Phillips Named AD of the Year for Southeast Region

by Press Release - Tue Jun 20 10:54:48 GMT-04:00 2006

Clemson AD to be Honored on Wednesday, June 21 at National Convention June 20, 2006 Clemson, SC-Clemson Athletic Director Dr. Terry Don Phillips will be honored by NACDA (National Association of Collegiate Directors of

Athletics) as the 2005-06 GeneralSports Turf Systems Athletic Director-of-the-Year for the Southeast Region of Division I-A.

Phillips will receive his award at the James J. Corbett Awards Luncheon in conjunction with the 41st Annual NACDA Convention

on Wednesday, June 21 at the Sheraton Hotel in New Orleans, LA. He

will be joined by Laing Kennedy of Kent State, Jim Livengood of Arizona and Kevin White of Notre Dame as Division I regional winners.

Clemson is in the process of finishing its most successful all-around athletics year in many seasons. The program will boast six top 25 programs this year, including top 10 final rankings in men's soccer, golf and baseball. This year marked the first time since 1979-80 that Clemson reached the Final Four in soccer and the College World Series in baseball in the same year.

Clemson also had top 25 finishes in football, men's tennis and women's tennis. The women's swimming and men's track program also finished in the top 30.

The school's athletic program won a postseason football game, men's basketball game and baseball game this academic year, the first time the program has done that since 1993-94. Clemson was the only school in the country this year to win a postseason football game, a post season basketball game and a College World Series game.

If Clemson can win its College World Series baseball game today against Cal State Fullerton it would mark the first year in school history that the Tigers had two programs reach the Final Four

of a Division I postseason tournament in the same year. As stated

above, Clemson reached the Final Four of men's soccer in December.

Significant improvements have also been made in facilities, highlighted by the completion of the first component of the WestZone Initiative at Clemson Memorial Stadium this summer.

From an academic standpoint, Nine of Clemson's 15 sports programs scored a perfect 100 percent graduation rate according to the Graduation Success Rate (GSR) figures announced by the NCAA on

December 19, 2006. Clemson ranked seventh in the nation among the

119 Division I-A institutions in percentage of programs with a

perfect 100 percent score. The Clemson football program had a 94

percent rate, fourth in the nation among Division I programs, trailing only Navy, Notre Dame and Wake Forest.