Dabo Swinney had a blast with the Savannah Bananas.

Clemson’s head coach joined ACC Network on Monday from the ACC Spring Meetings in Amelia Island, Fla., and reflected on his experience at the Bananas game in Clemson.

Of course, the Bananas put on quite the show at Memorial Stadium on Saturday, April 26, with the popular barnstorming baseball team amusing 81,000 fans in Death Valley.

It was the first time Memorial Stadium was transformed to accommodate a baseball game, and it marked the largest attendance in Banana Ball history.

“I honestly didn’t really know what it was… Unbelievable,” Swinney said. “They sold out Death Valley in two hours. It was crazy. The cool thing is, we have a suite at Death Valley – that’s the first time I’ve ever been in it. We had food, it was just a lot of fun. It was a great time. It was such an entertaining event. I was just fascinated by the whole thing.”

Swinney himself played a part in the event, as he surprised the crowd by leading the Bananas into Memorial Stadium with Clemson’s historic hill run entrance.

“I spoke to them on that Friday. They were like, we want you to lead us down the hill,” Swinney said. “These guys are crazy. The bus ride around was wild. So, it was a lot of fun and just very entertaining.”

The game was televised on ESPN2, and the event gave a lot of exposure to Clemson University, the community and the city of Clemson. Clemson made a lot of money, too, as Clemson athletic director Graham Neff said recently that Clemson estimated it would net between $400,000 and $600,000 in gross revenue from the game.

According to Swinney, people from 44 different states were in Death Valley for the unprecedented event.  

“So, it was pretty cool,” he said. “Obviously there was a financial component and the school made some money. But it was also cool to be able to showcase Clemson in a different way.

“The people that are part of the bananas are fascinating. This is a massive process, undertaking. So, it was a lot of fun… The baseball players are amazing. They do all these crazy things… I thoroughly enjoyed it.”

–Photo courtesy Ken Ruinard / staff / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images