IPTAY
The IPTAY Scholarship Foundation, founded in 1934, was the first scholarship fundraising organization in college athletics. Its roots trace back to October 16, 1931 following a surprising 6-0 football loss to The Citadel. After the game, Captains Frank Jervey, Pete Heffner, Head Coach Jess Neely, and Assistant Coach Joe Davis met in a car outside the stadium in Florence, SC to discuss various ways Clemson could establish its football program to a competitive status.
For more information, call (864) 656-2115 or visit clemsontigers.com
Shortly after the meeting, Dr. Rupert Fike offered his help after corresponding with Jervey. Neely believed he could run a successful football team if he was provided a $10,000-a-year increase in scholarships. Initially, Jervey originally called for members to pay $30 a year, but Fike recommended a smaller dollar amount, which he believed would lead to more members. Fike challenged 1000 people to step forward and pay $10 a year to the organization, which is where the name IPTAY originated from (I Pay Ten A Year). The purpose of IPTAY is “to provide annual financial scholarship support to the athletic department and to assist in every way possible to regain the high athletic prestige which rightfully belongs to Clemson.” The hard work of Fike and his colleagues began to pay off in 1939, as the Tigers went to their first bowl game, the 1940 Cotton Bowl, where they defeated Boston College 6-3 and finished the season in the AP top-25 poll for the first time in school history. Coincidentally, IPTAY reached Neely’s $10,000 goal for the first time in 1939.
IPTAY has been the key in building and maintaining the outstanding facilities essential for Clemson to remain one of the top intercollegiate programs in the country. IPTAY has played a critical role in various construction projects and renovations throughout the athletic department. IPTAY was the first organization in the nation to build and fund an academic support facility built solely for educational support of student-athletes. Vickery Hall opened its doors to Clemson’s student-athletes in 1991 and has established itself as a nationally-recognized program for student-athlete support.
Today, IPTAY has nearly 24,000 donors, which includes almost 16,000 IPTAY members as well as 8,000 members of the Tiger Cub Club and Collegiate Club, who continue Fike’s mission of providing annual scholarships for Clemson’s studentathletes to ensure all 19 varsity sports annually obtain the maximum amount of scholarships offered by the NCAA.
Today, the organization continues its missions as it recently celebrated its 75th year of scholarship support for Clemson student-athletes. Under the department of external affairs, IPTAY will expand its organizational service to move toward a broader scope of full-service. This will include capital gifts, improved marketing plans, estate planning, and increasing our membership through our IPTAY Representative program. For more information on IPTAY or determining other ways to contribute, please call the IPTAY office at (864) 656-2115 or log on to C l e m s o n Ti gers.com.
IPTAY raises money to provide athletic scholarships for student-athletes. 76
CLEMSON UNIVERSITY