The true meaning behind the Clemson National Championship rings that you didn’t know about

‘We have dreamed about getting these rings for a long time’ – Dabo Swinney

It felt like fall this past Saturday when over 60,000 Clemson fans gathered in Death Valley for the spring football game. Months after the iconic win, Clemson fans are still celebrating.

Most of the crowd stayed for the special halftime show and the graduated players traveled back to Clemson to receive their “hardware” in the middle of the field.

Before presenting the rings, a video including the process of making the rings and Ben Boulware’s emotional National Championship speech spread goosebumps and cheers through the stands.

A Clemson alum designed the three rings and each stone, word, and color has a special meaning.

The National Championship Ring

The top of the ring featured 89 stones, to highlight Coach Dabo Swinney’s 89 wins since 2008. Also, along the top edge are three orange stones, representing the three ACC championships of Coach Swinney’s career, and five orange stones on the bottom edge, representing Clemson’s five straight bowl wins.

The tiger paw in the middle is possibly the most elaborate Tiger paw ever created considering it is made of all diamonds. The team slogans of “Embrace the Target” and “Finish, No Regrets” are engraved on the sides. One side features the final score of 35-31 against University of Alabama, as well as “National Championship,” “BACK2BACK” and “CFP.”

↖️ New phone wallpaper available on our IG Story… ? #2016champs #ALLIN

A post shared by Clemson Football (@clemsonfb) on Apr 7, 2017 at 4:55am PDT

2016 College Football Playoff (CFP) Championship Ring

This ring represents the wins in both the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl and the CFP National Championship game. The ring’s face includes a football surrounded by diamonds, with “National Champions” spelled out on the top and bottom.

One side of the ring features the player’s name, final score of 35-31 against University of Alabama, and “National Championship 2017.” The other side features engravings that say “38-0,” “PlayStation Fiesta Bowl,” and “Tigers.”

2016 Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Championship Ring

This ring was given for the team’s win over Virginia Tech in the Atlantic Coastal Conference Championship. It features matching ACC trophies on the ring face, which represent the team’s back-to-back championships. There are six marquis-cut stones, which reflect Clemson’s six top-10 winning seasons. Sixteen stones are featured on the sides of the ring’s face, representing Clemson’s 16 ACC titles.

Although these rings aren’t exactly wearable in everyday life, they are a meaningful reminder to the players of all the team’s accomplishments over the past few years. Each player contributed their part to help lead the team and school to victory. No one will ever forget that Clemson is the 2016 National Champions, especially the loyal Tiger fans.

Feature photo credit: Ben Boulware instagram @benboulware7

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