Note: The following appears in The Citadel football gameday program.
Throughout this season, we have documented past victories in each gameday program that have been important to the rise of the Clemson program under Head Coach Dabo Swinney.
While we all love to recall those victories, every program’s history also has setbacks that have moved the program in a positive direction.
An example in recent years would be Clemson’s loss in the 2010 Meineke Car Care Bowl, when Tajh Boyd led the Tigers to two touchdowns in the fourth quarter of a loss to South Florida. That defeat concluded a losing season and led to a total evaluation of the Tiger program by Swinney.
Additionally, it gave the staff confidence in Boyd entering the 2011 season, and he went on to a Clemson Hall of Fame career. The Tigers have finished in the top 25 every year since, including two national championships, eight ACC championships and six straight trips to the College Football Playoff, the longest streak in the nation.
Historically, perhaps the most positive effect of a Clemson loss might have taken place on Oct. 16, 1931 at Florence, S.C. That day, The Citadel defeated the Tigers 6-0 at Florence Memorial Stadium in front of a crowd of 6,000 fans. It was the last time The Citadel beat Clemson and it was the 100th win in Bulldog history. It was shocking at the time because Clemson was coming off three straight eight-win seasons and a 24-8 record the previous three years.
Jess Neely was in his first year as Clemson’s head coach. The squad had just one victory at the time of the defeat and had scored only one touchdown. Clemson ended that 1931 season with only one victory and three total touchdowns.
Neely and Clemson administrators had expected much more, so a meeting was held after the game in an automobile in a parking lot outside the stadium. The group in the car included Neely, Ends Coach Joe Davis, Captain Frank Jervey and Captain Pete Hefner.
Clemson was a military school at the time, and Hefner and Jervey were military staff members at Clemson and were keenly interested in its athletic programs. Hefner also assisted Neely in coaching the team in his spare time.
The meeting centered around what it was going to take to bring Clemson back to a winning level. Neely was only 33 at the time and had come to Clemson the previous winter after three seasons as an assistant coach under Head Coach Wallace Wade at Alabama.
Neely learned enough from Wade and the Alabama program to know that infrastructure and financial support were at the forefront of importance in building a winner. Some things never change.
At one point in the postgame meeting, the others asked Neely how much money it would take to allow him to field a winning team. Neely responded that he thought $10,000 a year would allow Clemson to turn out a winning team on a regular basis. (It should be noted that $10,000 in 1931 would be worth over $200,000 today.)
Clemson administrators began by trying to ask supporters for $50 a year, but that ended up being too high for the times, as the country was still in the middle of an economic depression.
Attempts continued over the next couple of years. Dr. Rupert Fike was a Clemson graduate who became involved in the mission. On Aug. 20, 1934, a meeting was held with Fike and others. The next day, Fike wrote a letter to Neely.
“Last night, we had a little meeting at my house and organized the IPTAY Club.”
IPTAY stands for “I Pay Ten A Year,” the minimum donation required to join the club. Fike was smart enough to know that there were benefits to having a large group of people involved.
IPTAY did not reach its $10,000 goal that first year, as there were 162 members who raised $1,623.70. Some contributors would divide their $10 into four payments, while others paid with eggs, milk and turnip greens.
IPTAY donations continued to rise over the years. In 1934, IPTAY’s first year, Clemson had its first winning season since 1930. It is not a coincidence that IPTAY finally reached $10,000 in 1939, the year the program finished 9-1, had its first top-20 final ranking and made its first bowl game, a victory over Boston College in the Cotton Bowl.
IPTAY’s formation has to be regarded as the most important contribution to Clemson’s athletic infrastructure in history. In addition to the financial support, the organization is as responsible for the legendary Clemson spirit as anything.
It all started after a loss to The Citadel in 1931.
