The Clemson Tigers have been elite on the football gridiron for decades and have risen to a new level over the last 15 years or so.
In terms of being a national brand, Dabo Swinney has elevated both his program and the recognition of the school around the globe during his time as the head coach at Clemson.
Tigers fans have waited for years for the success of the football team to rub off on other sports, as well, and the last two seasons have finally started to see some real success on campus in areas other than just the football field.
On the basketball court, Brad Brownell has Clemson in as good of a position as they have been in a very long time, and potentially ever.
Coming off a shocking underdog run to the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament last year, Brownell led the Tigers to a historic 2024-25 season in which they won a program record 27 games.
As a result of the last two years, Clemson’s athletic department as a whole is being recognized as one of the best in the nation rather than just the football team.
In a new ranking list from College Football news, the Tigers cracked the top-10 in terms of the best “football-basketball schools” in the country, checking in at No. 8.
“The hoops team flamed out in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, but finishing second in the ACC regular season was fun,” Pete Fiutak wrote. “Winning the ACC title in football and going to the College Football Playoff – it battled in the loss to Texas – was even better.”
The schools which came in ahead of Clemson were the Michigan Wolverines (No. 7), Duke Blue Devils (No. 6), Georgia Bulldogs (No. 5), Oregon Ducks (No. 4), Ohio State Buckeyes (No. 3), Tennessee Volunteers (No. 2) and Florida Gators (No. 1).
While there are valid cases to be made for all, the Tigers boast a more balanced “football-basketball” reputation than arguably anyone ahead of them.
The entire top-five made both the College Football Playoff and the NCAA Tournament outside of Florida, though the Gators made up for it with a national title.
Whether the criteria is agreed upon or not, Clemson should remain high on the list and potentially climb much higher in the coming seasons.
After Brownell flirted with — or at least was a rumored option for — the Indiana Hoosiers job, he appears here to stay for the long haul. Swinney’s team is the best positioned they have been in a long time to contend for a title.
Perhaps over the coming calendar year, the Tigers will make the kind of noise across both programs that the fan base craves so desperately.
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