DATE: December 04, 2007
CONTACT:
Wil Brasington, (864) 656-5652
wil@clemson.edu
CONTACT:
Tim Bourret, (864) 656-1926
btimoth@clemson.edu
WRITER:
Angela Nixon, (864) 656-0382
anixon@clemson.edu
Clemson sports information director named honorary alumnus
CLEMSON – The Clemson Alumni Association has named sports information director Tim Bourret an honorary alumnus. The surprise announcement was made in the press box of Memorial Stadium prior to the football game against Boston College.
Bourret has been in Clemson’s athletic department for 29 years, serving for 14 years as an assistant athletic director and for 17 years as sports information director. He came to Clemson in 1978 as assistant sports information director under Bob Bradley.
“For nearly 30 years, Tim Bourret has been a cherished member of the Clemson family. He possesses the type of passion and devotion for Clemson University found in its most loyal alumni, so the distinction of 'Honorary Alumnus' is most appropriate and fitting,” said Wil Brasington, Clemson’s senior director of alumni relations. “We thank him for his outstanding service and welcome him to our alumni ranks.”
Bourret has edited more than 100 award-winning brochures in his career at Clemson. He was a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference 50-Year Anniversary Committee and is the chairman of the ACC Committee on Media and Public Relations. He also serves as the regional chairman for the College Football Hall of Fame voting process.
Many Tiger fans know Bourret best through his radio experience. He has been the color voice of Clemson basketball since the 1980-81 season and for Clemson football from 1982 to 1988. He also was the play-by-play voice for Clemson’s post-season baseball games from 1980 to 1989. In 2003, he was honored when the family of long-time Clemson radio announcer Jim Phillips asked him to serve as the play-by-play announcer for the Clemson-Middle Tennessee State football game, the first game after Phillips’ death. Together, Phillips and Bourret broadcast more than 600 Clemson athletic events.
“This is a very meaningful honor for me,” Bourret said. “I’m very appreciative of the people over the past 30 years who have helped me, and the one who helped me the most was Bob Bradley. He brought me here and made me part of the Clemson family and I’ve been a part of that family ever since. He was a major influence on my career.”
Bourret may be a Tiger now, but he’s got some Irish in him. The Connecticut native earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Notre Dame in 1977 and his master’s degree in communication arts from Notre Dame in 1978.
“I joke that it only took me four years to become part of the Notre Dame Alumni Association, but it took me 30 years to become part of the Clemson Alumni Association,” he said.
Along with former Notre Dame basketball coach Digger Phelps and Sport Illustrated’s John Walters, he wrote “Basketball for Dummies,” published by IDG Books in 1997. He also wrote “Digger Phelps’ Tales from the Notre Dame Hardwood,” released in 2004.