Clemson Among Top-10 Winningest Programs Since 2000

Clemson football in good company with top-10 winning percentage since 2000 in college football.

Author:
Christopher Hall
Jun 23, 2020 9:46 AM EDT

Rome wasn't built in a day, and Clemson is a prime example of how patience with the right head coach can prove to be quite a fruitful investment.

The Clemson Tiger football program has consistently improved under Dabo Swinney, but the root of his success dates back to some of the groundwork laid by Tommy Bowden in the early 2000s.

247 Sports recently released a list of the top-10 winningest programs since the new millennium, and the Tigers landed seventh on the list.

7. CLEMSON TIGERS (195-70; WINNING PERCENTAGE OF 73.5)

One of only four active head coaches with a national championship prior to the 2018 coaching carousel that brought Les Miles and Mack Brown back into the fold at Kansas and North Carolina, respectively, Dabo Swinney is doing his best Nick Saban impression at ACC power Clemson — in fact, he's on the verge of surpassing him as the nation's most respected leader. The Tigers haven't won fewer than 10 games since 2010 and played in the national championship game last fall for the third time in four seasons. The Crimson Tide alum has turned Clemson into a recruiting monster in the Southeast and a premiere elite nationally with a run of success nearing a decade. Swinney and the Tigers carried a 29-game winning streak into last season's final vs. LSU before faltering.

Clemson has emerged as the team to beat every season. While they now have the attention of the entire country, anyone who has paid close attention in the last 20 years will tell you this transformation didn't happen overnight.

One of the biggest keys to success in college football today is consistency. Whether that be on the field, on the recruiting trail, or within the coaching staff — and the Tigers have excelled in that category. Under Swinney, Clemson has become a consistent top-5 program, and the Tigers are now teetering into the ranks of a modern dynasty.

The Tigers have won 5 straight conference crowns and played in four of the last five national title games, taking home two trophies during that span.

If you ask Swinney, however, the best is still yet to come. With staff cohesion, phenomenal facilities, top-notch recruiting classes, a commitment to academics, and impressive graduation rates, he'll have the opportunity to prove it.