Clemson AD Graham Neff affirms South Carolina rivalry game 'will continue ... period'

As some in-state rivalries around the country are going away due to conference realignment, Clemson Athletics Director Graham Neff made it clear on Tuesday that the South Carolina vs. Clemson rivalry is here to stay.

Neff and South Carolina Athletics Director Ray Tanner are in agreement that the game needs to continue to take place every year, no matter what is happening elsewhere in college football.

“Yea, it’s just a non-negotiable,” Neff said. “Ray and I have talked about it. We have and will continue to play that game. Period. However the landscape continues to change, no conversations otherwise, no mindset otherwise.”

The Oklahoma–Oklahoma State rivalry is the most recent one to go away with the Sooners moving to the SEC after this season.

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney is clearly not a fan of that decision.

“How are we not playing Oklahoma-Oklahoma State? Are you kidding me?” he said during his Tuesday press conference.

But even with South Carolina and Clemson being in different conferences and the SEC potentially moving to a nine-game schedule at some point, the Gamecocks and Tigers will keep meeting annually.

“I know that’s something that they’re considering,” Neff said of the SEC going to a nine-game conference schedule. “Coach Tanner and I have talked about that, should the SEC change their conference matchups… I certainly would, and I know his mindset is to continue to play this game. Period.”

While the game will continue to take place every year, there is a chance that the date could change.

Neff spoke about the possibility of moving the game to a different point in the season on Tuesday.

“It always could. I guess at various times, the rivalry has been played earlier in the season or to start the season,” Neff said. “I think we both feel that it’s in a really good, traditional spot at this last week of the season, so we haven’t struck conversations. I would put that as, ‘sure it could’ [change].”

What the college football schedule looks like in the future could factor into the decision to move the date of the Clemson vs. South Carolina game. Neff said it’s possible that the season starts earlier and things get moved around with the College Football Playoff set to expand to 12 teams in 2024.

“I think we have to be responsive to the changing landscape of college athletics as it relates to that schedule. There’s been discussions nationally about moving the whole schedule up a week and Week 0 and how that plays into the calendar of the month of December and CFP expansion, etc.” Neff said. “So I think that’s squarely in, ‘Hey, we need to be strategic and adaptive to all aspects of the changing calendar for the sport.’ But at this point no active conversations on that.”