Should South Carolina-Clemson play the day after Thanksgiving? Shane Beamer weighs in

Earlier this year the ACC and ESPN wanted Clemson to move its home football game against South Carolina — which is usually held the Saturday after Thanksgiving — up a day.

Clemson athletic director Graham Neff asked football coach Dabo Swinney for his thoughts. Swinney believed a Friday game wasn’t in Clemson’s best interest, as moving the game up would give fans less time to travel after the holiday and put a strain on the city. Clemson denied the ACC and ESPN’s request.

South Carolina coach Shane Beamer was asked at his annual Birdies with Beamer golf tournament his thoughts on the rivalry game’s timing and Clemson’s decision to play on Saturday. Beamer said he spoke with Swinney and USC athletic director Ray Tanner spoke with Neff. With Clemson hosting this season, it was ultimately the Tigers’ decision.

But Beamer seemed open to playing on a Friday night.

“It’s one of the best rivalries in all of the nation,” Beamer said of South Carolina-Clemson. “I like the idea of of being able to create even more exposure for it.”

The contract for this game is signed on an annual basis. The 2025 game contract and date have not yet been executed.

When the Gamecocks played the Tigers at Clemson in 2022, Beamer watched Florida-Florida State play the night before in his Greenville hotel room.

He thought to himself: “Man, the whole country’s watching this game right now.”

There are negatives, as Swinney pointed out, and positives, as Beamer remembered, to playing on a Friday night. What would South Carolina do if ESPN and the SEC asked USC next year?

“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” Beamer said. “... I always want to do what’s best for the fans and make sure that we know that stadium in Clemson and Columbia will be rockin’ every single year whenever we play it.”