Dabo Swinney: ‘People Come to Clemson Because We Are Clemson’

Tigers’ head coach is not worried about realignment

CLEMSON, S.C. — Dabo Swinney is not sure what conference the Clemson Tigers might be a member of in the future. But he is sure of one thing, people come to Clemson because of Clemson.

Clemson’s head football coach says the sport is in a time of transition and there is really nothing he can personally do about it. However, regardless, if Clemson stays in the ACC or joins a Super Conference, Clemson is going to be fine.

“I can tell you this. No matter what happens. Whether the ACC goes to fifty-two teams or we move to the new Megatron-World Conference. I don’t really know, but people have never come to Clemson because of the league we are in, honestly,” Swinney said. “People come to Clemson because we are Clemson.”

Swinney made Clemson into one of the top programs in college football. Outside of Alabama, Clemson is the only school to win multiple national championships since 2009, while it has also won seven ACC titles and only stands behind Alabama with 11 consecutive 10-win seasons.

The Crimson Tide has 14 consecutive 10-win seasons.

Since USC and UCLA officially were invited to join the Big Ten in 2024, speculation has been rampant on when the next ball will drop in realignment. Clemson has been mentioned in some of those rumors, including an invite to the SEC.

“I know it is fun to talk about and there is probably uneasiness out there from time-to-time,” Swinney said. “There is a lot of business aspects. There are a lot of different things and moving parts. But man, I got one focus. And that is trying to beat Georgia Tech and win the opener. That is our first goal.”

Some believe if Clemson does not move to the SEC or the Big Ten, it could be left behind in the new world order of college football. Swinney does not believe any of it.

“I spent thirteen years at Alabama, and I never recruited anybody at Alabama that came because we were in the SEC. They came because we were Alabama,” Swinney said. “And they have come to Clemson in my nineteen years, going on twenty, because we are Clemson.

“Cristian Wilkins did not come here because we play in the ACC. Christian Wilkins came here because we are Clemson. That is who we are, regardless of what happens in college football, we are Clemson.”