Kim Graham, C.J. Spiller to be Inducted into Clemson Ring of Honor
Clemson, SC – All-Americans Kim Graham-Miller and C.J. Spiller will be inducted into the Clemson Ring of Honor this fall. Graham was a five-time All-American and four-time ACC Most Valuable Player in track between 1990 and 1993, and Spiller was a unanimous All-American and ACC Player of the Year in football in 2009 and two-time All-ACC running back over his career that spanned between 2006-09.
The Ring of Honor is the highest award bestowed by the Clemson Athletic Department. Recipients must have made an outstanding contribution to the heritage of Clemson Athletics, must be a member of the Clemson Athletic Hall of Fame and a graduate of a four-year institution for consideration.
Graham was named one of the top 50 female athletes in ACC history in 2002, one of just six Clemson athletes selected. She was also named to the 50-year anniversary team for indoor and outdoor track.
Graham, who came to Clemson from the state of Virginia, was a 15-time ACC Champion (including relays), most of any track athlete in Clemson history. Three times she was named the Most Valuable Athlete for the ACC Outdoor meet, still the only women’s track athlete to accomplish that feat. She also was the ACC Indoor Track Meet MVP once.
Nationally, Graham finished runner-up in the 200 meters at the NCAA outdoor championships in 1992, and finished fourth in the 200 in 1991 and 1993. She was the winner of the Frank Howard Award for bringing honor to Clemson for the 1992-93 academic year.
Internationally, Graham won an Olympic Gold Medal at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta as a member of the United States 4X400 meter relay team. She was the national USA Champion in the 400 meters in 1998.
The 1993 Clemson graduate was inducted into the Clemson Hall of Fame in 1998. She is now the head men’s and women’s track coach at the University of California-San Diego.
Graham joins Tina Krebs (2003) and Michael Green (2017) as members of the Track and Field program to be inducted into the Ring of Honor, and is the sixth woman in any sport to earn the recognition.
Spiller, a native of Lake Butler, Fla., joined Clemson as a running back in 2006 and embarked upon a superlative career that resulted in his induction into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2021 in only his second year of eligibility.
Over his career, the two-time All-ACC selection set the NCAA record for career kickoff returns for touchdowns with seven, and his 7,588 career all-purpose yards still rank third in NCAA history. That total remains an ACC record and ranks first all-time among Power Conference players.
As a senior in 2009, Spiller earned unanimous first-team All-America honors, including a first-team selection as a kick returner and second-team selection as a running back according to the Walter Camp Football Foundation (WCFF), the sport’s oldest All-America team. Spiller became the first player in history to be named as an All-American at two different positions in the same year by the WCFF.
That year, Spiller also became the first player in ACC history to record more than 1,000 yards rushing and 500 yards receiving. He set an ACC record for all-purpose yards with 2,680, a mark that still stands today. He finished sixth in the voting for the 2009 Heisman Trophy.
Spiller was also an All-American in track in 2008-09 and was a member of the 4×100 relay team that finished third in the nation in the spring of 2009. Following his collegiate career, Spiller was a first-round draft choice (No. 9 overall) by the Buffalo Bills in 2010 and went on to an eight-year NFL career. He was named to the Pro Bowl in 2012 in recognition of his more than 1,200 rushing yards that season.
Spiller, a 2008 All-ACC Academic Team selection, earned his degree from Clemson in December 2009, garnering a standing ovation from the Clemson University Board of Trustees during his commencement. In addition to his selection into the College Football Hall of Fame, he was inducted into the South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame in 2020 and into the Clemson Athletic Hall of Fame in 2021. He is presently entering his fourth season as Clemson’s running backs coach.
Spiller becomes the eighth former football player to be inducted into the Ring of Honor, joining Banks McFadden, Steve Fuller, Jeff Davis, Fred Cone, Jerry Butler, Terry Kinard and Levon Kirkland. Frank Howard, Danny Ford and the 1981 National Championship team are also part of the Ring.