Dabo Swinney explains why unlike other schools, Clemson football didn't cancel spring game

Dabo Swinney explains why unlike other schools, Clemson football didn’t cancel spring game

Posted by author March 1, 2025 Football

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CLEMSON — Dabo Swinney had no conversations about canceling Clemson football‘s spring game despite other programs doing so.

Clemson will host its spring game on April 1 (1 p.m. ET) at Memorial Stadium as other prominent Power Four programs have canceled or changed theirs. Some schools cited college football changes, including those regarding tampering, for their spring game alterations.

“Canceling a spring game ain’t going to stop tampering,” Swinney said. “We’re gonna need a lot more help than that.”

Clemson’s annual spring game will take place but with a changed broadcast format, according to Swinney. He said the game will be broadcast in-house instead of collaborating with a network. He hopes this will shorten the game, as opposed to having the previous lengthy ones that included TV commercials.

Swinney added that if Clemson had preseason games, as opposed to the first game being against LSU on Aug. 30, he would have been open to changing the spring game.

“I look at our scrimmage as an opportunity to expose your guys, teach them,” said Swinney, who hopes to also have a fan-day event. “I don’t know how you get better.”

Swinney has said previously that the spring game allows the freshmen and new additions to get the full game-day experience at Memorial Stadium in a game-like environment for the first time in the offseason instead of in the regular season.

Players perform “Tiger Walk,” where they get off team buses to walk 200 yards through a sea of family and fans to their locker room almost two hours before kickoff. They get to warm up on the field, do the “Walk of Champions,” and run down The Hill after touching Howard’s Rock.

Clemson’s spring game is also a recruiting tool, showcasing its brand to those who tune in and recruits who come on visits. Last spring, about 47,000 fans were at the 81,000-capacity stadium.

Which college football teams have canceled spring games?

Nebraska will not have a spring game this year, according to coach Matt Rhule. He said he did not want to give opposing teams the chance to evaluate and poach his players through the spring transfer portal, which runs April 16-25.

Texas, which beat Clemson in the first round of the College Football Playoff this past season, will not have a spring game, either. Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian cited the wear and tear his team has endured after playing 30 games the past two seasons.

Defending national champion Ohio State will have a spring showcase instead of the traditional scrimmage, according to coach Ryan Day, citing similar injury concerns. Southern California will not play in a spring game, either.

Some ACC teams are following this trend, including NC State, which is closing its practices to fans and media. Florida State has canceled its spring game, but that’s because of ongoing renovations at Doak Campbell Stadium.

Alabama, LSU, Oklahoma and Tennessee are still scheduled to hold spring games.

Derrian Carter covers Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at dcarter@gannett.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DerrianCarter00