Clemson vs. Florida State on Labor Day Night

Jan. 19, 2007

Clemson, SC – Clemson will open its 2007 football schedule against Florida State on Labor Day Night in a game that will be televised nationally on ESPN. This will be the first time Clemson has played a regular season game on a Monday night since 1982 when the Tigers opened the season at Georgia in a nationally televised game on ABC.

“The Clemson-Florida State game is one of our most viewed telecasts, and eagerly anticipated match-ups each year,” said Dave Brown, Vice President, ESPN programming and acquisitions. “The popularity of our Labor Day primetime window is a natural fit for this game and we look forward to showcasing the Clemson-Florida State game to a national audience in an exclusive college football window.”

Kickoff for the contest will be 8:00 PM. “This will bring tremendous exposure to our program,” said Head Coach Tommy Bowden. “The Clemson-Florida State game is always one of the most watched college games of the year and now it will be in a time slot on a holiday evening with no other college game broadcast at the same time.

Last year’s Labor Day Night game between Florida State and Miami (FL) averaged 6,330,000 households, was the sixth most viewed regular season college football game on national television in 2006, ranked as ESPN’s highest-rated college football game since 1994 with a 6.9 rating, and was the most viewed college football game in ESPN’s history.

“As we saw last year when ESPN’s College GameDay came to Clemson for the Georgia Tech game, this Labor Day evening game will be a great opportunity to showcase Clemson University,” said Clemson Athletic Director Dr. Terry Don Phillips. “It will bring great exposure for the University as we strive to become a Top 20 national public university.”

The ACC has informed Dr. Phillips that Clemson will not have a Thursday Night game home or away during the 2007 season.

The Clemson vs. Florida State game will be the ninth meeting between Tigers Head Coach Tommy Bowden and his father, Florida State Hall of Fame Head Coach Bobby Bowden. Bobby has won five of the first eight, but Tommy has won three of the last four, including last year’s game in Tallahassee, FL, a 27-20 Clemson victory on a one-yard touchdown run by James Davis with just eight seconds left.

The complete Clemson schedule for 2007 will be released at a later date.