Phillip Hunter Prince (August 4, 1926 – February 28, 2020) was a President of

Clemson University Clemson University () is a public land-grant research university in Clemson, South Carolina. Founded in 1889, Clemson is the second-largest university in the student population in South Carolina. For the fall 2019 semester, the university enro ...

and a student-athlete for the

Clemson Tigers football The Clemson Tigers are the American football team at Clemson University. The Tigers compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Atlantic Division of the Atlantic C ...

team. He received the Clemson Distinguished Athletes Award in 2015. Prince was born in

Bostic, North Carolina Bostic is a town in Rutherford County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 386 at the 2010 census. History The Bostic Charge Parsonage, Melton-Davis House, and Washburn Historic District are listed on the National Register of Hist ...

in 1926 and was schooled in

Erwin, Tennessee Erwin is a town in and the county seat of Unicoi County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 6,097 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Johnson City Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is a component of the Johnson City– Kingspo ...

before receiving, in 1944, an athletics scholarship to Clemson College. His education was interrupted by serving in the US Army from 1944 to 1945 but on resuming his studies, he became joint captain of the 1948 Football Team which won the 1949

Gator Bowl The Gator Bowl is an annual college football bowl game held in Jacksonville, Florida, operated by Gator Bowl Sports. It has been held continuously since 1946, making it the sixth oldest college bowl, as well as the first one ever televised natio ...

and later became Vice President of the 1949 Senior Class. He graduated to

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

and rejoined the army from 1950 to 1951. Prince was a letterman for four years in the Clemson football team in the years 1944 and 1946–48. In his

true freshman Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

season, Prince started at left tackle on the Tigers' offensive line. Prince had to pause his activities at Clemson due to his service in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

from 1944 to 1945. He served as co-captain of the 1948 team that finished with an 11–0 record and #11 ranking in the final

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poll. After graduation, he worked for

Milliken & Company Milliken & Company is an American industrial manufacturer that has been in business since 1865. With corporate headquarters located in Spartanburg, South Carolina, the company is active across a breadth of disciplines including specialty chemica ...

between 1951 and 1967. In February 1994, he became acting president of Clemson University and served 11 months, until he was named president by the board on September 30, 1994. During his tenure, he instigated wide-ranging changes including reducing the number of colleges from nine to four (this was later to become five), an organizational structure that endured for the next two decades. He was recognised for his long-term commitment to the college by the receipt of an honorary Doctor of Humanities degree in May 1995. He died at the age of 93 on February 28, 2020.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Prince, Phil 1926 births 2020 deaths American football offensive linemen Clemson Tigers football players Presidents of Clemson University People from Rutherford County, North Carolina Military personnel from North Carolina Players of American football from North Carolina Columbia University alumni United States Army personnel of World War II