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CLEMSON UNIVERSITY FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE


September 29, 2015


Dabo Swinney

Kathleen Swinney


Clemson, South Carolina

COACH SWINNEY

KATHLEEN SWINNEY

COACH SWINNEY: All right. Welcome to the party. Good to be with you all today. Just before we kind of get into the game here, just some comments.

Obviously, we want to thank everyone for being here today. Thursday is October 1st, as most of you all are aware, and it's the start of national Breast Cancer Awareness Month. As you all are all pretty much aware, you local folks around here, that's something that's really something that Kathleen and I are very passionate about and near and dear to our heart.

And Kath and I want to thank Clemson University, first of all, for the support that they give us and what we're trying to do. Coke and OOBE and St. Francis, Southern Fried Cotton, and the Tiger Sports Shop for partnering up with us in this cause.

With us today are Mike Pereyo and Tom Merritt from OOBE. I think they're responsible for my nice shirt here today. Appreciate them. Erik Whaley from St. Francis right here, and Dan and Marcy Radakovic who I think they don't need an introduction. You all know who they are. Appreciate their support.

Miss Beth Clements, the first lady of Clemson University here. We always appreciate her support. We appreciate Chris Bandy and Southern Fried Cotton. I'm not sure if Chris is here today. But they've been a great partner, and Julie Ibrahim, who I think all of you know with the Tiger Sports Shop and the athletic department and all the other things that she's involved with, but really great to have her support as well.

Just a little update on where we are with our foundation. To date we have pledged and given a little over $1.7 million, and we've had over $280,000-plus of that, just strictly to breast cancer research.

In 2016, we're going to exceed well over $2 million. So the proceeds from what we're going to be talking about, which is all the merchandise sales that will be going on through the month of October is going to benefit our foundation and our continued fight to really just try to find a cure.

I'm watching the news last night and they're telling us that there's water on Mars, and that we've somehow now we can go to Mars, and if we can go to Mars and we can do all these things, then I know we can find a cure for breast cancer. So just appreciate everyone being here today and all the fine samples that we have. I'm going to turn it over to the real star of the show, and that's Kathleen.

KATHLEEN SWINNEY: Thank y'all. I'm happy to be here. I was just going to get a little information. The pins that you see us all wearing, that is, again this year, our custom design, 2015 Tiger Paw Breast Cancer Awareness pin, and they are going to be sold at all the retailers press release, and they're also going to be sold starting today at ClemsonTigers.com, and they're going to be available at the stadium for all the three October home games.

So we've always had a big hit with these every year, so it would be great if everybody could go out and buy one. They're still $5, and the proceeds benefit breast cancer research.

And again, we're also -- we have a lot of great people standing up here. We have partnered with a lot of corporate sponsors, and now Julie at the Tiger Sports Shop is going to be selling OOBE merchandise this year, and if you see all of our models here, we have men's attire and women's attire. Look how good Dan looks in that OOBE shirt, and the ladies. We have the pullovers, and we have a lot of great looking stuff, so that will be available this month at the Tiger Sports Shop.

So we thank Tom and Mike and Julie for all those OOBE clothes. So hopefully the fans will get out there and get some of those clothes. Also our friends at Southern Fried Cotton have come up with this shirt for breast cancer awareness. And they'll be sold starting today at Southern Fried Cotton. Part of the proceeds will go to the All-In Foundation and those proceeds will go to pay for women's mammograms who can't afford them.

They can get the mammograms on the St. Francis mobile mammography bus. And I think Chris told me for every 15 shirts that they sell, that will pay for one woman's mammogram, so that's really important because they run about $150, and women, that's not something you're going to go spend money on, especially if you don't have insurance. That's just a lot of money. So thanks to St. Francis, they have a pink bus.

Probably a lot of you all are familiar with that, and they go around to Anderson County, Pickens and Greenville counties, and they give mammograms to women who are underinsured or uninsured. So it's really, I think Erik was saying today, this year there are six women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer who got their mammogram on that bus who otherwise would probably not have gotten one and would not be getting the treatment they need.

So all of these proceeds are going to help us. So I hope y'all will go out and buy the pins and the shirts, and all the nice wear for your husband's or for Christmas or whatever.

One other exciting thing. Our foundation has sponsored or we have partnered with Clemson Bioengineering department, and they are working on putting, I think y'all have heard us discuss this before -- they're working on putting an anti-cancer agent in when a woman has a mastectomy into the reconstruction, an agent that would emit like an anti-cancer drug throughout her life. So they're on the breaking edge of this project, and it's right here at Clemson University.

So our foundation is committed right now to $50,000 for their two-year grant. And hopefully in the future we can give more so Brian Booth and his friends over here right on campus are working on breast cancer research right here at Clemson for those of you who didn't know it.

So we're very excited about that, and I think with that, y'all probably want to hear Dabo speak. So thank you.

COACH SWINNEY: We appreciate y'all indulging us with that. I know this is a big game and all that type of stuff, but there are so many bigger things out there than a football game. We've been impacted just like many of you and many of the people watching with this horrible disease, so hopefully we can continue to create some awareness throughout the year, not just the month of October, but obviously the month of October is the time that we want to really step it up, if you will, and participate.

The only other thing I would say along those lines is I got a letter yesterday from Russell Wilson. I think everybody knows Russell Wilson, and he has a foundation called Why Not You Foundation, and basically October is also domestic violence month, and he's kind of challenged everyone to pass the peace I think is his initiative or movement that he is part of.

So certainly accept that challenge in trying to do our part in creating awareness for another really bad thing out there in our society. So with that, I'm going to move on and get into this ballgame here. So won't make y'all stand the whole time. So appreciate y'all being here and being part of this. Thank you.

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