Wilkins recaps Board of Trustees meeting

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Thu May 24 18:47:15 GMT-04:00 2012

Clemson’s Board of Trustees met in Columbia Thursday afternoon in an effort to discuss the rumors swirling around the university and possible conference realignment, and in an exclusive interview with TigerNet, Chairman David Wilkins talked about what was discussed in the meeting.

The board called an executive session so they could close the doors, and Wilkins said the board covered a variety of topics.

“In general, we talked about athletics,” Wilkins told TigerNet shortly after the board was dismissed from the meeting. “But we called an executive session and we talked about the ACC contract and the television contract. We did talk about that in great detail. We talked about the general status of conferences right now, and at the very end we talked about tuition and fees for the upcoming school year. Those were the various subjects.”

Wilkins said another reason for the meeting was to help separate fact from fiction, especially where conference realignment and a potential move to the Big 12 are concerned.

“We tried to separate the facts from the rumors,” he said. “This board is very committed to Clemson athletics and Clemson sports. We want Clemson teams to be the best they can be. We are very interested in a football program that is excelling at a high level, and we would consider, as we should, any viable option from any conference if we received any. We have not received any. In the meantime we are committed to working to make the ACC the strongest conference possible. We took no votes and took no action, we just had a general discussion about the lay of the land.”

Wilkins then said that the school would be interested in what other conferences have to say, should they make contact.

“If we were contacted by a conference, we would obviously listen to what they had to say,” Wilkins said. “And then we would make a reasonable decision. We aren’t seeking that, and we aren’t making any overtures about that. I think we have a responsibility to consider any viable component that would come our way. But we haven’t been contacted by anybody. We just want Clemson athletics to be the best they can be. This board is committed to Clemson athletics.”