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Clemson Memorial Stadium/ Frank Howard Field
"Death Valley"
Location	Centennial Blvd Clemson, SC 29634
Opened	September 19, 1942
Owner	Clemson University
Operator	Clemson University
Surface	Natural Grass
Construction cost	$125,000 (original stadium)
Tenants
Clemson Tigers (NCAA) (1942-Present) Carolina Panthers (NFL) (1995)
Capacity
80,301 (official) 86,092 (record - Florida State 1999)

Frank Howard Field at Memorial Stadium, popularly known as Death Valley, is home to the Clemson University Tigers, a NCAA Division I-A football team located in Clemson, South Carolina. Currently, the stadium is the second largest in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Built in 1941-1942, the stadium has been expanded throughout the years, and most recently an expansion of the west side of the stadium began in 2004. Image File history File links Broom_icon. ... Image File history File links Emblem-important. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1800x1200, 692 KB)I am the creator of this image. ... Clemson is a city located in South Carolina, a state of the United States of America. ... Year 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link will display the full 1942 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Clemson University is a public, coeducational, land-grant, research university located in Clemson, South Carolina, United States. ... The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA, often pronounced N-C-Double-A or N-C-Two-A ) is a voluntary association of about 1,200 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States. ... Year 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link will display the full 1942 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... City Charlotte, North Carolina Other nicknames The Cardiac Cats Team colors Black, Carolina Blue, and Silver Head Coach John Fox Owner Jerry Richardson General manager Marty Hurney Mascot Sir Purr League/Conference affiliations National Football League (1995–present) National Football Conference (1995-present) NFC West (1995-2001) NFC South (2002... NFL logo For other uses of the abbreviation NFL, see NFL (disambiguation). ... Year 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full 1995 Gregorian calendar). ... Florida State University Seal Florida State University is a public university located in Tallahassee, Florida, known for its programs in fine arts, education, public administration & policy, information studies, international affairs, music, criminology, and nursing. ... This article is about the year. ... Clemson University is a public, coeducational, land-grant, research university located in Clemson, South Carolina, United States. ... The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA, often pronounced N-C-Double-A or N-C-Two-A ) is a voluntary association of about 1,200 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States. ... United States simply as football, is a competitive team sport that is both fast-paced and strategic. ... Clemson is a city located in South Carolina, a state of the United States of America. ... The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is one of the oldest collegiate athletic leagues in the United States. ... For other uses, see 1941 (disambiguation). ... Year 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link will display the full 1942 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

History

Construction

The stadium was constructed against the wishes of the late and former Clemson Head Coach Jess Neely. Just before leaving for Rice University after the 1939 season, he said "Don't ever let them talk you into building a big stadium. Put about 10,000 seats behind the YMCA. That's all you'll ever need." Despite this, Clemson decided it was time to build a stadium. They chose the valley in the western part of the campus as the spot. The original 20,000 seat stadium was constructed for $125,000 or $6.25 a seat. On September 19, 1942, Memorial Stadium was opened with the 32-13 victory over Presbyterian College. Much of the work building the stadium was done by scholarship athletes, in fact the first staking out of the stadium was done by A.N. Cameron and Hugh Webb, two members of the football team. Jess C. Neely (January 4, 1898 - April 9, 1983) was a Hall of Fame college football coach at Clemson and Rice. ... Lovett Hall William Marsh Rice University (commonly called Rice University and opened in 1912 as The William Marsh Rice Institute for the Advancement of Letters, Science and Art) is a private, comprehensive research university located in Houston, Texas, USA, near the Museum District and adjacent to the Texas Medical Center. ...

In 1958, 18,000 sideline seats were added and in 1960, 5,658 west endzone seats were added in response to increasing attendance. As attendance continued to skyrocket, an upper deck was added to each side of the stadium. The first upper deck was added in 1978 and the second in 1983. This now put the total capacity over 80,000 which made it one of the largest on campus stadiums. The most recent expansion started in 2004 and ended in 2006 with the addition of the WestZone area. The WestZone project completely renovated the locker rooms, offices and many other facilities.

Death Valley

The term "Death Valley" comes from the fact that the field is physically situated in a valley. But two additional facts also add to the mystique. First, the university cemetery sits on a hill that once overlooked the field before the upper decks were constructed. The other reference comes from the late Lonnie McMillian, the former football coach at Presbyterian College. He used to take his teams to play at Clemson, where they rarely scored or gained a victory. He once told sports writers he was going to play Clemson up at Death Valley because his teams always got killed. The nickname stuck to an extent, but when Clemson Head Coach Frank Howard started calling it that in the 1950s, the nickname really caught on. Castle Ashby Graveyard Northamptonshire A cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. ... Presbyterian College is a liberal arts college in Clinton, South Carolina, USA. Presbyterian College, or PC, is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church USA. Presbyterian College has around 1300 students and runs on an endowment of around $75 million. ... This article discusses Clemson University. ... Frank J. Howard (March 25, 1909 - January 26, 1996) was an American college football player and coach. ... The 1950s decade refers to the years 1950 to 1959 inclusive. ...

Death valley is traditionally known for being one of the loudest college football stadiums and it plays as large part of the stadium's appeal. When College GameDay came to Clemson for the first time for the Georgia Tech game in 2006, the Clemson fans behind the set reached 117 decibels which was the loudest of any GameDay crowd.^{[citation needed]}

Interesting Facts

• Clemson is 227-88-7 at death valley, over 71% winning percentage.
• Clemson has ranked in the top 20 in the nation in average attendance 22 consecutive seasons.
• Clemson's top single season attendance was in 1988 when an average of 81,750 attended each game.
• In 1999, Coach Tommy Bowden's first year, the attendance record was set at the game against Florida State, whose head coach was Tommy's father, Bobby. FSU ended up winning the game 17-14, and the national championship that year. The 17 points scored by FSU at Death Valley was the lowest they scored all year and was by far the closest game, score wise, they had all year. One of many memorable moments from that night was Bobby Bowden's wife, Ann Bowden, wearing a sweater that was half Clemson and half FSU.

Clemson Top Single Game Attendance Figures

• Bowden Era Marked

Traditions

"Howard's Rock"

In the early 60's, two Clemson students (class of 1919) named Danny De La Torre and the love of his life, Mary Lyn Ogletree, went to California and stopped in Death Valley, CA, and found a white flint rock which he brought back with him. The rock was presented to Coach Frank Howard as "being from Death Valley, CA, to Death Valley South Carolina." Howard couldn't care less about the rock and it was used as a door stop in his office. In September of 1966, Coach Howard was cleaning out his office and proceeded to tell his assistant "I don't care what you do with it, just get this rock out of my office." It was then placed on a pedestal at the top of the hill on September 24,1966 a game which Clemson won 40-35 over Virginia. The team started rubbing the Rock for the first game of 1967, which was a 23-6 win over Wake Forest on Sept. 23, 1967. [1]

A player is allowed to rub Howard's Rock if they are going to give 110%. Coach Howard was quoted as saying "if you are going to give a hundred and ten percent you can rub my rock... if you are not going to give a hundred and ten percent, then keep your filthy hands off my rock."

In 1992, students from the University of South Carolina snuck into the stadium and tried to steal the rock with little success. The next day, Steve Taneyhill led the Gamecocks to victory over the Clemson Tigers in one of the biggest rivalry games in college football.

It is now a tradition for the Clemson Army ROTC to "protect" the Rock for the 24 hours prior to the Carolina-Clemson game when held in Death Valley. ROTC cadets beat on trash cans all night prior to the game defending Howard's Rock. ROTC links here. ...

"Running Down the Hill"

The Tigers run down The Hill before the Louisiana Tech game.

Probably the most highly publicized traditions of the Clemson Tigers football team is the entrance. Known as the "The Most Exciting 25 seconds in College Football" it truly is one of the greatest college football traditions. After exiting the stadium on the west side, the players load into 2 buses which, escorted by a policeman on a motorcycle, makes its way around the stadium to the east side where The Hill is located. This scene is shown on the JumboTron inside the stadium. When the buses arrive at the east side the players get out and gather at the top of the hill and stand around Howard's Rock, once most of the players are out of the buses and ready to go a cannon sounds, the band begins to play Tiger Rag and the players make their way down the hill. The spelling out of CLEMSON during this Tiger Rag is one of, if not the loudest, times it will be spelled out during the game. Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2304 × 1728 pixel, file size: 1. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2304 × 1728 pixel, file size: 1. ...

Coming into the 2007 season the Tigers have made the run down the hill 320 times.

"When you get to the bottom, its like you're in a hole and all around you are nothing but Clemson fans. It's like the crowd is one big voice. You feel like tiny kings," said Tiger tailback Rodney Blunt.

David Treadwell, a 1987 All-American placekicker for Clemson said, "Clemson's record at home is not a coincidence. Running down the hill is a part of that record. You get so inspired, and so much of college football is about emotion. You get out of that bus and you hear the roar of the crowd and it gives you chills up and down your spine."

"Running down the hill is still talked about everywhere I go," said Jerry Butler, an All-American on the 1978 team who went on to a lengthy pro career with the Buffalo Bills. "Players who played against Clemson when I was in college always remember us rubbing that rock and thinking we would gain some type of spirit coming down that hill. The adrenaline rush was unbelievable for a Clemson player and it was quite a shock for the opponent."

Famous Quotes

"When Clemson players rub that rock and run down the hill, it's the most exciting 25 seconds in college football."

--Brent Musburger, ABC Sports Brent Woody Musburger (born May 26, 1939 in Billings, Montana) is an American sportscaster for the ABC and ESPN television networks. ... [1] ABC Sports is a division of ABC, responsible for the televising of many sports events on the network. ...

"I remember being sick before the game because there were 80,000 people dressed in orange. I even threw up before the game. It's the only time I've ever done that."

--Dave Brown, Former Duke Quarterback David Michael Brown (born February 25, 1970 in Summit, New Jersey) is a former professional American football quarterback in the NFL who played for the New York Giants and Arizona Cardinals. ... Duke University is a private coeducational research university located in Durham, North Carolina, USA. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. ...

"There is no place louder or more picturesque than Death Valley. There, where Clemson folks see magic in a hill and a rock, orange gets more respect than anywhere this side of Gainesville, Florida."

--Terence Moore, Atlanta Constitution The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is the only major daily newspaper of Atlanta and metro Atlanta. ...

"I came here knowing it would be loud and that Clemson would hit me hard, but to me, the noise was the biggest factor. I know I didn't concentrate as well because of it."

--Herschel Walker, Former Georgia Running Back (after Clemson's 13-3 victory in 1981, Walker's only regular season loss at Georgia). Herschel Walker (born March 3, 1962 in Wrightsville, Georgia) is a former professional American football player in the United States Football League and the National Football League. ...

"Death Valley really lives up to its image. I was impressed with this stadium. When you put 80,000 people in there, it really feels like they are on top of you. I would hate to be Georgia Tech or whoever else comes in here."

--Steve Young, San Francisco 49ers Quarterback Jon Steven Young (born October 11, 1961 in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA), is a former quarterback for the National Football Leagues San Francisco 49ers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the Los Angeles Express of the short-lived United States Football League. ... City San Francisco, California Other nicknames Niners, The Red And Gold, Bay Bombers Team colors Cardinal red, metallic gold and black Head Coach Mike Nolan Owner Denise DeBartolo York and John York General manager Lal Heneghan Mascot Sourdough Sam League/Conference affiliations All-America Football Conference (1946-1949) Western Division...

"Florida was loud in the Swamp. But, the loudest, not only the stadium, but the loudest place I have ever been around in my life was definitely Death Valley." The University of Florida (Florida, UFL, or UF) is a public land-grant, research university located in Gainesville, Florida. ... Ben Hill Griffin Stadium at Florida Field (aka The Swamp) is the American football stadium for the University of Florida’s football team, nicknamed the Gators. ...

--Chris Rix, former Florida State Quarterback Chris Rix (born May 1, 1981) is a former National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) American football quarterback for the Florida State Seminoles (FSU). ... Florida State University (commonly referred to as Florida State or FSU)[7] is a public research university located in Tallahassee. ...

External links

• Official site

Coordinates: 34°40′43.4891″N, 82°50′35.4301″W Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ...