Clemson’s 2026 home schedule comes with a familiar kind of payday.
The Tigers will pay Georgia Southern $1.5 million and Charleston Southern $450,000 to bring both programs to Memorial Stadium next season, according to contracts obtained by the Greenville News through a public records request. Together, that adds up to $1.95 million.
Georgia Southern is first up, with Clemson set to host the Eagles on Sept. 12 at 7:30 p.m. on ACC Network. The Tigers are 0-1 after a 51-10 loss at No.
8 LSU in Week 1, so the game gives Clemson a chance to settle in at home. It will also be only the second meeting between the schools.
Charleston Southern visits later, with Clemson set to face the Buccaneers on Oct. 17. That will be just the second all-time matchup between the programs as well.
Clemson has already beaten both teams in previous meetings, topping Georgia Southern 38-7 in 2018 and Charleston Southern 66-17 in 2023.
Georgia Southern’s deal was agreed to in April 2021, during Dan Radakovich’s final year as Clemson’s athletics director. Clemson must pay the full $1.5 million no later than Feb. 15, 2027.
That contract also includes 2,500 complimentary tickets for Georgia Southern, and any unused tickets were due back by July 1 so Clemson could sell them on consignment. Georgia Southern gets 75% of the revenue from those sales. The Eagles are also allotted at least 60 team bench area passes, 16 all-access passes, eight coaches’ booth passes, six video passes and parking for one equipment truck, four buses and six automobiles.
The ACC keeps exclusive television and digital video rights, while Georgia Southern retains non-exclusive audio-only radio rights.
Charleston Southern’s agreement was originally struck in July 2017 under Radakovich, with a game date of Nov. 7, 2026.
That was later moved to Oct. 17 in April 2022 under current Clemson athletic director Graham Neff. Clemson must pay Charleston Southern by Feb.
15, 2027.
Charleston Southern gets the same number of passes as Georgia Southern, but only 500 complimentary tickets. The ACC retains exclusive television and video distribution rights, and Charleston Southern keeps non-exclusive audio-only radio broadcasting rights.
Clemson’s future non-conference schedule is already lined up through 2029, with Georgia State and Wofford coming to Memorial Stadium in 2027, Troy and The Citadel in 2028, and Furman in 2029. The Tigers also have a non-power conference home game against East Carolina scheduled for 2034.
Beyond that, Clemson’s long-range slate includes Notre Dame and South Carolina across the 2027-37 seasons, beginning with Notre Dame at home and South Carolina on the road in 2027 before the series alternates home and away. Clemson is also scheduled to play Georgia at home in 2029 and 2033 and on the road in 2030 and 2032, plus a home-and-home with Oklahoma in 2035 and 2036.
In Other News...
Brian Kelly Had One Tough LSU Admission During Clemson Week 1
Brian Kelly spent plenty of years living the grind from the sideline, so his move into the broadcast booth has come with an adjustment he did not sugarcoat. In a Sirius XM interview, the former LSU head coach said it was hard to watch college football games as an observer after decades of coaching, a reminder of how strange the week-to-week shift can feel for someone who only recently left the headset behind. Now working as a college football analyst for CBS Sports, Kelly is also part of the networks Mountain West coverage this season.
His comments landed with a little extra weight during LSUs recent game against Clemson, where the Tigers were front and center in one of the early matchups of the year. Kelly also made clear he was impressed with LSUs showing under Lane Kiffin in that game, a notable admission from someone who spent so long inside the programs own coaching world. For Clemson fans, it adds another layer to a matchup that already carried plenty of attention, with a familiar SEC voice now watching the sport from a very different angle. [Read more 🡒]
Clemsons 2027 Opener Just Raised A Bigger ACC Schedule Issue
Clemsons 2027 football season now has a strange little footnote before it even begins. The Tigers will open at home against Georgia State on Aug. 28, 2027, after a contract amendment moved the game up from Nov. 6, and the adjustment gives Clemson the earliest kickoff in program history. It is a sign of how much the sports calendar is shifting around the Tigers as the NCAA prepares to roll out a new 14-week regular season structure starting next season.
For Clemson, the date change is more than just a scheduling curiosity. It shows how future nonconference games may need to be reshaped as the ACC and the broader college football calendar keep changing, and it puts another layer of planning on a program that already has to manage league play, travel and the long-range demands of its schedule. The Georgia State matchup is settled, but the bigger question is how many more Clemson dates will have to be nudged to fit the sports new rhythm. [Read more 🡒]
Clemson Home Opener Carries A Historic Chance After Last Weeks Mess
After last weeks rough showing against LSU, Clemson gets a quick chance to steady itself when Georgia Southern comes to Death Valley for the home opener. The matchup carries a little extra weight because the Tigers have been so reliable in these early-season games, and the setting should help them get back to the level most people expected from them entering the year.
There is also a bit of history hanging over the afternoon, with Clemson having beaten Georgia Southern in a previous meeting back in 2018. The betting line reflects how lopsided this one is expected to be, but the bigger backdrop is Clemsons long habit of taking care of business when it opens at home, which is exactly why this game feels like more than just a tune-up. [Read more 🡒]