64 / 72
First Friday Parade
Since 1974, the First Friday Parade has been held the Friday afternoon
before the first home football game to celebrate the new football season.
Student floats move through campus down Highway 93 to Williamson Road,
before ending at Riggs Field for a pep rally.
Orange, Purple and the Tiger
The use of orange and purple began when Walter Merritt Riggs formed
Clemson’s first football team in 1896. Because Riggs came from Agricultural
and Mechanical College of Alabama (later renamed Auburn), he borrowed
ideas from their team colors and their mascot, the Tiger. Although the
football team was known as the Tigers and often used “Eat ‘Em Up, Tigers”
as a slogan, it wasn’t until 1954 that a Clemson student donned the mascot
suit. In 1993, the Tiger was joined by the Tiger Cub.
Clemson Ring
The first Clemson class rings were issued in 1896. The “C” surrounding a
palmetto tree on a black background is one of the most recognizable of all
college rings today. Copyrighted so that only Clemson alumni and students
with more than 90 hours may have the honor of wearing it, the ring contains
art elements representing the University’s land-grant and military heritages
as well as the motto, “Who shall separate us now?” Seniors may receive
their rings from the University President at a ring ceremony sponsored
by the Clemson Alumni Association and the Student Alumni Association.
Clemson Ice Cream
In the 1920s, Clemson’s then-departments of dairy science and animal
husbandry began making the famously delicious Clemson ice cream. Today,
the student-run '55 Exchange store on campus features this world-renowned,
student-made ice cream.
Clemson Blue Cheese
Clemson Blue Cheese was first cured in the Stumphouse Tunnel outside
Walhalla in 1941 by a Clemson dairy professor who recognized the tunnel’s
64