During the 2019-20 college football season, Clemson and LSU met in the College Football Playoff national championship game. It was a battle of the undefeated, a battle of Tigers and, most importantly, a battle of Death Valley.
The two teams met that night at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, but both LSU’s and Clemson’s football teams play home games on their respective campuses at 80,000-plus-seat stadiums.
Clemson’s Memorial Stadium (81,500) and LSU’s Tiger Stadium (103,321) are each frequently referred to as Death Valley. Clemson was the first to own the nickname, back in the 1940s, while LSU grabbed the nickname later in the 50s.
Like all nicknames, there’s an origin story. Per Clemson’s athletics website, Memorial Stadium became known as Death Valley in 1948 after a win over Presbyterian College.
Through the years, Memorial Stadium has become known as “Death Valley” across the country. It was tagged by Presbyterian College Head Coach Lonnie McMillian during the late 1940s. After bringing his teams to Clemson for many years and getting whipped, he said the place was like “Death Valley.” A few years later, the name stuck.”
LSU was actually coined as “Deaf Valley,” once upon a time, thanks to how noisy the stadium was. The name “Death Valley” didn’t come along until after the 1959 Sugar Bowl when LSU defeated Clemson. More according to ESPN:
On Jan. 1, 1959, when LSU and Heisman Trophy winner Billy Cannon capped the school’s first national title with a 7-0 victory in the Sugar Bowl, some of those fans stole “Death” when describing the home valley. Why? Because they believed they had earned that right after defeating the team that was already using the name for its home stadium.
So, Clemson’s home is the original Death Valley, and LSU’s is the latest. But the reality is that two Death Valley’s coexist within the college football landscape and are here for the long haul.
