CLEMSON — When Clemson football plays Charleston Southern in Week 7, the opposing coach will enter Memorial Stadium with a heavy heart.
The Tigers (3-2) face the Buccaneers (3-3), coached by Gabe Giardina, on Oct. 17 (noon, ACC Network).
Giardina's father, Frank, died on Oct. 11 after an extended illness. A two-time West Virginia Sportscaster of the Year, Frank Giardina spent more than 40 years in college athletics as a play-by-play announcer and administrator at Marshall, East Carolina and Penn State.
Giardina said "throwing myself into God's calling for my life" is the best way for him to grieve, which is why he plans to coach against Clemson just six days after his father's death. Giardina said that he's cried "probably 12 times" since his father's death, but that they aren't tears of sadness.
"My dad is where we all want to be. He's in heaven," Giardina said in a press conference on Oct. 13. "I know that Christian man for 40 years worked in college athletics at Marshall and Penn State, East Carolina. I grew up in these locker rooms trying to get Ki-Jana Carter's gloves after the game, and got some cool stories about sitting there with Coach (Joe) Paterno, and he's rubbing my head, calling me Gabe, and he just beat Notre Dame. Those things I always have."
Giardina said he's grateful his father no longer has to suffer after years of illness. He also found meaning in the time of his father's death: 4:24 a.m.
"My oldest son's name is Frank, for my dad, and he was born April 24. 4/24," Giardina said. "Just kind of a redemptive work (from God) there to say, 'You know what? Every time I get to think of my dad's death, I get to think about my son, and I get to think about Christ and what He did for me and for my dad to get us all in a better place when we die.'"
Frank Giardina attended Charleston Southern's 49-39 victory over South Carolina State on Oct. 10, giving him one final opportunity to watch his son coach a win before his death the following morning.
"Nothing but smiles for me from a life well lived by my dad, Frank," Gabe said.
Powerful, worth listening to.
— Scott Eisberg (@SEisbergWCIV) October 13, 2026
Gabe Giardina leads Charleston Southern into Clemson on Saturday. It'll be 6 days after he lost his dad.
His dad Frank passed on Sunday morning, at 4:24AM. Gabe's son, Frank's namesake, was born on 4/24. Frank got to see "1 final CSU win", as the… pic.twitter.com/XDcskBEyxi
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What Dabo Swinney said about Charleston Southern coach Gabe Giardina
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said he's known Giardina since he was a kicker at Alabama from 2000-03. Swinney was the Crimson Tide's wide receivers coach in 2000 and said Giardina was "one of my walk-on guys" whom he helped bring to Tuscaloosa.
Swinney said he and Giardina connect yearly through the annual South Carolina Coaches for Charity fundraiser, and that he's kept an eye on Giardina's coaching journey since it started in 2004. He praised Giardina for guiding Charleston Southern to a 3-1 stretch after starting 0-2 in 2026, specifically praising their 49-39 win over South Carolina State, then the No. 21 FCS team.
"I just think he's a really good football coach," Swinney said. "When you watch his team and you see how hard they play, you can see that these guys, they care for him, they respect him, they love him."
This will be Swinney's second time coaching against Giardina. The first was in 2023, when Clemson defeated Charleston Southern 66-17 after the Buccaneers took a 14-7 first-quarter lead off an interception return for a touchdown.
Nick Coppola covers Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and the USA Today Network. Email him at ncoppola@usatodayco.com, follow him on X @Nick_Coppola__ and like his Facebook page at Nick Coppola, Clemson Sports.
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Gabe Giardina explains why he's coaching Charleston Southern vs Clemson after dad's death