CLEMSON – Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney opened his press conference on Monday not talking about Penn State or the Tigers playing in the Pinstripe Bowl, instead he took the time to remember a Clemson Legend.

On Saturday, former Clemson Executive Director of IPTAY George Bennett passed away. He was 92.

“He is one of the all-time Clemson people,” Swinney said. “You talk about truly leaving a mark on a place and leaving a legacy, leaving a place better, George Bennett epitomizes all of those things.

“I am just thankful that I got a chance to know him and be around him in many different venues and environments.”

Bennett’s legacy at Clemson can be tracked to his time as a cheerleader at Clemson when, with the help of his father, introduced the cannon that goes off when the Tigers run down the hill or after every score.

He is also responsible for Clemson’s $2 bill tradition, which fans still do today when going to a bowl game site, College Football Playoff game or big road game.

“From the $2 bill to the cannon and all the things that he meant to IPTAY, and this entire university, I am thankful that I had a chance to know him,” Swinney said. “I am thankful for his impact (on Clemson).”

After graduating in 1955, Bennett served two years in the U.S. Army at Fort Knox, Ky. In 1957, he started a nine-year career with the ESSO corporation. He returned to Clemson in 1967 as the first alumni field representative in the history of the Clemson Alumni Association.

Four years later, Bennett moved to the athletic department as an assistant athletic director. In that capacity, he became involved in fund-raising.

In 1977, he became executive director of IPTAY. Over the next two years, IPTAY exceeded the $2.3 million mark in fundraising for student-athlete scholarships for the first time, and IPTAY members grew from 9,800 to over 15,000.

During his first year as executive secretary of IPTAY, he developed the idea to have Clemson fans use $2 bills when they traveled to the 1977 Georgia Tech game in Atlanta. Georgia Tech wanted to end the series with Clemson to play a lesser opponent and using $2 bills was a way to demonstrate the economic impact Atlanta would miss if Georgia Tech did not play Clemson.

When the Tigers went to the Gator Bowl later that year in Jacksonville, Fla., Clemson fans brought $2 bills with them again.

In 1979, Bennett was named associate athletic director for financial development at Vanderbilt University. Just five years later, he was named the National Fundraiser of the Year.

In 1986, Bennett returned to South Carolina as the athletic director at Furman. Two years later, Furman won the Division I-AA football national championship, still the only football national championship in school history.

Bennett returned to Nashville, Tenn., in 1989 as the Vice President for Development at Baptist Hospital. He remained in that position until 1993 when he returned to Clemson as Executive Director of IPTAY. He remained in that position until he retired in June of 2004.

Even after retiring, Bennett still served Clemson, as he led tours and spoke to those who wanted to know all about the history of Clemson University and Clemson Athletics.

—Clemson Athletic Communications contributed to this story