Hello Tiger fans!
We were thrilled with the news that ESPN College GameDay will begin the 2013 football season in Clemson to preview our top-10 matchup against the University of Georgia. Everywhere the crew goes, there is incredible excitement for fans and students. I’m sure there will be great enthusiasm on Bowman Field, much like there was in 2006 when GameDay was in town for the Georgia Tech game. Much work goes into bringing College GameDay to town, so Van Hilderbrand and our gameday operations staff are working hard to make sure their stay is smooth and that ESPN’s team receives the proper amount of Clemson hospitality.
Speaking of August 31, season tickets will be mailed out the middle of this week. While there are no major changes as it relates to gameday operations, we continue to make accommodations to ensure that the Clemson Football fan experience is second to none. One change will take place as it pertains to the checking of bags. Details regarding this process will be announced early next week and will be included in all upcoming My Orange Updates.
Best of luck to Signore Brad Brownell and the Tigers as they are in the midst of a 10-day tour of Italy. It’s sure to be a great experience for our student-athletes, and an opportunity for team bonding as they prepare for the 2013-14 season.
On Tuesday of last week, I had the privilege of meeting with NCAA President Mark Emmert as part of a 10-member group of athletic directors in Chicago. Much of the meeting focused on where ADs live in the pecking order within the decision-making of the NCAA. President Emmert was very receptive to having more practitioners be involved with some of the legislation and rule making within the NCAA. We’ve thought for some time that we could help move things along at a more rapid pace. In all, we had an outstanding four hours of discussion.
In July, we had a great meeting with the Clemson University Board of Trustees in Charleston. We continue to move forward with short, medium and long-range facility plans, but we still have work to do before asking for action from that group come October. There was great enthusiasm amongst the board, and hopefully in the near future, we’ll be able to put more information out to our fans.
Finally, I want to take the time to welcome some outstanding additions to Clemson Athletics. Mark Elliott recently added two assistant coaches for our track & field program, Marvin Gibson from the University of Oklahoma and Althea Thomas from Purdue University. I also want to welcome Kyra Lobbins as our new assistant director of student-athlete development. She will be involved in a number of projects, ranging from community service to life skills programming.
We have also added Joe Galbraith as our Assistant Athletic Director for Athletic Communications. Joe comes from Mississippi State where he served in their Athletic Communications area for eight years. Also, I must say a word about Tim Bourret. Tim is an incredible asset for Clemson Athletics, and much of his institutional knowledge centers around our football program. Going forward, Tim’s main assignment will be our football program as it made great sense for him to concentrate his efforts with our most valuable property.
It is a changing world as it relates to communications, so we want to be sure we are positioning ourselves in a way to offer our investors the greatest amount of information.
The news media paradigm has shifted. ClemsonTigers.com and our other platforms need to be the service for news as it relates to Clemson Athletics. We feel strongly about moving in this direction and are excited about the opportunities that exist.
Dan Radakovich
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April 24, 2024
