When Clemson runs down the hill and into Death Valley wearing its orange pants against rival South Carolina on November 28, it will mark the 40th anniversary of the Tigers’ wearing their famed orange britches.
The first time Clemson wore orange pants came in its 1980 meeting with the Gamecocks. That’s the day Danny Ford started the tradition of wearing the orange pants in big games.
Today, Dabo Swinney has turned it into a championship tradition, allowing his team to only wear the orange pants when a division championship, state championship, conference championship, playoff game and national championship is on the line.