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CLEMSON -- Longtime Clemson Sports Information Director Tim Bourret has been serving Clemson since 1978. But his run as arguably the top man in his field will end on July 1, as the school announced Mr. Bourret's retirement last Friday.
The 2017 CoSIDA Hall of Fame inductee has authored three books and served as a commentator broadcasting Clemson basketball games for nearly 40 years, reaching his 1,000th broadcast in February of 2015.
In light of Friday's retirement announcement, Tigerillustrated.com is re-releasing its three-part series with Mr. Bourret, originally released to our subscribers in June of 2015.
PUBLISHER's NOTE: I met Tim many years ago and of course quickly came to respect him, his outstanding work ethic and tremendous contributions to his profession. 10 years ago I told our subscribers I felt Tim was the most underpaid person in Clemson's athletics department. I believed that then and still do today.
We think of Hall of Fame recipients such as Ty Cobb or Babe Ruth or Willie Mays, elite figures in their profession. Tim Bourret is among the elite in what he does. He is among the best ever in America in his field. You'd just never know it talking to him, given his disarming modesty.
Tim has always acted with uncompromising integrity in everything he has done for Clemson. He's also directly responsible for landing and coordinating a number of interviews for me over the years, most notably an agitated Ken Hatfield who twice denied my interview requests in May of 2011 before ultimately changing his mind after talking with Tim.
A public thank you to Tim for everything and we wish him the very best in his retirement.
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The following is an edited transcript of part III of this three-part interview originally released on Tigerillustrated.com in June of 2015:
Ard. I know you think highly of Rick Barnes. Acquisition of talent was certainly on an upward trend when he was here.
Bourret. "That had a lot to do with it, but Rick Barnes brought enthusiasm to the program like no other. You can almost say any coach in any sport at Clemson. We can talk about Dabo's all-in slogan. Rick Barnes was that way when he first came here. A lot of coaches at schools where there are big-time football programs fight about it or grouse about it, but Rick Barnes jumped right in and said how about if I'm on the Tiger Tailgate Show before football games? So he was on the Tiger Tailgate Show before football games, riding around on a golf kart, talking to people. It became a great way to spread his enthusiasm for Clemson basketball. In that era, the enthusiasm was at its height for Clemson basketball.
"Now his second year here, he brought in a great class, kids that were between 40-80 nationally in the recruiting rankings, guys who were really terrific players. He obviously endeared himself to Clemson fans, taking on Dean Smith, not backing down from Dean Smith.
"That game in the 1995 ACC Tournament … towards the end of the game, Coach Smith is talking to Iker Iturbe, pointing at him, calling him a dirty player and that's when he and Rick met at mid-court and had a shouting match. After the game, I left the postgame. I knew I'd have to be involved to some extent to see what he would say before his postgame press conference. I go into the locker room and I'm in a high pressured state. He starts smiling at me and says, 'Timmy B., you're all excited, aren't you?' So he had a smile on his face, which told me not that this was calcuated but he saw it as an opportunity to show Clemson fans that Clemson wasn't backing down from anybody and that we weren't going to let Duke and North Carolina push us around in this league. He knew it was going to be a good thing and it was."
Ard. I have to think that was probably one of the best things a Clemson coach could do to curry favor with Clemson fans.
Bourret. "Oh yeah, absolutely. Absolutely."
Ard. What you just said about Coach Barnes brings up an interesting question. Many times I've observed you walking off the practice field with Dabo or Tommy Bowden and you're briefing them on what they might get hit with from the media. Other times coaches are about to talk with the media immediately following a game. You know that coach has worked awfully hard all week day and night to win that game, so he's crushed if he loses. He's in a terrible mood. He walks out of the locker room and we pop 15-20 audio recorders and video cameras in front of his face. So it's not unusual for him to say something in haste that won't play well or read right.
Are you the cooler at times? Have you had to grab a coach by the arm at times to remind him to be a bit more measured in his postgame remarks before he's had an opportunity to emotionally shake off a loss?
Bourret. "Yeah and I actually try to do it through hard facts. For instance, walking off the field at the end of the 1999 season after we had lost to Mississippi State in the bowl game. We ended up 6-6. I knew it was going to be an end-of-the-season type of stuff (theme). We had accomplished a lot and had improved a lot. He needed to be reminded that we had faced one of the more difficult schedules in the country. We were the only team to face the nation's only three undefeated teams - Marshall, Florida State and Virginia Tech.
"I said to him, 'You've got to keep things in perspective.' This was at the time the only Clemson team in history to face four top 15 teams in a single season. I remember I reminded him of that before the press conference to settle him down a bit. Sometimes when you have a heartbreaking loss at the end of the year, you may want to help the coach in that moment so that he's got things in perspective and he doesn't go in there (with guns blazing)."
Ard. By the way, a little birdie told me that Coach Barnes still sends you something for Christmas every year.
Bourret. "Yes, he does. He still does. He sends me a box of pears every year and has since he left. That's the type of guy he is. He was a terrific guy. I hated to see him go.
"You know he kept me informed when he was involved with the Texas opening. I was at home watching the 1998 Masters. He called me up and said, 'Timmy B. … I'm going to Texas. Now, I'm going to miss you, but I'm going to Texas.' LOL!"
