Todd and Tanya Tucker of Rock Hill, South Carolina have been named the 2026 Herb Coughlan Memorial Family of the Year. The award has been presented since 2001 to a family who has demonstrated dynamic leadership and service to Clemson University. The Tuckers have served as co-chairs of Fall Family Weekend each of the past three years, and they were honored at halftime of Saturday’s football game against North Carolina.
The Tuckers are members of the Clemson Family Ambassador Board (CFAB), a group of volunteer parents who have at least one current child enrolled at the University. Tanya has been a member of CFAB since 2020 and currently serves on the executive committee as secretary. Two of their sons have graduated from Clemson, Pierce (economics) in 2022 and Chapman (psychology) in 2023. Their youngest son, Dawson, is currently a senior majoring in psychology.
“This award is truly the culmination of what it means to be ‘all-in’ as parents and ambassadors for Clemson,” says Tanya, a faculty member and field supervisor in the College of Arts and Sciences at Winthrop University and recent Ph.D. recipient. “CFAB has given us a network of like-minded, servant-hearted people in the same spot we’ve been as parents who are there to support the greater good — not just our own students, but all of the students who experience Clemson.”
Todd and Tanya both graduated from Winthrop. Todd is now a senior vice president and regional real estate sales manager with Bank of America. This past year, a private client advisor Todd works with reached out to learn more about Clemson because he knew the Tucker children had enjoyed their experience in the Upstate. This advisor’s daughter ended up choosing Clemson, and he sent Todd a text thanking him for his insight and candor.
“CFAB has provided close connectivity, for it to be such a large campus,” Todd says. “I really didn’t expect it to be that connected, but the board brought that together for us. We’ve enjoyed connecting with other families while our kids have been here. Beyond that, it’s given us an opportunity to share with new parents our experience and help ease some of their concerns about the college journey.”
The Tuckers have been doing that and then some for years in a volunteer capacity. This past weekend, they helped ensure 1,452 registered families (totaling 4,895 guests) had an enjoyable experience in Clemson — starting Friday with check-in and an evening social, continuing with a breakfast tailgate in the South Green lawn prior to Saturday’s game, and concluding Sunday with a farewell brunch and meal-packing service event in Hendrix Student Center.
