CLEMSON — Despite Clemson Football’s slow decline in recent years, as well as last year’s 7-6 campaign, ticket sales for the 2026 football season are right where they need to be.

In numbers obtained by The Clemson Insider through a FIOA request, Clemson sold 53,700 tickets ahead of the 2026 season.

Clemson athletic director Graham Neff, who addressed Clemson University’s Board of Trustees on Thursday, says football season tickets are just three percent below what they were in 2025 and one percent above what they sold in 2024.

He also reported that IPTAY membership is as strong as ever with 20,700 donors giving to its annual fund, which brought in $45.4 million.

What has likely helped Clemson’s ticket sales is its strong home football schedule. The Tigers have a pretty solid home schedule with traditional ACC heavyweights Miami (Oct. 3) and Virginia Tech (Oct. 24) visiting Memorial Stadium this fall, as well as rival Georgia Tech (Nov. 14) and Bill Belichick’s North Carolina Tar Heels (Sept. 19).

Of course, Clemson is also hosting archrival South Carolina (Nov. 28) in Death Valley to close out the regular season. Clemson will host Georgia Southern (Sept. 12) and Charleston Southern (Oct. 17), as well, in its non-conference schedule.

Last year was not a good home season for the Tigers. Clemson was just 3-4 at home, including losses its first four games against Power 4 Conference foes. It marked Clemson’s first losing season at Memorial Stadium since 1998, when it also went 3-4.

Dating back to the 2024 season, the Tigers lost six straight home games to Power 4 Conference opponents. They broke that streak with a win over Florida State on November 8, 2025.

The budget for the 2026-’27 academic year, which begins on July 1, is at $215 million, which is up from last year $196 million.

Last month, the ACC reportedly distributed a record $826.5 million in revenue among its 18 league members for the 2025 fiscal year. Clemson reportedly received $55.1 million dollars.