CLEMSON, S.C. (FOX Carolina) - Clemson University football. It’s considered one best programs in the country. Winning more than [80% of their games](https://clemsontigers.com/2025-spring-guide-the-clemson-football-standard/#:~:text=ONE%20OF%20THE%20ERA'S%20WINNINGEST,14%20of%20the%2016%20teams.), along with 2 national championships, since 2011. And sending dozens of players like Barrett Carter and Phil Mafah to the NFL. But the success of this program doesn’t just live on the field or in the training room. It lives in the heart of this campus.
“We started a group of students, a creative inquiry program out of packaging science and bioengineering,” Clemson Football director of applied science, Alex Bina, said.
Thanks to Alex Bina, since 2015, Clemson has been using the intelligence of their applied science department to propel athletes.
“We were looking at how fast athletes were running, how speed degradation would occur, kind of an endurance metric,” Bina said. “At that time, we were looking at, I called it a bullet score.”
But it’s not just about power or strength. We are now learning that recovery may be just as important.
“He had this huge vision of what we now have, the 100 yards of Wellness,” Clemson Football head coach Dabo Swinney said. “This guy, Bina, he is a unique dude. He’s smart as crap. The players love him, and former players love him.”
The 100 Yards of Wellness is equipped with some of the most advanced technologies in the world.
“What really impressed me was all the modalities that they had,” Clemson Football defensive tackle Champ Thompson said. “I have never heard of a red laser treatment.”
On this floor, you will find acupuncture, pool walking, nutrition, massage machines, physical therapy, and red light therapy. It also includes sensory deprivation, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, cryotherapy, and anti-gravity treadmills.
“Whatever you want to do to recover your body and push yourself to be the best you can be,” Clemson Football defensive end Cade Denhoff said. “It’s awesome. It’s one of my favorite places in the building.”
It’s a space to prevent injuries, not just treat them after they happen.
“It’s cool to go down there,” Swinney said. “I love to go down there. Everybody is together, there is some music, and there is a strobe light. It’s not a negative thing to go to the training room. Guys have bought into prehab, trying to do everything they can to prevent injuries.”
Clemson Football director of athletic training, Pat Richards, said mood and attitude can have a big impact on how well an athlete recovers from an injury. It’s why they wanted to make the 100 Yards of Wellness a welcoming place.
“We can test for any illness under the sun,” Richards said. “So I like to joke or tell players, the only thing we can’t do in here is surgery and MRIs, and we are getting there.”
These leaders say this program is in its opening drive, but the end zone is still decades away.
“To watch a guy struggle and build and grow and grind pretty anonymously for 3-4 years and then go find success like a Cornell Powell or Mario Goodrich, I mean, those stories are really incredible because it’s pretty much aligned with the vision of applied science here,” Bina said.
_Copyright 2025 WHNS. All rights reserved._