{
  "id": "2025-09-06-clemson-memorial-stadium-troy-lightning-delay",
  "slug": "clemson-memorial-stadium-troy-lightning-delay-2025-09-06",
  "institution": {
    "name": "Clemson University",
    "shortName": "Clemson",
    "state": "SC",
    "type": "public-r1",
    "alertSystemName": "CU Safe Alerts",
    "enrollment": 28747
  },
  "incident": {
    "date": "2025-09-06",
    "type": "severe-storm",
    "cleryCategory": "emergency-notification",
    "resolution": "confirmed-threat",
    "headline": "Lightning suspends a football game; more than 80,000 fans directed out of the stadium",
    "headlinePublic": "Lightning suspends a football game; more than 80,000 fans directed out of the stadium",
    "summary": "At [3:48 PM EDT on September 6, 2025](https://rubbingtherock.com/clemson-troy-halted-by-lightning-with-tigers-trailing-early-01k4gav6d7k9), with Troy leading Clemson 7-0 and 10:43 left in the first quarter, officials suspended play at Clemson's [Memorial Stadium ('Death Valley')](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memorial_Stadium_(Clemson)) after lightning was detected within eight miles. More than 80,000 fans were directed out of the seating bowl as Clemson University Public Safety [pushed an emergency alert](https://www.foxcarolina.com/2025/09/20/second-straight-clemson-football-home-game-enters-lightning-delay/) instructing seekers of shelter to LJC, Fike, Brackett, and Sirrine Hall. Play resumed at [approximately 5:20 PM EDT](https://sports.yahoo.com/article/clemson-vs-troy-football-impacted-184507122.html), a delay of about one hour and 32 minutes.",
    "outcome": "Clemson won 27-16 after the delay. No injuries reported during the evacuation. The September 6 delay was the first of two consecutive Memorial Stadium lightning delays in the 2025 season."
  },
  "alerts": [
    {
      "sequence": 1,
      "type": "initial",
      "timestamp": "2025-09-06T14:44:09-04:00",
      "channel": "twitter-x",
      "verbatimText": "Lightning has been detected around Memorial Stadium. For your safety, if you are already inside the stadium, we ask that you please move to a safe location underneath the stadium. \n\nWe'll keep you posted with updates! 📲",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://x.com/ClemsonTigers/status/1964399236478620065",
      "sourceDescription": "@ClemsonTigers on X (verbatim)",
      "annotations": [
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        "Corrected to exact fxtwitter display text."
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      "characterCount": 220
    },
    {
      "sequence": 2,
      "type": "update",
      "timestamp": "2025-09-06T14:54:29-04:00",
      "channel": "twitter-x",
      "verbatimText": "The gates to Memorial Stadium are open, and the lightning warning has been lifted!",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://x.com/ClemsonTigers/status/1964401835818590215",
      "sourceDescription": "@ClemsonTigers on X (official, verbatim)",
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      "characterCount": 82
    },
    {
      "sequence": 3,
      "type": "update",
      "timestamp": "2025-09-06T14:57:35-04:00",
      "channel": "twitter-x",
      "verbatimText": "",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": false,
      "sourceUrl": "https://x.com/ClemsonTigers/status/1964402616533664164",
      "sourceDescription": "@ClemsonTigers on X (verbatim)",
      "annotations": []
    },
    {
      "sequence": 4,
      "type": "update",
      "timestamp": "2025-09-06T15:51:54-04:00",
      "channel": "twitter-x",
      "verbatimText": "Lightning has once again been detected around Memorial Stadium. For your safety, we ask that you please move to a safe location underneath the stadium.\n\nLJC, Fike, Bracket, and Sirrine Hall are available for those currently outside the stadium. \n\nWe'll keep you updated! 📲",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://x.com/ClemsonTigers/status/1964416285501972873",
      "sourceDescription": "@ClemsonTigers on X (official, verbatim)",
      "annotations": [
        "Exact text from official @ClemsonTigers status 1964416285501972873"
      ],
      "characterCount": 273
    },
    {
      "sequence": 5,
      "type": "all-clear",
      "timestamp": "2025-09-06T17:03:11-04:00",
      "channel": "twitter-x",
      "verbatimText": "",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": false,
      "sourceUrl": "https://x.com/ClemsonTigers/status/1964434225400348950",
      "sourceDescription": "@ClemsonTigers on X (verbatim)",
      "annotations": []
    }
  ],
  "context": "Clemson's [Memorial Stadium](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memorial_Stadium_(Clemson)) (universally known as 'Death Valley') is one of the largest on-campus football venues in the country, seating more than 81,500 fans in a bowl set into the Upstate South Carolina hillside. The September 6, 2025 Troy game was Clemson's home opener, and the first major weather test of CU Safe Alerts' integration with stadium operations. At 3:48 PM EDT, Clemson Public Safety pushed a phone-based emergency alert reported as reading 'LIGHTNING within 8 miles of campus. Seek sturdy shelter NOW. Stop outdoor activity.', simultaneous with a [videoboard notice](https://rubbingtherock.com/clemson-troy-halted-by-lightning-with-tigers-trailing-early-01k4gav6d7k9) directing fans out of the seating bowl. Clemson's [emergency-management protocol](https://www.clemson.edu/cusafety/emergency-management/emergency-procedures/severe-weather.html) opens additional academic buildings (LJC, Fike, Brackett, and Sirrine Hall) for shelter during stadium evacuations. The 30-minute clock under [SEC and NCAA protocol](https://collegefootballnetwork.com/college-football-weather-delay-rules-lightning-delays-potential-cancellations/) resets on every new strike within eight miles, which is why a single storm cell can produce delays approaching two hours. Play resumed at 5:20 PM EDT, a 1-hour-32-minute pause. Clemson outscored Troy 27-9 after the delay and won 27-16. The September 6 delay was followed two weeks later by [a second consecutive home-game lightning delay](https://www.foxcarolina.com/2025/09/20/second-straight-clemson-football-home-game-enters-lightning-delay/) during the September 20 game vs. Syracuse, a coincidence that prompted Clemson's facilities staff to publish a public explainer on the eight-mile-reset rule. The incident, like the [Georgia-Austin Peay delay the same day](https://www.ajc.com/news/2025/09/georgia-football-game-in-weather-delay/), shows how the NCAA's lightning protocol (adopted in part after the [1991 death of a Texas A&M groundskeeper struck by lightning](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightning_strike#Sports)) has matured into a routine but high-stakes mass-evacuation procedure.",
  "keyFindings": [
    "Clemson's wireless emergency alert and videoboard messaging fired simultaneously at 3:48 PM EDT, demonstrating the now-standard dual-channel evacuation pattern for SEC/ACC stadiums",
    "The 30-minute reset rule (each new lightning strike inside 8 miles restarts the clock) is what turns a single storm cell into a 1.5-2 hour suspension",
    "Memorial Stadium's hybrid sheltering model uses the concourse, vehicles, AND four named academic buildings (LJC, Fike, Brackett, Sirrine), no single building large enough on its own to absorb 80,000+ fans",
    "The September 6 delay was the first of two consecutive Memorial Stadium home-game lightning delays in 2025, prompting Clemson facilities to publish an unusual public explainer on the eight-mile reset rule"
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "Clemson-Troy halted by lightning with Tigers trailing early (Rubbing the Rock)",
      "url": "https://rubbingtherock.com/clemson-troy-halted-by-lightning-with-tigers-trailing-early-01k4gav6d7k9",
      "type": "other"
    },
    {
      "title": "Major College Football Game Faces Alarming Threat as Fans Asked to Evacuate (EssentiallySports)",
      "url": "https://www.essentiallysports.com/ncaa-college-football-news-major-college-football-game-faces-alarming-threat-as-fans-asked-to-evacuate-clemson-tigers-troy-trojans/",
      "type": "other"
    },
    {
      "title": "Clemson vs. Troy football impacted by lightning. Game resumes after delay (Yahoo Sports)",
      "url": "https://sports.yahoo.com/article/clemson-vs-troy-football-impacted-184507122.html",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "Second-straight Clemson football home game enters lightning delay (FOX Carolina)",
      "url": "https://www.foxcarolina.com/2025/09/20/second-straight-clemson-football-home-game-enters-lightning-delay/",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "Clemson-Troy game weather updates (TigerNet)",
      "url": "https://www.tigernet.com/clemson-football/news/clemson-troy-game-weather-updates-47122",
      "type": "other"
    },
    {
      "title": "Severe Weather Emergency Procedures (Clemson Emergency Management)",
      "url": "https://www.clemson.edu/cusafety/emergency-management/emergency-procedures/severe-weather.html",
      "type": "official-archive"
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      "title": "@ClemsonTigers 1964434225400348950",
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    {
      "title": "@ClemsonTigers on X status 1964402616533664164",
      "url": "https://x.com/ClemsonTigers/status/1964402616533664164",
      "type": "official-social"
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  ],
  "confidence": "high",
  "tags": [
    "severe-storm",
    "lightning",
    "stadium-evacuation",
    "memorial-stadium",
    "death-valley",
    "football",
    "clemson",
    "acc",
    "ncaa",
    "weather-delay",
    "game-day",
    "non-violent",
    "public-r1",
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  "dateAdded": "2026-05-14",
  "lastUpdated": "2026-07-20",
  "addedBy": "ingestion"
}