My favorite was I Plow Ten Acres Yearly.
IPTAY has an interesting early history…
[b]IPTAY is widely regarded as the father of athletic fundraising. The IPTAY Scholarship Fund traces its roots to the 1930s. Dr. Rupert Fike is credited with being the originator of IPTAY, but the seed that Dr. Fike needed for his now much-envied group was planted there by then Head Football Coach Jess Neely.
On October 16, 1931, Clemson suffered a surprising 6-0 loss against The Citadel in a game played in Florence, SC. After the game, Captain Frank J. Jervey, Head Coach Jess Neely, assistant coach Joe Davis and Captain Pete Heffner of the university military staff met in a car outside the stadium to discuss ways Clemson could help its football program get back on track. The meeting started the ball rolling towards the establishment of the IPTAY Foundation. Clemson would score just three touchdowns and win just one game during the 1931 season.
Soon Fike came into the picture through correspondence with Jervey. Jervey wanted to form the “50 ($50) Club” but Fike wanted a smaller amount, which he thought, would mean more members and more money. Neely believed that if he could get $10,000 a year, he could give the Clemson fans a winning football team.
Then in 1934, Dr. Fike wrote his now famous letter to Neely, stating “Last night we had a little meeting at our house and organized the IPTAY club.” So began Clemson’s athletic support group, which in those days, stood for “I Pay Ten A Year.” At this time the purpose of IPTAY was “to provide annual financial support to the athletic department at Clemson, and to assist in every way possible to regain for Clemson the high athletic standing which rightfully belongs to her.”
The organization was first established as a secret organization and initial membership dues were set at $10.00 a year (I Pay Ten A Year). A little more than $1,600.00 came into the coffers the first year of IPTAY, even in the heart of the Great Depression. Some payments were made in the form of barter. Milk, sweet potatoes, turnip greens and the like were accepted in the initial efforts to build membership.
The excitement about the organization carried over into the 1934 season and the Tigers ran to their first winning season since 1930. Clemson had gone 0-5-1 against Furman and South Carolina in those years, then defeated both teams in 1934. The fruits of the labor really began to pay off in 1938, said former Clemson publicist Joe Sherman. In 1938, Clemson went 8-1-1 and the following season, Neely coached Clemson to its first bowl game, the 1940 Cotton Bowl, where the Tigers capped a 9-1-0 season by beating Boston College and Hall of Fame Coach Frank Leahy 6-3. Clemson ended the season ranked 12th in the final Associated Press poll, its first top 20 season in history. Boston College was ranked 11th going into the game and it was Clemson’s first win over a top 20 team in its history.
With over 22,600 members in 2003 fiscal year, the organization plays a major role in ensuring that all 19 of the varsity sports at Clemson are given the maximum amount of scholarships offered by the NCAA. IPTAY donors have contributed over $168 million since the inception of IPTAY, including over $10.5 million in 2003 fiscal year.[/b]