A chance to prove their worth
By: rmacrae@bellsouth.net December 3, 2012

By Will Vandervort.

By Will Vandervort

CLEMSON — He was just in his fourth year as the President and CEO of the Chick-fil-A Bowl following the 2000 football season, when Gary Stokan cut his first and only deal with a school.

At the time, LSU’s fan base did not have a reputation of traveling well to bowl games so the Chick-fil-A Bowl committee was reluctant to invite the Southeastern Conference School. Then LSU Chancellor Mark Emmert, who is now the President of the NCAA, did not back down. He along with Chairman of the Board, Charlie Busby, talked with Stokan several times in pleading their school’s case for being in the Atlanta based bowl.

“We weren’t quite sure we wanted to (invite LSU),” Stokan said. “They both expressed a strong interest to come to our game. I met with them and told them there are three things they had to do and they met those things.”

One of those was selling all of their tickets. On the first day of ticket sells, LSU sold 10,421 tickets, which is a bowl-record for a first day of sales for any bowl game.

LSU did not disappoint in the game either. Led by then head coach Nick Saban, the Tigers rallied to beat Georgia Tech 28-14 as quarterback Rohan Davey threw three touchdowns, including two in the second half. That win in the 2000 Chick-fil-A Bowl played a big role in LSU’s 2003 National Championship run.

“Nick Saban, the head coach at LSU at the time, said that everybody they were recruiting watched that game,” Stokan said. “We were the only game on television that night and they ultimately signed everybody, and of course, they won the National Championship with that team in 2003.”

Though Clemson and LSU did not have to beg to play in the 2012 Chick-fil-A Bowl, the results can play a big role in how the future of these two schools shapes out in the coming years. Atlanta is known as a hot bed for recruiting in the Southeast, and this year is no different, as nine blue chip players for the 2013 class live in the Atlanta area.

“Atlanta is a hub and a place where there are a lot of prospective student-athletes in and around that market,” LSU head coach Les Miles said. “We enjoy visiting Atlanta and playing significant football games.

“This is a great matchup in the kind of venue that will represent itself very well on television.”

And that’s what makes this game so big for Clemson. The Atlantic Coast Conference Tigers are in the midst of perhaps building a consistent championship program and have the opportunity of beating a top 10 program in LSU, who was arguably one play away from playing for a national title for a second straight year. This can go a long way in securing some commitments from the 2013 class and beyond.

“This is a great opportunity for us to play a top 10 team, a national championship caliber team in a great venue,” Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said. “I truly believe this is a BCS Bowl game. Chick-fil-A does a great job and I have had the pleasure of being in a couple of these games.

“This is as good of a matchup that’s out there. I really believe that. It should be an exciting evening and bowl season for both fan bases.”

And a chance for Clemson to prove itself on the national stage with all-star recruits watching in Atlanta and at home on television across the country.