Tiger basketball’s success should pressure football program

By Marc Hudgens  |   Sunday, March 16, 2008  |  Comments( 0 )

Clemson Tigers
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In light of this past weekend, certainly there is a Clemson fan or two now scratching their head and wondering why the Tiger football program has yet to do what the basketball program has done.

Sunday afternoon was the ACC basketball championship tournament where an unranked Clemson team, who earned its first winning conference mark since 1996-97, lost to top-ranked North Carolina in the tourney finals, 86-81. This is the first time the Tiger roundballers made it to the conference title game since 1962.

Keep in mind Clemson basketball is not synonymous with championships; the program has predominantly been a bottom-feeder for years, if not decades. Yet what coach Oliver Purnell has accomplished in only his fifth year, and in one of the toughest basketball conferences in the land, is nothing short of amazing. He did with his program what Jim Grobe did with Wake Forest football.

Not to take anything away from the Tigers' very successful campaign this past season in basketball, Clemson is and always will be a football school first. And this is why many fans are questioning the direction of the football program.

Just to reiterate, Purnell took over a historical cellar-dweller of a team five years ago and turned it into a title contender in arguably the most prestigious basketball conference in college basketball history. By contrast, football coach Tommy Bowden took over an average football program nine years ago and has yet to win an ACC title, a conference that is perceived by many to be one of the weakest in all of college football.

Regardless of what others may say, the Clemson football program was clearly not in the dumps during the Ken Hatfield and Tommy West years, 1990-98. In spite of three losing seasons in that nine-year period, the record for that same timeframe is 63-41-1, including six bowl appearances and, coincidentally, an ACC championship. So the football program was in far better shape when Bowden took over than the basketball program when Purnell took over. And look how far Purnell has come at Clemson.

When little Wake Forest shocked the nation and won the ACC title in football in 2006, some said Clemson got bypassed by a weaker team with a good coach. Now it seems Bowden's program has been bypassed once again, this time by his school's own basketball team.

Perhaps comparing the two revenue sports is an apples-and-oranges thing. But the events that transpired this past weekend in Charlotte, North Carolina, certainly put the football program into perspective.
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About Marc Hudgens

Marc Hudgens has been with RealFootball365 since 2007, covering college football, specifically Clemson and Oregon. He also writes for SouthernPigskin.com covering the ACC. He enjoys the acidic wit of Hunter S. Thompson, is a freelance graphic designer and has written several screenplays. He...
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