page_title: Clemson–South Carolina rivalry
section_title: Growth Battle
hierarchical_section_title: Clemson–South Carolina rivalry / Origin / Growth Battle
caption_attribution_description: English: Clemson vs. USC enrollment, 1945-2015
context_page_description: The Clemson–South Carolina rivalry, is an American collegiate athletic rivalry between the University of South Carolina Gamecocks and the Clemson University Tigers. Since 2015, the two also compete in the Palmetto Series, which is an athletic, head-to-head competition between both schools, not just in football, but also more than a dozen competitions throughout each school year. Both institutions are public universities supported by the state of South Carolina, and their campuses are separated by only 132 miles. South Carolina and Clemson have been bitter rivals since 1896, and a heated rivalry continues to this day for a variety of reasons, including the historic tensions regarding their respective charters and the passions surrounding their athletic programs.
  Much like the Alabama–Auburn rivalry, the Georgia–Georgia Tech rivalry, the Kentucky–Louisville rivalry and the North Carolina–NC State rivalry, the Clemson–South Carolina rivalry is an in-state collegiate rivalry. This is one of a handful of rivalries where the teams are in different premier conferences: South Carolina is in the Southeastern Conference; Clemson is in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
context_section_description: In the 1950s, the University of South Carolina expanded its reach across the state by establishing branch campuses under the auspices of the University of South Carolina System.  Clemson, having obtained university status in 1964, established a branch campus in Sumter and formed a two-year transfer partnership with Greenville Technical College.  House Speaker Sol Blatt was alarmed by the spread of Clemson and declared that South Carolina "should build as many two-year colleges over the state as rapidly as possible to prevent the expansion of Clemson schools for the Clemson people."  Accordingly, the University of South Carolina began a new wave of expansion across the state and was aided by the fact that the Clemson Sumter extension suffered from low enrollment. In 1973, Sumter officials negotiated an agreement between USC and Clemson for the school to join the USC branch system.
  In the past ten years, Clemson has experienced a larger percentage of enrollment growth over its rival school. Since 2005, Clemson University has grown by 30.5 percent compared to USC's 24.5 percent growth at its main Columbia campus and a 22.5 percent enrollment increase in the entire USC system. Both schools currently enroll more students than any time in their entire history.
caption: Clemson vs. USC Enrollment, 1945 – 2015
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