Rumors

In the early 1990s, Rumors carried the torch as a popular hangout – and it had a unique claim to fame: it was student-owned. Clemson alumnus Tim Cowan famously opened Rumors while he was still a student, and it quickly became a downtown staple​clemsondubcast.podbean.com. The bar’s name fit the era’s nightclub vibe, and on a busy weekend night the “rumor” around campus was that Rumors (the bar) was the place to be. Cowan’s hands-on ownership meant Rumors was tightly woven into student life – he became friends with many Clemson athletes and regulars who frequented the place​clemsondubcast.podbean.com. The atmosphere was upbeat and social, with DJs or live music and plenty of drink specials typical of the ’90s. Because it opened toward the end of the ’80s era (around 1990), Rumors is sometimes lumped in with the ’80s bars, although it really hit its stride in the early ’90s. It eventually closed later in the ’90s as the bar scene evolved. Even so, Rumors deserves mention as a successor to the ’80s spots – it captured the free-spirited college bar energy and is fondly remembered by those who came of age just after Clemson’s 1980s boom. (And how many college bars can say they were run by one of their own?)​clemsondubcast.podbean.com