Cannot read it but The State says Clemson

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Re: Cannot read it but The State says Clemson

Oct 9, 2023, 1:13 PM

About 14 months out from the expected date, Clemson and South Carolina have yet to execute a contract for next year’s non-conference football game. But representatives from both schools said the delay shouldn’t raise any red flags about the status of their fierce in-state rivalry, which will be played for a 120th time this November. After a Sept. 25 public records request revealed Clemson’s 2024-27 game agreement with South Carolina “has still not been executed,” reps from both schools described the delay in signing their next contract, which is nearly complete, as minor. Clemson and USC athletic department spokesmen told The State this week both universities fully intend to sign and finalize the contract for the next round of games in the coming months. The schools, as they’ve already publicly stated, will keep executing future game contracts with each other beyond 2024-27, too, to keep their rivalry — one of the longest running in college football — chugging along amid big changes in the sport. Clemson and South Carolina are currently in the second year of a two-year game contract for 2022-23, which was executed on April 8, 2021, roughly 19 months before the first game on a deal. This year, the Tigers and Gamecocks will play Nov. 25 in Williams-Brice Stadium. The schools played each other on a four-year game agreement from 2017-21. That contract was altered when the SEC, in reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic, played a conference-only schedule in 2020 and thus eliminated the possibility of a Clemson-South Carolina game. Outside of that COVID-19-prompted alteration, in which the schools agreed to move the last game of the contract from 2020 to 2021, Clemson and South Carolina have generally signed four-year contracts to play each other, a Clemson spokesperson said. The spokesperson added that signing a contract 14 months (or sooner) before a game date is a regular occurrence for past Clemson-South Carolina contracts. Before its 2020 disruption, the Clemson-South Carolina football rivalry had been played 111 consecutive years from 1909-2019. At that time, Minnesota-Wisconsin (played annually since 1907) was the only longer consecutive rivalry game in the country. Leaders at both schools have expressed confidence and determination in playing the rivalry game regardless of when or if the SEC, where South Carolina has played since 1992, moves from an eight-game to a nine-game conference schedule, The State previously reported. Though SEC presidents voted unanimously in June to continue with an eight-game conference schedule in 2024, it’s widely expected the league will eventually move to a nine-game schedule with Oklahoma and Texas joining next year to give the league 16 teams. “Whether it’s Florida-Florida State, or Southern Cal-UCLA, different people say they’ve got the greatest rivalry,” South Carolina athletic director Ray Tanner told The State in November 2022. “I think, truly, ours is a great rivalry in lots of sports. I wouldn’t want it to change in any capacity.” Clemson athletic director Graham Neff added in a statement that Clemson “has every intention to continue our annual meetings with the University of South Carolina in all sports, including football.” “We know how important the series is to our state, our fanbase, and our student-athletes,” Neff said last November. “This is one of the oldest and fiercest rivalries in all of college sports, and Clemson will always be committed to the matchup.” South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Shane Beamer wades through masses of fans after his team beat Clemson on Saturday, November 26, 2022. Joshua Boucher jboucher@thestate.com A NEW DATE FOR CLEMSON-SOUTH CAROLINA GAME? The Tigers and Gamecocks have routinely played each other at or near the end of the college football regular season, including 16 consecutive games on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Clemson and USC also haven’t played each other earlier than November in 64 years. Amid lingering questions about future SEC scheduling models, that’s not expected to change. Tanner acknowledged last year that the SEC moving to a nine-game conference schedule could put Clemson and South Carolina in a spot where they need to play earlier in the season. “I like where it’s at, but with the ACC and the SEC, there could be a movement in both conferences that would put us in a situation that we would have to reconsider scheduling,” he said. “I’m hopeful that we can stay where we are.” Clemson feels the exact same way. A spokesperson said the delay on signing the USC contract isn’t related to potential date changes and, as of now, all of the 2024-27 rivalry games are expected to be played the Saturday after Thanksgiving (for next year, that’s Nov. 30). Any future date changes, if applicable, would also be covered within the contract. As is standard for college football game contracts, the most recent Clemson-South Carolina agreement for the 2022-23 games states that dates and game times are subject to change “pending the mutual written agreement of the participating institutions.” Another portion of that April 2021 contract in the “liquid damages” section, outlining how much a school has to pay if and when they cancel a game, directly addresses that question. “Moreover,” the contract states, “if either party’s governing conference reduces the number of nonconference games or if due to conference realignment nonconference games are eliminated or reduced, then either party, upon written notice, may cancel the Game without penalty or the payment of liquidated damages.” But there’s a clear consensus among ACC and SEC leaders that non-conference rivalry games aren’t going anywhere amid scheduling changes, even if dates may change. Outside of Clemson-USC, those conferences have three other prominent in-state, non-conference rivalries in Kentucky-Louisville, Florida-Florida State and Georgia-Georgia Tech. SEC commissioner Greg Sankey has also publicly acknowledged the importance of those rivalries and said they play a role in the league’s decisions on conference scheduling. “There’s a lot of really, really special games that are contemplated — including traditional in-state rivalries that are non-conference games,” Sankey said in May. “All of that informs thinking. As I’ve said before, there’s like a whole list of reasons — and I know it’s maybe more enjoyable to reduce it to one — but there’s a lot going into the decision.” The State’s Dwayne McLemore contributed reporting to this story. This story was originally published October 4, 2023, 7:20 AM.

Read more at: https://www.thestate.com/sports/college/university-of-south-carolina/usc-football/article280084904.html#storylink=cpy

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Re: Cannot read it but The State says Clemson

Re: Cannot read it but The State says Clemson

Re: Cannot read it but The State says Clemson

Re: Cannot read it but The State says Clemson

Re: Cannot read it but The State says Clemson

Seems like they waited last minute to sign the last one too.***

Them Peckerheads is skairt

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