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Why Dabo Swinney doesn't think new alcohol policy will impact Clemson football vs LSU
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- Why Dabo Swinney doesn't think new alcohol policy will impact Clemson football vs LSU
CLEMSON — Alcohol will be sold at Memorial Stadium for football games starting with No. 6 Clemson facing No. 9 LSU on Aug. 30 (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC).
It will be the first time alcohol will be sold at football games in the venue after a test run during Clemson 's spring game in April. The 81,000-plus venue is sold out for this marquee matchup, but Clemson coach Dabo Swinney doesn't think the addition of alcohol will impact Memorial Stadium that much.
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"It's probably the first time they're selling it, but it ain't the first time they've been there. I promise you," Swinney said Aug. 27.
Swinney cited the venue's policy, which allows fans to leave and re-enter the stadium if they present a re-entry voucher given at Memorial Stadium and a valid mobile ticket. He compared Clemson allowing alcohol sales at football games to schools paying players in the NIL era to "pre-NIL."
"I'm sure they ain't all bringing Diet Coke back in," Swinney said.
In Clemson's updated policy issued May 2025, outside alcohol beverages are prohibited inside the facility. The only exception is for those in premium areas, approved by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division. Its policy added alcohol purchased in Memorial Stadium cannot leave the venue.
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Clemson's athletic department announced in April that alcoholic beverages will be available for purchase at designated stands and kiosks. Clemson was one of three Power Four schools nationally (the others being Utah and BYU), including the only school among the ACC, SEC or Big Ten, that neither offered the sale of alcoholic beverages in its athletic venues nor accepted sponsorship revenue from alcoholic beverage advertisers.
Clemson previously didn't sell alcohol to fans at sporting events, but luxury suites at Memorial Stadium and Littlejohn Coliseum were the exception. With the change, Clemson has aligned with almost every Power 4 program.
The Clemson-LSU game will also be the first time fans will have to adjust to Clemson's altered "Gathering at the Paw" tradition . Visitors will have to wait until after Clemson's alma mater to meet at midfield at the paw after the ACC modified its safety requirements for field and court storming for football and basketball games in July.
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Derrian Carter covers Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at dcarter@gannett.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DerrianCarter00
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Dabo Swinney: New alcohol policy doesn't bother Clemson football coach
