Aug. 29, 2006
As we stand on the brink of a new year in Clemson athletics, I would like to touch on several points in this column.
First of all, I would be remiss if I did not refer to President (James) Barker’s letter about sportsmanship on the cover of this week’s Orange & White. Solid Orange is the theme we have adopted to always keep before us — be it our players, coaches, administrators, our fans or whomever — that everything we do reflects on one another and, ultimately, the University.
The essence of Solid Orange is clearly stated: “Our actions honor our University, traditions, teams, performance, people, and each other”.
That’s what Solid Orange means. It is how we conduct ourselves.
Last year, people from other universities visiting our campus were extremely complimentary of our University and our people — whether it was conduct in the parking lot or in the stadium. This reflected nationally in a most positive fashion.
We need to continue to build on the momentum that was started.
When we see the phrase Solid Orange, we need to bear in mind that it is about all of us. Our actions reflect either positively or negatively. While wearing Orange every Friday and at all venues is critically important, Solid Orange is not just about wearing a color – it’s about Pride in who we are and what we’re about.
As we prepare for our first football game at Death Valley, we are every excited about the WestZone opening this year. It’s an excellent start on the facility that eventually will house our football operations and allow us to turn Jervey and McFadden into excellent facilities for our total sports program.
That will put our student-athletes in an environment for success as well as help us continue to recruit quality student-athletes.
We are thankful for everyone’s support who has made this possible.
I would also like to mention that our men’s soccer team will be featured nationally on Fox Sports Net against pre-season no. 1 University of North Carolina. This game is set for September 15th at 8:00 p.m. at Riggs Field.
Our Tiger soccer team is currently ranked no. 5. Last year, they finished no. 3 with a Final Four appearance, all of which speaks to the positive direction that Coach (Trevor) Adair has the program headed. We feel good about the direction of our program overall and we look forward to another solid year.
In speaking at Clemson’s 2006 convocation ceremonies recently, Dr. Daniel Dustin, professor and chairman of the parks, recreation and tourism department at the University of Utah, made the point that a person does not achieve by themselves. Success is based upon the efforts of many people who came before us.
That is a point we need to remember with our athletic program. Everything that is possible in the future is because of the effort by people in the past. It has given us an opportunity to continue to build this program. It could not happen without a lot of people through the years who have contributed to the program and provided the building blocks.
In Solid Orange, Terry Don Phillips Director of Athletics
P.S. Congratulations to President Barker, Provost Helms, the University Administrative Team, Board of Trustees, Faculty and Staff for their achievement as the Top 30 Public University in the nation, U.S. News & World Report.
April 17, 2024
