CLEMSON — Clemson had long been one of three Power Four schools nationally that neither offered the sale of alcoholic beverages in its athletic venues, nor accepted sponsorship revenue from alcoholic beverage advertisers, and the only school in the ACC, SEC or Big Ten.

Of course, all that has changed.

Clemson Athletics introduced the sale of alcoholic beverages at the 2025 Clemson Football spring game April 5, with limited offerings available at portable kiosks and other vendors within Memorial Stadium.

Sales at McWhorter Stadium (softball) and Doug Kingsmore Stadium (baseball) were piloted beginning the week of April 7.

With the adoption of alcohol sales this spring, Clemson will also sell a special “Banana Beer” for the Savannah Bananas vs. Party Animals game at Memorial Stadium on Saturday.

On Friday, Clemson athletic director Graham Neff joined WCCP 105.5 FM The Roar and discussed the revenue so far from alcohol sells.  

“We had the football spring game, of which we announced an attendance of 35,000. It was certainly not the 80,000-plus that we expect tomorrow for the (Savannah) Bananas, let alone for seven Saturdays in the fall,” Neff said. “And then we’ve had 13 baseball and softball games – eight baseball home games at (Doug) Kingsmore, and then five softball games. …

“We’ve generated about $125,000 of gross revenue, which maybe doesn’t strike you as a huge number… but again, those are baseball and softball games, and a spring game. So, as we project out with seven full stadiums of Saturdays and Littlejohn and the year in total, our revenue projections, we’re trending well. It’s been a good start for that.”

Neff added that Clemson didn’t adopt alcohol sales “just to make a buck.”

“It’s not just a revenue driver,” he said. “The fan experience, the feedback that we’ve gotten for years is hey, from a social standpoint, that’s something to have and a huge segment of our fan base, our constituents, want that. … So, some of these indicators, the reception and sure, the revenue component to it, have been well received. No major issues or management issues around it, per say.”

Clemson’s rollout plan and policies for alcohol sales included input from University Administration, Public Safety officials, industry experts from Aramark Sports and Entertainment, and Clemson Ventures. “We have our plans in place, our mitigation factors and our distribution and bartender trainings and things like that – I’m just breezing through them, but they’re really important,” Neff said. “So, we’ve spent a lot of time in preparation towards that, and it’s been a really good rollout here for the first three or four weeks.”