Clemson’s non-conference basketball slate comes with a hefty price tag this season, with the men’s and women’s programs combining to spend $938,000 on game guarantees and tournament entry fees.
The men’s schedule accounts for the larger share. Clemson is paying six opponents a total of $590,000 to come to campus for games in 2026, with the guarantees ranging from $90,000 for The Citadel on Nov. 16 to $110,000 for Stetson in the season opener on Nov. 2.
Stetson’s trip is especially lucrative. The Hatters are set to receive $140,000 total for appearing in Clemson basketball games this season, including a $30,000 fee to face the women on Nov.
- As part of that arrangement, Stetson also agreed to exchange video from two scrimmages or exhibitions with the men before the game.
Clemson keeps the radio rights for non-power conference games, while the ACC controls the broadcast rights.
The men will also head to Maui, Hawaii, for the 2026 Maui Invitational, paying a $35,000 entry fee to take part in the event.
Beyond that, Clemson’s men have a mix of notable non-conference dates lined up: road games at South Carolina and TCU, a neutral-site matchup with Cincinnati and a home game against Georgetown. The Cincinnati and Georgetown games are the final meetings in those series.
The TCU game opens a home-and-home, with Clemson scheduled to host the Horned Frogs on Dec. 16, 2028.
There’s also an exhibition date with Georgia on Oct. 23, and that one starts another series. Georgia and Clemson will meet again in Athens before the 2027-2028 season.
“(Georgia coach) Mike White and I have talked over the years, and he called and said, ‘Hey, they'd be happy to come if we can make it work.’ We found a date. It was great,” Clemson coach Brad Brownell said.
On the women’s side, Clemson is paying $263,000 in guarantees for 10 non-conference games. Those payouts include $30,000 apiece for Stetson and Western Carolina, along with as little as $21,500 for Gardner-Webb.
Shawn Poppie said the heavier home schedule was a deliberate choice.
“We're playing a lot more at home than we did a year ago, non-conference, and that was again strategic because I wanted to get their feet up underneath them,” coach Shawn Poppie said. “We learned the hard way a year ago going to the Bahamas and then turn around and play on the road to Alabama. I think we were still sleeping trying to play in Tuscaloosa a year ago.”
The women are also set for the Daytona Beach Classic on Nov. 26-27, where Clemson paid a $50,000 entry fee.
Clemson had also signed up for the Emerald Coast Classic in Destin, Fla., on Nov. 23-24, but a team spokesperson said the Tigers are no longer playing in the tournament and did not pay the $40,000 entry fee. Graham Neff signed the Emerald Coast Classic contract in June and the Daytona Beach Classic contract in August.
The men also have one more notable non-conference wrinkle: games against South Carolina and Kentucky, both power-conference opponents, with no guarantees attached.
Both Clemson teams open the season at home on Nov. 2.
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