Clemson, S.C. — Former Clemson Executive Director of IPTAY George Bennett passed away on Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025. He was 92. Regarded by many as Clemson’s greatest ambassador, Bennett was a legendary figure at Clemson, serving the school in various capacities from the time he was a freshman in 1951 until his passing.
The native of Columbia, S.C. made an impact on Clemson and its athletics endeavors as a student. He was the freshman class president in 1951 and held other class offices as a student. He was also a varsity cheerleader for three years, including 1953-54 when Clemson joined the ACC.
“No one epitomized ‘A Clemson Man’ more than George Bennett,” said Athletic Director Graham Neff. “Personally, George has been a good friend, mentor and supporter since I arrived at Clemson 12 years ago. His fingerprints have been all over Clemson and Clemson Athletics for decades and he will be forever remembered.”
As a student, he persuaded his father to buy a small cannon that would be fired after the Tigers scored a touchdown. His father had seen it done at an Army football game. After his father told George of the Army tradition, he said to him, “That is a great idea, why don’t you buy us a cannon?” That tradition celebrated its 70th anniversary this past season, and Bennett was on the field when the cannon was fired as the team ran down the hill.
After graduating in 1955, Bennett served two years in the U.S. Army at Fort Knox, Ky. In 1957, he started a nine-year career with the ESSO corporation. He returned to Clemson in 1967 as the first alumni field representative in the history of the Clemson Alumni Association.
Four years later, Bennett moved to the athletic department as an assistant athletic director. In that capacity, he became involved in fund-raising. In 1977, he became executive director of IPTAY. Over the next two years, IPTAY exceeded the $2.3 million mark in fundraising for student-athlete scholarships for the first time, and IPTAY members grew from 9,800 to over 15,000.
During his first year as executive secretary of IPTAY, he developed the idea to have Clemson fans use $2 bills when they traveled to the 1977 Georgia Tech game in Atlanta. Georgia Tech wanted to end the series with Clemson to play a lesser opponent and using $2 bills was a way to demonstrate the economic impact Atlanta would miss if Georgia Tech did not play Clemson.
In 1979, Bennett was named associate athletic director for financial development at Vanderbilt University. Just five years later, he was named the National Fundraiser of the Year.
In 1986, Bennett returned to South Carolina as the athletic director at Furman. Two years later, Furman won the Division I-AA football national championship, still the only football national championship in school history.
Bennett returned to Nashville, Tenn. in 1989 as the Vice President for Development at Baptist Hospital. He remained in that position until 1993 when he returned to Clemson as Executive Director of IPTAY. He remained in that position until he retired in June of 2004.
Bennett won many awards over his career. He was inducted into the Clemson Athletic Hall of Fame in 1986 and received the Clemson Alumni Association Distinguished Service Award in 1999. In 2001, Bennett received the Order of the Palmetto, South Carolina’s highest civilian honor. In 2024, he was recognized with the prestigious Bobby Richardson Sportsmanship Award by the South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame.
He and his wife Nancy were married for 65 years. He also leaves son Jeff and daughter Bonnie and seven grandchildren.
