on Clemson football’s NIL struggles compared to others
Continue reading...
That might sound odd in an era driven by NIL deals and growing financial gaps, but head coach Dabo Swinney made it clear Clemson isn’t trying to mirror the sport’s biggest brands. Programs like Alabama Crimson Tide football, Ohio State Buckeyes football, Georgia Bulldogs football, and Notre Dame Fighting Irish football still hold advantages in areas like alumni backing and financial reach.
“At Clemson, we always have to have a chip on our shoulder,” Swinney said on Always College Football with Greg McElroy. “It just is what it is, we don’t have the same alumni base that other schools we have played and had to compete with over the years have. That’s just the way it is.”
Despite that, Clemson hasn’t exactly struggled to keep up. During Swinney’s tenure, the Tigers have consistently delivered against elite competition, owning a strong record against Ohio State while also picking up multiple wins over Alabama and Notre Dame.
“Notre Dame has their own TV station. They make their own rules. They print their own money. They got like their own money machine in the backyard or something,” Swinney said.
The success stretches further. Clemson hasn’t dropped games to Auburn, Texas A&M, or Oklahoma under Swinney, and those runs came alongside two national championships. For a program often viewed as operating outside the sport’s inner circle, the results say otherwise.
Still, Swinney doesn’t believe anything about Clemson’s approach needs to change, even as the landscape shifts.
“The more things change the more they stay the same,” he said. “Now, it is just different (in how it is done). We do not have the same NIL budget as some places have. We do not have some of the same built-in resources from an alumni base and all of that type of stuff.”
“We don’t but guess what? We never have. But you know what we do have? We have enough. We got enough. We just have to be good with what we have.”
To explain that mindset, Swinney pointed to the story of Jesus Christ feeding a crowd with limited food.
“But like Matthew, Mark, Luke and John describe in the Bible, Clemson has enough,” he said. “We may only have five loafs and two fish, but we got enough. We have to bring all we got to the table and use it and be smart. Then we just have to be Clemson.”
“We have won here for so long because we have been unique in how we have done things. We just have to continue to be that.”
Contact us @Clemson_Wire on X, and like our page on Facebook for ongoing coverage of Clemson Tigers news and notes, plus opinions.
This article originally appeared on Clemson Wire: Dabo Swinney on Clemson football’s NIL struggles compared to others
Continue reading...
