Clemson, South Carolina – June 2, 2022 – Two Clemson graduates and area business owners have launched Dear Old Clemson, a name, image and likeness collective to bring Tiger fans, businesses and student-athletes together to make sure they all win together.
Robert MacRae, a 1987 Clemson graduate, and Jason Beaty, who graduated from Clemson with a bachelor’s degree in 1997 and an MBA in 2002, founded Dear Old Clemson, LLC. Jay Courie, a lawyer and longtime Clemson supporter, serves as the legal counsel and advisor for Dear Old Clemson.
“Our mission is to do NIL the ‘Clemson way’,” MacRae said. “Dear Old Clemson was created to benefit the student-athletes, the Clemson business community, and the best fans in the nation.”
For businesses and fans that just want to contribute to football, they can hop on the Roy Bus and have their contributions dedicated to football. Two club options will be available: the Clemson Athletic Club and the Lady Tiger Club. Contributions from subscriptions to the Lady Tiger Club will go exclusively to support the athletes of Clemson’s women’s sports. The Clemson Athletic Club will support football and other sports with a majority of the funds going to football.
Club members will have access to exclusive events with student-athletes, receive early access and discounts on collectibles and other exciting benefits. Dear Old Clemson has a road map of new benefits planned for club members in order to continue to add value to the memberships.
“Dear Old Clemson’s initial focus will be on football, baseball, softball and basketball but will extend to other sports in the future,” said MacRae, CEO of MacRae Consulting Corporation and owner of The Clemson Insider Media Group. “We believe we can be a game changer for the partial scholarship sports of baseball and softball.”
One of the goals of Dear Old Clemson is to help the Clemson business community. Some of the funds raised will be used to compensate student-athletes in exchange for appearances at Clemson area businesses. Dear Old Clemson will match portions of funds from local businesses that pay student-athletes to help promote their businesses.
“When the Tigers are successful on the field, it certainly helps the local business community. We plan to do our part to help,” said Beaty, owner of Clemson Variety & Frame in downtown Clemson.
A number of former Clemson athletes have already agreed to serve as advisors to Dear Old Clemson. These former Tigers will help determine the best way to raise and distribute funds for the sports they starred in at Clemson. Kyle Parker, Shaq Lawson, Adam Humphries and Sam Russ have all agreed to help in this capacity and several others will be announced in the near future.
“The Clemson community has always raised to the occasion to help the Tigers compete at the highest level,” MacRae said. “It will take a grassroots effort for the Tigers to compete in NIL. Dear Old Clemson will provide a platform to allow all fans to do their part and enjoy an experience that is sustainable and repeatable.”
About Dear Old Clemson
Dear Old Clemson, LLC was established in April 2022. The collective compensates Clemson student-athletes for attending events, promoting businesses, signing collectibles, sales of collectibles and interacting with members in person and virtually. Dear Old Clemson is fully compliant. The only athletes compensated for use of their name, image and likeness are ones that are currently enrolled at Clemson University.
Clemson fans and businesses are encouraged to visit DearOldClemson.com for more information.