Could softball or wrestling be coming to Clemson?

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Wed Jul 10 09:46:16 GMT-04:00 2013

Could wrestling or softball be added to the Clemson sports offering in the near future?

Those two sports have been talked about by the Clemson athletic department and would be the first two choices if new sports were added, but Athletic Director Dan Radakovich told TigerNet this week that adding another sport isn’t in the short-term plans.

“Certainly there is consideration of both wrestling and softball. But at this point in time, neither softball nor wrestling are in our short term plans to bring back those programs,” Radakovich said. “We are doing due diligence in both areas to see if they meet our business model and if they make economic sense to create those two sports here under our varsity sport offerings. But we have a lot of ground to cover and a lot of questions to answer before we can make any kind of decision.”

Once the decision to add a program was made, how long would it take before the sport was ready for competition? All you have to do is look at women’s golf for the answer, according to Radakovich.

“I think we have a good example here with our women’s golf program, which will begin competition this fall. That took about three years to get up and running, so there is a benchmark that actually is Clemson specific,” he said. “I think we also have to certainly look at the economics of adding a sport and whether we can sustain a high level of excellence and a high level of competition in bringing a sport on here at Clemson. Those are two good parameters as we look at what we might do in the future. But it certainly is a process that is not to be taken lightly because you create obligations for the program not only in the short-term but also in the long-term. You really have to see those fit with some of the other funding opportunities you have moving forward with the programs you currently have.”

I asked Radakovich if one or both would be added, and he said it would probably come down to making a decision to add just one.

“I think it depends on a number of different factors, but I think you could add one or the other without becoming in jeopardy of Title IX legislation,” he said. “I am not sure that we would do that from a program balance perspective, but numerically if you look at where Clemson is currently it is theoretically possible, but whether that theory becomes reality is all a part of that due diligence.”

Read part one of the interview with Athletic Director Dan Radakovich: WestZone Phase 3 put on hold as other facilities take priority