Tommy Bowden Signs Contract Extension

May 5, 2000

Clemson, SC–Clemson Head Football Coach Tommy Bowden has signed a contract extension, Athletic Director Bobby Robinson announced Friday. Bowden’s contract now extends through the 2004 season. The extension calls for Bowden to receive a financial package worth $825,000 per year. It also calls for Bowden to earn additional income based on the number of regular season victories, and or performance in postseason play.

“I appreciate the University is pleased with the direction we are heading,” said Bowden. “My family and I have been here just a year and a half, but we have quickly realized that Clemson is a special place.”

Bowden was named ACC Coach-of-the-Year in 1999, the first Clemson coach to receive the honor from the Atlantic Coast Sportswriters Association since 1981. He guided the Tigers to a second-place finish in the Atlantic Coast Conference, a six-place improvement over the previous year. That is the greatest one-year improvement in the ACC standings in the 47-year history of the league.

Clemson concluded its 1999 season in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl in Atlanta against Mississippi State, making Bowden just the sixth coach in ACC history to inherit a team that had had a losing record, and take it to a bowl game in his first year. The Tigers broke 38 school records in 1999, including 26 on offense. The offense scored 42 touchdowns, fifth highest single season total in history, and averaged 403 yards a game in total offense, third highest in school history.

Clemson returns 16 of 22 starters and 52 lettermen from the 1999 team, including first-team All-American Kyle Young and Chad Carson.

“Tommy Bowden and his staff made great strides with our program last year,” said Athletic Director Bobby Robinson. “This contract extension is a tangible statement of our feelings about the direction of the Clemson football program under Coach Bowden. The new contract is an investment in the stability and long-term success of the program, which is our number-one revenue-producing sport.”

“Clemson is fortunate to be in a financial position to remain competitive in the current market for Division I head football coaches,” said President James Barker. “Unlike most Division I athletic programs, Clemson is 100 percent self sufficient and receives no funding from the University or state appropriations. On the contrary, the athletic programs provide funding to the University for academic scholarships, student activities and other special projects.”