Bill McLellan, 81, died Sept. 30 at Greenville Memorial Hospital. McLellan retired in 1985 with 30 years of service, including 14 years as Clemson’s director of athletics.
McLellan’s vision brought Memorial Stadium to an 80,000 seat structure, hired some of the most successful coaches in school history, and expanded the athletic landscape to include women’s athletics.
McLellan served as Clemson Director of Athletics from 1971-85. During this time Clemson won 34 ACC Championships in nine different sports. The program was especially successful from 1978-85 when Clemson had 45 top 25 teams and 27 ACC championships.
The program had a national top five all-sports ranking four times in a five-year period between 1978-83, including an all-time best number-three ranking for the 1979-80 academic year. That year Clemson reached the Elite Eight of the NCAA Basketball Tournament in its first appearance, went to the College World Series and to the Peach Bowl.
The football program made great strides during McLellan’s tenure, highlighted by the 1981 National Championship the school’s first national title in any sport. Clemson ranked in the top 20 in the nation five times and won three ACC Championships (1978, 1981, 1982) during McLellan’s time at Clemson.
McLellan’s vision for facilities had much to do with the program’s improvement. He oversaw the building and financing of Clemson’s South upper deck in 1978 and the North upper deck in 1983, bringing the stadium to among the top 15 largest on-campus facilities in the nation. It was also his plan to incorporate 100 luxury boxes into the expansion to help finance the projects.
Last May, the upper deck on the North side of the stadium was named in his honor.
Clemson had no women’s athletics teams when he started as director, but he brought in eight women’s programs between 1975-77. He enhanced their facilities and infrastructure quickly and six of the eight programs had a final top 20 ranking within their first five years of existence.
McLellan received the Clemson Alumni Distinguished Service Award in 1982. He was inducted into the Clemson Athletic Hall of Fame in 1993. This past May, he was inducted into the South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame.
McLellan is survived by his wife Ann and children Suzy, Bill, Cliff and Arch Anna.
A memorial service will be held noon, Thursday, in the Sanctuary of First Presbyterian Church, Greenville. The family will receive friends from 10:30 to 11:45 a.m. Thursday in the parlor of First Presbyterian Church, Greenville.
A graveside committal service will be held in Woodland Cemetery “Cemetery Hill” on Clemson’s campus 3 p.m. Thursday. The family receive friends immediately following the committal service in the Tiger Den at Memorial Stadium.
Flowers will be accepted or memorials may be made to the Bill McLellan Memorial IPTAY Scholarship Fund, P.O. Box 1529, Clemson, S.C. 29633.
Condolences may be expressed online at www.robinsonfuneralhomes.com or at Duckett-Robinson Funeral Home, Central.
