Ten minutes prior to kickoff inside Clemson University’s Memorial Stadium, known as “Death Valley,” tens of thousands of spectators watch an unusual logistical maneuver unfold. Rather than emerging directly through a tunnel like standard visiting teams, the entire Clemson football roster boards charter buses, loops around the exterior perimeter of the facility, and gathers at the eastern summit. Before a cannon blast signals their iconic charge down the 30-degree grassy slope, fans roar as the team touches Howard’s Rock. While sports commentators like CBS’s Brent Musburger famously crowned the sequence “the most exciting 25 seconds in college football,” the bizarre routine was born out of architectural necessity.
The Architectural Shortcut of 1942
When Clemson Memorial Stadium originally opened in September 1942, the facility lacked team dressing quarters. Instead, athletes prepared for games inside Fike Fieldhouse, a campus gymnasium located down the street. To reach the field, players naturally utilized the most direct route available: walking down the road from the gymnasium and making their way straight down the steep, natural grassy bank at the east end zone.
For decades, running down the incline was simply how the team accessed the playing surface. It required no pre-game pageantry, charter buses, or deliberate orchestration. It was the functional pathway connecting the locker rooms to the turf.
How an Office Doorstop Became a Mystical Talisman
Popular lore often portrays Howard’s Rock as an ancient, intentionally sourced monolith designed to intimidate visiting opponents. However, historical records provided by former sports information director Timothy Bourret paint a mundane picture. The heavy chunk of white flint spent roughly a full year serving as an unglamorous doorstop inside head coach Frank Howard’s office.
A traveling Clemson supporter brought the stone back from California’s Death Valley as a gift, referencing the stadium’s intimidating nickname. Unsure of what to do with the heavy souvenir, Howard eventually handed it over to IPTAY booster club executive director Gene Willimon, telling him to find a use for it. Willimon had the rock mounted atop the stadium’s east bank right before a 1966 matchup against the University of Virginia.
Clemson pulled off an improbable comeback during that game, overcoming five costly fumbles and erasing an 18-point deficit to defeat the Cavaliers. The turnaround sparked superstitious reverence across the roster. By the following season, Coach Howard leveraged the stone’s emerging reputation, delivering a motivational ultimatum before the team claimed the 1967 ACC championship title: “If you can’t give me 110%, keep your filthy hands off my rock.”
The 1971 Disruption and the Yellow School Bus Solution
Despite its legendary status today, the sprint down the slope was completely abandoned for two and a half seasons due to stadium expansion.
Prior to 1971, entering via the hill remained standard practice because players walked over from Fike Fieldhouse. However, when Clemson completed modern dressing rooms behind the west end zone ahead of the 1971 campaign, the team naturally began stepping straight onto the turf from their updated quarters. Fans initially blamed successor coach Hootie Ingram for ending the tradition, but the shift simply reflected the venue’s new architectural layout.
The hiatus lasted until late 1972, when players Ben Anderson and Mike O’Cain-who later served as head coach at NC State-urged the coaching staff to bring back the spectacle to energize the home crowd before facing rival South Carolina. Anderson proposed a creative logistical bypass: load the entire squad onto chartered school buses, circle the exterior perimeter of the arena, and disembark directly at the top of the eastern incline.
The gambit worked, as Clemson secured a 7-6 rivalry victory in a freezing downpour. The motorized transit route instantly became a permanent fixture of game days.
Chronology of the Clemson Entrance Evolution
- 1942: Memorial Stadium opens without locker rooms; players walk from Fike Fieldhouse and run down the hill out of pure necessity.
- 1966: A fan-gifted doorstop from California is mounted on a pedestal at the top of the east bank.
- 1971: New west-end dressing rooms open, temporarily ending the hill entrance as players step straight onto the field.
- 1972: Players lead an initiative to use charter buses to bridge the gap between west lockers and the east hill, reviving the tradition permanently.
The Anatomy of the 25-Second Rush
Executing the run today requires disciplined coordination among more than 100 players to prevent dangerous pileups along the severe 30-degree downward grade:
- The Perimeter Transit: The roster boards transportation at the west end zone locker room and rides around the stadium perimeter to the eastern summit.
- The Pedestal Gathering: Players congregate around Howard’s Rock, which athletes have touched across generations of program history.
- The Sound Trigger: A live artillery blast echoes through the stadium, signaling the high-speed descent down toward the home sideline.
What started out as an architectural oversight-a missing locker room-combined with an abandoned office doorstop to create one of the most recognizable traditions in American collegiate sports. Subtle logistical quirks in historic athletic venues continue to dictate rituals that look entirely intentional to modern audiences.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do Clemson football players ride buses to run down the hill?
Clemson players ride charter buses because modern locker rooms are located on the west end of Memorial Stadium, while the famous hill is located on the opposite east end. Buses provide the only efficient way to transport the entire roster around the exterior perimeter to the summit.
When did the tradition of running down the hill begin?
The route originated in 1942 out of necessity because players dressed at Fike Fieldhouse down the street and walked down the hill to access the field. After a brief pause in the early 1970s due to new locker rooms, players revived the tradition using buses in 1972.
What is Howard’s Rock?
Howard’s Rock is a piece of white flint from California’s Death Valley given to Coach Frank Howard as a gift. It spent time serving as an office doorstop before being mounted on a pedestal at the top of the stadium hill in 1966.
How steep is Clemson’s Memorial Stadium hill?
The grassy slope at the east end zone of Clemson Memorial Stadium features a steep decline exceeding a 30-degree downward angle.
Who coined the phrase “The most exciting 25 seconds in college football”?
Hall of Fame sports broadcaster Brent Musburger coined the phrase during a CBS broadcast in 1985.
