Back in April, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney had the neat opportunity to attend a Kenny Chesney concert in Greenville with Clemson offensive coordinator Garrett Riley and Riley’s older brother, Southern Cal head coach Lincoln Riley.

Was Clemson athletic director Graham Neff also at the Chesney concert with Swinney and the Riley brothers?

Neff was asked that question during an appearance on Gramlich & Mac Lain with Kelly Gramlich and Eric Mac Lain.

“Yes, I was there,” Neff said. “I actually had one of my best friends, one of my high school best friends, who came up from Atlanta for it. And it was one of those, right, I got some tickets and he was like, oh that’s cool, and then I didn’t really know exactly how it was all going to work. But one thing led to another, and we were kind of down there with Coach and the Rileys and some folks and met Kenny. That was a special deal. That was a lot of fun.”

Chesney is a Tennessee fan, but is there the possibility of a Chesney concert coming to Death Valley in the future?

Neff revealed that was a conversation that came up when they were all chopping it up with Chesney after the concert.

“He’s Tennessee. He’s got some songs written about that,” Neff said. “Here’s the deal, though – at one point, this was like a ‘holy cow, welcome to my job’ moment. This was post-concert, kind of backstage. Kenny had a heck of a show and he’s down there, and he’s kind of debriefing the show. …

“So he’s going, he loves college football and concerts, and Swinney’s like, ‘Hey, you need to come play in the Valley,’ and Kenny’s like, ‘That’s awesome. I’d do that.’ And they both look at me, so I’ve got Kenny Chesney and Dabo Swinney looking at me – Garrett Riley and Lincoln Riley are kind of like chuckling – and they’re looking at me like, ‘Hey Neff, make this happen.’ I got Chesney and Swinney leaning on me. I was like, ‘Alright, let me work on some things.’ So no promises for the Valley, but that was a discussion that recently ensued.”

We are excited to announce our second annual Dear Old Clemson event for the freshmen football class.  Come out on July 22 at 10 AM at the indoor football facility for a meet and greet autograph session with the scholarship freshmen from the 2023 class.  Clemson coordinators Garrett Riley and Wes Goodwin will be attendance and speak at the event.

Get your tickets today at Dear Old Clemson.