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CLEMSON, S.C. – The Clemson University Board of Trustees gave Phase I approval on a plan for a new state-of-the-art performance and wellness center for Clemson’s student-athletes, as well as upgrades to the existing volleyball facilities and renovation to the Jervey Athletic Center. The renovations would also provide an upgrade for the track and field and cross country program for their day-to-day operations.

Construction would commence upon Phase II Board and State approval, with the goal of a start in late fall 2023 and ready for use by student-athletes for the 2024-25 athletic seasons. The new 50,000-square-foot facility, to be located south of Jervey Gym, would be the new day-to-day home for Clemson’s sports medicine, strength and conditioning, nutrition and applied science departments. The existing Jervey Athletic Center was built in 1973, and last underwent major renovation in 1995. The project in total is expected to cost $50 million.

“I am grateful to the Board of Trustees for their approval today, as this is a major step forward for all of our student-athletes, providing them the ability to maximize their potential in their respective sports,” said Director of Athletics Graham Neff. “Elite medical care, nutrition and performance are key to building championship-level teams across all of our 21 varsity programs. The location is in the heart of the athletic district and will become a hub for social activity and enhance the student-athlete experience. I am equally excited for the volleyball and track and field programs and the lift it will give as we continue to invest in our programs.”

Renovations to the gym include the raising of the roof, as well as new locker room, lounge and meeting areas for Clemson’s volleyball program, and major improvements to the gameday experience with new access, restrooms and concessions areas. The Track and Field and Cross Country program, which is also housed in Jervey, would receive significant upgrades to their day-to-day spaces, including locker room. Their hub would also be centrally located to many of their most commonly used performance spaces. In all, the renovation phase of the project would re-allocate more than 14,000 square feet of space.

“IPTAY is proud to support this mission and new build that will have a dramatic impact on our student-athletes,” said IPTAY CEO Davis Babb. “Our 540 student-athletes already have access to best-in-class academic support and scholarship, as well as many new facility enhancements. This commitment will truly move Clemson into the next level of success on and off the field.”

IPTAY is in the midst of an aggressive fundraising campaign to support the new facilities. Those interested in learning more about how to support the project can reach out to Lauren Gaulin at IPTAY at lgaulin@clemson.edu.

Separately, Clemson also recently broke ground on a $37 million project that will include practice facilities and operations complex for the Tigers’ two newest sports – women’s lacrosse and women’s gymnastics – as well as improvements to the existing rowing facility. That project also includes a lakefront elite recovery area, which aims to make a drastic difference in student-athlete recovery and mental well-being. That project is slated to be completed in late 2023.

Despite a record-setting 2022-23 season, Clemson men’s basketball will be on the outside looking in for this month’s NCAA Tournament.

The tournament selection committee didn’t include Clemson in its 68-team field for March Madness announced Sunday. Clemson was the fourth team out behind Oklahoma State, Rutgers and UNC, in that order, according to the CBS broadcast.

“Heartbroken,” Clemson guard Brevin Galloway said in a tweet.

The Tigers (23-10) instead are a No. 1 seed in the National Invitational Tournament. They’ll host Morehead State at Littlejohn Coliseum in the NIT first round at 7 p.m. Wednesday (ESPN+).

Clemson has played in three NITs under Brownell, most recently after the 2018-19 season. As a program, this will be the Tigers’ 18th time in the NIT.

Clemson was seeking its fourth NCAA Tournament appearance in 13 seasons under coach Brad Brownell and first since 2021.

Instead, the Tigers become the first team since 1999-2000 Virginia to earn a top 3 seed in the ACC Tournament and still miss the Big Dance.

The selection committee’s last four of 36 at-large bids went to Pittsburgh, Mississippi State, Arizona State and Nevada, all of whom were also considered bubble teams like Clemson.

Pittsburgh and Mississippi State will play on Tuesday and Arizona State and Nevada on Wednesday at the NCAA First Four in Dayton, Ohio. The winners will advance into the regular bracket as No. 11 seeds.

Clemson had a program-record 14 wins in ACC regular season play and landed two players, forward Hunter Tyson and PJ Hall, on the all-conference teams.

The Tigers were also a combined 7-6 in Quadrant 1 and 2 games as defined by the NCAA’s NET rankings, with three of their Quad 1 wins coming on the road or at neutral sites, and scored their first top 3 seed at an ACC Tournament for the first time since 2008 and only the second time since 1990.

But Clemson’s performance against Quad 3 and 4 teams and strength of schedule metrics hurt its résumé. The Tigers had Quad 3 or 4 losses to South Carolina, Loyola Chicago, Boston College and Louisville, and their non-conference strength of schedule ranked No. 334 out of 363 Division I teams.

That wasn’t necessarily Clemson’s fault. The Tigers’ 2022-23 non-conference opponents had a combined winning percentage of 59.1%, which was the second best mark for any ACC team’s non-conference schedule.

Clemson’s 11-game non-conference schedule included five road games, four games against Power Five teams (South Carolina, Iowa, Penn State and California) and two games against mid-major teams that qualified for the 2022 NCAA Tournament (Loyola Chicago and Richmond), per ClemsonSports.com.

But nine of those 11 games ended up as Quadrant 3 or Quadrant 4 games, and Clemson lost two within that grouping: to rival USC in November and to Loyola Chicago in December.

The Tigers also had a Quad 3 loss at Boston College and Quad 4 loss at Louisville in conference, two blemishes on an otherwise impressive stretch of ACC play. Clemson had nine ACC wins by 10-plus points (the most in the conference), and its 10-1 start was its best ever through 11 ACC games.

The Tigers ended up going a combined 5-0 against Pittsburgh and NC State, the last two of five ACC teams to make the NCAA Tournament. The Wolfpack, like Pittsburgh, earned a No. 11 seed after losing to Clemson in Thursday’s ACC tournament quarterfinals.

With Clemson missing the NCAA tournament, two men’s teams from the state of South Carolina ended up qualifying. CAA champion Charleston is a No. 12 seed and will play No. 5 San Diego State in Orlando, and SoCon champion Furman will play No. 4 seed Virginia as a No. 13 seed.

The ACC had five teams qualify: No. 4 seed Virginia, No. 5 Duke (which beat Virginia in Saturday’s ACC championship game), No. 5 Miami, No. 11 NC State and No. 11 Pittsburgh.

Clemson is losing first-team All ACC forward Tyson (15.5 ppg, 9.5 rpg) and guard Galloway (11.3 ppg) from this year’s roster, as both are fifth-year players who’ve exhausted their eligibility.

The Tigers are expected to return three starters — third-team All ACC forward PJ Hall, guard Chase Hunter and forward Ian Schieffelin — as well as fifth-year guard Alex Hemenway in what’ll be Brownell’s 14th season.

This story was originally published March 12, 2023, 6:36 PM.

CLEMSON, S.C. – Junior Dani Medvedeva’s three-set win over No. 67 Elizabeth Scotty highlighted No. 38 Clemson’s play in a 6-1 defeat to top-ranked North Carolina (20-0, 6-0 ACC) on Sunday at the Duckworth Family Tennis Center indoor courts. The Tigers (11-6, 1-5 ACC) went to three sets in a pair of singles matches

“Today we learned a lot about ourselves, what we are doing well and what we need to do better,” said Head Coach Amy Sargeant. “The difference between us and top-10 teams, is taking a step forward outside our comfort zone. When we make the decision to play fearless and within ourselves, we make things happen. As a team, we are so close to finding the willingness to change and the way we play, to attack the game. Like our willingness for our positive culture change, we are at the tipping point to embrace a new style of play.”

UNC took the doubles point with 6-3 wins on courts two and three. The Clemson duo of Eleni Louka and Sophia Hatton held strong at court one against the nation’s No. 15 doubles duo.

Medvedeva came out quickly in the first set, taking a quick 3-0 advantage before hanging on for a 6-4 win. Scotty came back in the second, but Medvedeva won the supertiebreak third, fighting off a match point. On the clinching point, she fell mid-point, but recovered for a return and Scotty’s return sailed long.

Sophia Hatton also battled to a third set against the No. 16 player in the nation, Abbey Forbes. Her upset bid fell short as Forbes won the super tiebreak third set, 10-5.

Clemson will return to action on March 17 against Syracuse at 3 p.m.

#1 North Carolina 6, #38 Clemson Women’s Tennis 1

Singles competition1. #33 Reese Brantmeier (NC) def. Eleni Louka (CUW) 6-1, 6-12. #15 Carson Tanguilig (NC) def. Cristina Mayorova (CUW) 6-1, 6-43. Daniella Medvedeva (CUW) def. #67 Elizabeth Scotty (NC) 6-4, 1-6, 1-0 (11-9)4. #16 Abbey Forbes (NC) def. Sophia Hatton (CUW) 6-2, 2-6, 1-0 (10-5)5. #22 Anika Yarlagadda (NC) def. Leigh Van Zyl (CUW) 6-2, 6-36. #73 Reilly Tran (NC) def. Lana Sipek (CUW) 6-0, 6-1

Doubles competition1. Eleni Louka/Sophia Hatton (CUW) vs. #15 Elizabeth Scotty/Reese Brantmeier (NC) 4-5, unfinished2. #3 Carson Tanguilig/Fiona Crawley (NC) def. Daniella Medvedeva/Cristina Mayorova (CUW) 6-33. Reilly Tran/Abbey Forbes (NC) def. Jenna Thompson/Leigh Van Zyl (CUW) 6-3

Match Notes:North Carolina 20-0, 6-0 ACC; National ranking #1Clemson Women’s Tennis 11-6, 1-5 ACC; National ranking #38Order of finish: Doubles (2,3); Singles (1,6,2,5,4,3)

Erik Bakich had to hold off an extra two hours and 16 minutes for his first taste of the Clemson-South Carolina baseball rivalry in two decades.

It was worth the wait.

First-time Friday starter Austin Gordon pitched 4.2 scoreless innings and freshman Cam Cannarella hit 3 for 4 with two doubles as Clemson upset No. 23 South Carolina, 5-2, on Friday night at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.

Trailing 5-2 in the ninth inning with two runners on base, South Carolina had the tying run at the plate before infielder Will McGillis grounded out to first base to clinch Clemson’s win.

In handing USC (9-1) its first loss of the year, the Tigers (5-4) took a 1-0 lead in this weekend’s rivalry series and snapped an early-season four-game losing streak.

They also delivered the first signature win of the Bakich era in a wacky, weather-influenced game that was initially scheduled for 6 p.m. but didn’t start until 8:16 p.m. thanks to a late-afternoon rainstorm in Upstate South Carolina.

Clemson has now won five consecutive games against South Carolina dating back to February 2021 and has its first rivalry victory under Bakich, a former volunteer coach for the 2002 Tigers who replaced Monte Lee as head coach last summer after 10 seasons at Michigan.

“It’s the best rivalry in college baseball, and it’s just as electric as I remember it 21 years ago,” Bakich said postgame, smiling.

For one, the Tigers had barely any trouble early with South Carolina ace Will Sanders, a preseason All-American selection by multiple outlets who was 2-0 with a 2.00 ERA entering Friday.

That was evident from Sanders’ literal first pitch of the night, which Clemson lead-off hitter Cooper Ingle crushed deep into left field for a home run.

TOUCH 'EM ALL, COOP!!!!!!@IngleCooper hits a leadoff dinger!!! 342 ft 95 mphB1 || USC 0, CU 1 https://t.co/55i9UBLUNl pic.twitter.com/vkucw9LwhG

— Clemson Baseball (@ClemsonBaseball) March 4, 2023

And Sanders wasn’t the only Gamecock who played sloppily in the opening innings. Clemson went up 3-0 in the second inning when USC catcher Cole Messina dropped a strike and overthrew a teammate at first base, allowing Clemson’s Chad Fairey to waltz in on a passed ball.

“I mean, look,” USC coach Mark Kingston said. “It was a — I can’t say well-played, because there were six errors in the ballgame — but it was an intense, emotional game, and you love to play it. You (just) wish you would have won the game.”

Clemson’s lead stretched to 4-0 on a fielder’s choice RBI before South Carolina’s offense — which was top five in total runs (105) and home runs (27) entering Friday — finally showed some life. USC got two runners on base in the top of the fifth to end Gordon’s night at 94 pitches.

Gordon left the game having pitched 4.2 scoreless innings with two strikeouts and a 4.20 ERA — not a bad output for a righty who didn’t start a game last year and moved into the Friday spot to replace Clemson ace Ryan Ammons, who isn’t pitching this weekend due to a minor arm injury.

But the Gamecocks couldn’t capitalize on their best scoring position of the night, leaving both runners on base against Clemson reliever Jackson Lindley. Minutes later, Sanders surrendered his second home run of the night to the Tigers’ Gavin Abrams in the bottom of the sixth.

USC’s ace delivered back-to-back shutout innings and nine strikeouts but ultimately struggled against a Clemson team that ranks in the bottom half of the ACC in batting average and had just three runs in a midweek loss to USC Upstate. Sanders’ final line: 6.0 innings pitched, nine hits, five runs and four earned runs on 93 pitches.

South Carolina avoided a shutout with catcher Talmadge LeCroy’s RBI single off Lindley in the top of the seventh, which drove home first baseman Gavin Casas.

But that’s all the Gamecocks could muster on a night that saw Lee, who joined USC as an associate coach after getting fired by Clemson last May, return to Doug Kingsmore Stadium (which drew a strong crowd of 5,456 on Friday night).

Clemson turned a crisp double play to end the seventh inning and got good effort from bullpen pitchers Lindley (2.1 innings pitched, three strikeouts, one earned run) and Casey Tallent (2.0 innings pitched, zero earned runs) down the stretch.

The relief performance of true freshman Eli Jerzembeck (2.0 innings pitched, four strikeouts) was a bright spot for South Carolina in the back half of Friday’s game. The Gamecocks (who got within 5-2 in the ninth inning on an unearned Casas run) committed two errors and left five runners on base in their first road game and first loss of the season.

Next up in the series: a Saturday afternoon tilt at a neutral site, Fluor Field in Greenville. South Carolina is the designated home team, and first pitch is set for 1 p.m.

“Just liked the way we set the tone on the opening game of a series,” Bakich said. “We know there’s a lot more weekend left to play and looking forward to tomorrow.”

This story was originally published March 3, 2023, 10:55 PM.

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Clemson University is launching the nation’s first undergraduate Bachelor of Science program in automotive engineering to meet the rapidly changing needs of an industry that is starting to trade the internal combustion engine for batteries and human drivers for self-driving cars.

The new program solidifies Clemson’s position as the premier University for automotive engineering research and education in the Southeast and beyond and adds to the offerings at its award-winning Greenville campus, the Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research (CU-ICAR).

The degree program’s creators expect it will help meet massive demand for a new breed of automotive engineer to lead the design and manufacture of cars and trucks that are quickly becoming computers on wheels powered by electricity.

“Clemson University will continue to lead the way for automotive engineering,” said President Jim Clements. “We are at the heart of the Southeast’s auto industry, and as South Carolina’s leading provider of engineering talent, Clemson is uniquely positioned to launch the nation’s first Bachelor of Science degree in automotive engineering. Through working in tandem with industry, state and federal partners, we are able to shape the future of mobility and create a robust workforce.”

Students can expect an interdisciplinary curriculum with a strong experiential learning component that is aimed at preparing them for the future of automotive manufacturing with an emphasis on cutting-edge technologies ranging from electric vehicles, advanced materials, advanced manufacturing and semiconductors to e-hailing, artificial intelligence and autonomous vehicle software.

The program’s creators expect it to launch with as many as 30 students in fall 2023 and grow to over 200 by fall 2027.

Undergraduates majoring in automotive engineering will be based on the main campus for their first two years, providing them the opportunity to immerse themselves in the full Clemson Experience, including cheering on the Tigers football team in Memorial Stadium, swimming in Lake Hartwell and eating ice cream at the ’55 Exchange.

For their final two years, students will shift to CU-ICAR, a campus that is home to Clemson’s automotive engineering faculty and graduate program. On the campus, they will be able to take full advantage of the unique experimental facilities and the expertise located there.

A bus service already in place connects CU-ICAR to the main campus 45 minutes away.

Clemson launched its graduate program in automotive engineering in 2006 and was the first university in the country to graduate a Ph.D. student in automotive engineering and the first to graduate a woman with a Ph.D. in automotive engineering.

Zoran Filipi, founding director of the School of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, said Clemson will build on talent and infrastructure already in place to create the undergraduate program.

“Some of the world’s leading thought leaders and most creative innovators in automotive engineering are on the faculty in the School of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering,” Filipi said. “We offer cutting-edge facilities, impactful learning experiences and opportunities to collaborate closely with industry partners. Clemson is uniquely positioned to lead in automotive engineering at both the graduate and undergraduate levels.”

Clemson also has a unique geographic advantage that helps position the University to offer the program. The auto industry in South Carolina employs 74,000 and has an economic impact of $27 billion, according to the state Department of Commerce.

The broader Southeast region is home to a growing number of Original Equipment Manufacturers. Within 500 miles of Clemson, the community includes BMW, Volvo, Proterrra, Mercedes-Benz Vans, Honda, Tesla, Ford, General Motors, Toyota, Mazda, Nissan and Kia. Each brings a network of suppliers that also create jobs.

The switch to autonomous and electric cars could create as many as 115,000 additional U.S. automotive and mobility industry jobs in the coming decade, including 45,000 for mobility engineers alone, according to a 2019 report by Boston Consulting Group.

Several recent investments that are helping create those jobs in South Carolina were mentioned in Gov. Henry McMaster’s Jan. 25 State of the State address.

To name a few examples:

* Redwood Materials will invest $3.5 billion for a new battery materials recycling facility, the single largest announcement in the history of South Carolina.

* BMW is investing $1 billion to prepare its Spartanburg plant to produce electric vehicles and $700 million to build a new, high-voltage battery assembly facility.

* Bosch plans to invest $200 million in Anderson County to create the company’s first production operation of fuel cell technology in the United States and another $260 million as Bosch launches production of electric motors in Dorchester County to support the U.S. market demand for electrified vehicles.

Those three investments alone are expected to create 2,500 jobs.

Laine Mears, chair of the Department of Automotive Engineering, said demand for automotive engineers is soaring.

“The entire global automotive industry is turning on a dime, and Clemson is stepping up to take the lead to meet industry’s changing needs for both technology and workforce,” he said. “The new undergraduate degree will be a truly integrative program that brings together talent from across a spectrum of disciplines, preparing students for the challenges of the future.”

Students will start with a General Engineering curriculum that includes calculus, physics and other foundational courses required of engineering majors at Clemson. After their first year, students will be eligible to begin taking automotive engineering classes.

By their senior year, students will be ready to work on Deep Orange prototype vehicles as capstone projects.

Those who complete the undergraduate program will receive a Bachelor of Science in automotive engineering. Students who decide to join the first cohort are currently in their first year in college and would be on track to graduate in 2026.

Srikanth Pilla, the ExxonMobil Employees Endowed Chair and Professor of Automotive Engineering, led the development of the curriculum for the new undergraduate program.

“While the new degree program was created in an automotive context, the curriculum has been designed broadly enough that impactful experiences will reach far beyond the car, and students will be well-qualified for a number of careers in the mobility and technology workforces,” said Pilla, who is also the founding director of AIM for Composites Energy Frontier Research Center and the Clemson Composites Center.

“Employers could range from car and aerospace companies to the U.S. Army and software companies such as Google, Apple and Meta. This is a robust curriculum filled with hands-on learning experiences aimed at preparing students to make a contribution on day one of their careers.”

The undergraduate degree adds to a growing list of marquee programs at CU-ICAR that include:

* A graduate program that has graduated 791 master’s students and 100 Ph.D. students, with virtually all finding jobs in the automotive industry or academia

* Deep Orange, a program that gives students a chance to design and build a prototype vehicle, mirroring the experience of working at an original equipment manufacturer or supplier

* Virtual Prototyping of Autonomy-Enabled Ground Systems (VIPR-GS), an organization that is part of a research partnership aimed at developing innovative virtual prototyping tools to design the next generation of autonomy-enabled, on- and off-road vehicles, with the U.S. government committing up to $100 million

* AIM for Composites, an Energy Frontier Research Center that is advancing how composite materials are created through artificial intelligence and inverse engineering

Clemson’s new undergraduate program will differ from automotive specialties in traditional departments and automotive. While technology programs concentrate on manufacturing, routine design, construction and end operations, Clemson is going beyond the technical requirements by creating an automotive engineering degree that will focus on advanced design, development and technical management of the vehicle realization process.

Anand Gramopadhye, dean of the College of Engineering, Computing and Applied Sciences, said Clemson’s new undergraduate degree program will help meet workforce needs for the growing automotive industry.

“This multidisciplinary program brings together top talent, cutting-edge facilities and impactful experiences to create the leaders, innovators and entrepreneurs of the future,” he said. “By creating the future workforce, the program will help strengthen the automotive industry in South Carolina and the broader Southeastern region. I thank the team that designed the new program and congratulate its members on a job well done.”