Clemson’s threads will have a different look to them this weekend.
When the Tigers square off against UConn on Saturday at Memorial Stadium, they’ll be wearing their all-purple uniforms for the first time this season. It will also be the only time the Tigers break them out.
“Coming to Clemson, we don’t get that many opportunities to switch things up,” freshman receiver Beaux Collins said. “So being able to wear the purple, it’s really exciting. I love the purple unis. They look sweet.”
The occasion? Military Appreciation Day, which has been a tradition for nearly three decades at a university that’s deeply rooted in the subject.
Founded in 1889, Clemson, known then as Clemson Agricultural College, was originally a military school based on the belief that a military environment produced the highest academic excellence. According to the school, more than 10,000 alums have served in the military beginning with the first graduating class in 1896. Even as the school transitioned to a co-ed civilian institution in 1955, its military heritage has remained.
The history of Military Appreciation Day dates back to 1994 when Clemson had a special flyover before its home game against Georgia Tech that season. That will make Saturday’s game the 28th consecutive celebration of the military at Clemson, which happens every November or when the Tigers host a team with its own military heritage.
It will also be the 13th time coaching the Tigers on Military Appreciation Day for Dabo Swinney. Clemson is unbeaten on the special day with Swinney at the helm, and the Tigers would like to keep it that way.
“I just really think it’s a great day. It’s amazing,” Swinney said. “It’s sacrifice that people in the military have to make to serve others. When you really think about that, it gives you a perspective that I think we all should have and an appreciation of the opportunities and privileges that we get to be a part of college football.”
The last time Clemson lost on Military Appreciation Day was 2007 against Virginia Tech, two seasons before Swinney became the head coach permanently. He spent the second half of the 2008 season as the interim coach following Tommy Bowden’s resignation, but Clemson had already played its Military Appreciation Day game by then.
The Tigers have rarely been beaten on Military Appreciation Day. They’re 23-4 in the previous 27 such games.
“I take a lot of pride in the traditions here at Clemson,” Swinney said. “‘First of all, we play at Memorial Stadium, and we have this unbelievable scroll. And the military heritage at this university is something that everybody takes a lot of pride in. It means a lot. It runs really deep. We have lots of players on this team who have family scattered all throughout the military. It’s just one of the things that I have really embraced since I came to Clemson.”
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