Ranking the 10 most iconic college football traditions

No. 2: Clemson, Death Valley Entrance

You’ve just finished all your pre-game warmups. The team trots back to the locker room and prepares to load up on the bus. “For what?” you may ask. In Death Valley, it’s all about the entrance, the “most exciting 25 seconds in college football.” And Clemson’s is the most unique in sports.

A one-minute bus ride for the team to the other end of the stadium seems like a huge waste moments before a college football game…until you’re on top of that hill with 80,000 people on their feet. Before funneling down the hill and onto the field, though, each player has the opportunity to rub legendary head coach Frank Howard’s Rock. It was originally from Death Valley, Calif., and it’s been placed on a pedestal at the top of the hill since 1967.

Talk about an adrenaline rush. While your opponent trots out from the locker room to their sideline, Clemson players are at the top of a hill ready to storm down and wreak havoc. From the head coaches and starters all the way down to the assistants and backups, the entire Tigers’ squad takes part in this tradition.

If you’ve got a bucket list of college football stadiums you’d like to visit, Memorial Stadium in Clemson, South Carolina should be near the top. And with the rosters he’s been able to piece together the past five years, there’s no better time to see something special than right now.