Sometimes things have to get worse before they get better.
The landscape of college athletics has changed dramatically in the past decade. In 2026, and really the couple of years prior, we’ve really gotten to see the consequences of money and contracts seeping into the amateurism of college athletics. NIL, or Name, Image and Likeness, has officially opened up a can of worms, and I believe that can will be open forever more.
We’re seeing the ugliness (can’t spell ugliness without NIL) of the new era of college athletics play out in real time, and college athletic departments are doing all that they can to keep up.
One way that the University of Clemson is bringing in extra money to help with both NIL and athletic department expenses in general is through massive concerts hosted by superstars. Instead of doing a multitude of concerts throughout the summer, Clemson is choosing to go big, and prefers to host one or two events in the football offseason.
Jon Allen, associate Athletic Director for facilities operations and events, told the 2 Right Turns podcast that Clemson – along with many other colleges across the country – are having to expand the use of their stadiums to outside the football season:
“You’re kind of used to seven Saturdays in the fall. You need to start adding a few dates probably in the spring here, too, as we start to expand our portfolio a little bit.”
How is Clemson expanding their portfolio, you might be asking? Just by having two of the biggest names in country music play concerts at their iconic Memorial Stadium.
Earlier in May, Death Valley hosted a concert for the King of Country Music. George Strait played to over 90,000 fans (a Memorial Stadium record), and the university brought in $2.8 million in food and beverage sales that night ($1.8 million of that was alcohol).
Clemson hosted the big-time Strait concert knowing that the stage that was set up would tear up their football field, and have them in need of a replacement. But they aren’t panicking… because they know that when Morgan Wallen comes to Death Valley on June 26, his performance will cover the costs of fixing the field (that usually comes at a cost of $200,000 to $300,000).
The university says that they’ve already struck a deal with AEG Global Touring that says AEG will pay for the field replacement. And they sought that out in the agreement to also fix the issues and imprint that came from George Strait’s stage, which was set up at mid field. Clemson is fully expecting that Morgan Wallen’s stage – which will stretch from the east end zone of the stadium to the 45-yard-line – will also do some damage.
But Eric Sabin, Clemson’s deputy athletic director for finance and operations, isn’t worried about it:
“The setup, the stage, the flooring, everything is gonna be different for Morgan Wallen. We’re gonna have that field covered all week long. We’re not gonna be able to do some of the things that we did this go-around with George to try to keep some of the field open.”
Clemson is going through all of this trouble in the name of profit. The university and it’s revenue generating department – Clemson Ventures – easily saw a seven-figure profit from George Strait’s concert from food and beverage sales alone (the school splits those sales evenly with their vendor, Aramark).
There’s no doubt that Morgan Wallen’s concert happening later this summer will bring in the same amount, if not more, for Clemson. Then after the country music star’s show, the field will be replaced and ready to go for the college football season.
Gone are the days where stadiums sat vacant for the spring and summer. Universities are having to get creative, and for Clemson, they are leaning on country music superstars to help raise money during the offseason.
Turf conditions be damned.
