Clemson Repeats as EcoAthletes Collegiate Cup Champion

What do the Green Bay Packers and the Clemson women’s rowing team have in common?

The Packers won Super Bowls I and II back in 1967 and 1968. And Clemson, led by EcoAthletes Champion rower Ana Klenke, won Collegiate Cup I last year and followed that up by going back-to-back, taking Collegiate Cup II in the ‘exercise-for- carbon-reduction’ contest that ended on Earth Day, April 22.

While Clemson’s 2023 win was wire-to-wire and not particularly close, this year was a much different story. After a dramatic back and forth homestretch battle with San Jose State University, Clemson came from behind to earn the win.

20 schools took part in the six-week competition in which exercise — running, walking, swimming, cycling, and rowing workouts — is converted by our technology partner Climategames into an environmental currency that funds an important methane* capture project at a landfill in Turkey.

San Jose State (SJSU), new to the Cup this year and led by grad student water polo star and EcoAthletes Champion Ivanna Anderson-Villela, took an early lead which held steady for four weeks. But defending champ Clemson, skippered adroitly again by rower Ana Klenke, battled back and took its first lead with only a week to go.

That foreshadowed a bi-coastal Earth Day Manic Monday frenzy of exercise that resulted in multiple lead flips, with Clemson finally taking over for good in the competition’s final hour!

Congratulations to Ana and Clemson on its second straight Collegiate Cup title, and to Ivanna and SJSU for their great effort in coming in a very close second. Kudos are also due to University of Toronto ice hockey star Juliette Blais-Savoie for driving her school to a strong 3rd place finish and to rower Rebeca Okhuysen as she guided Ohio State to 4th place in her freshman year.  

But the real winner here is the climate. Thanks to 170 exercisers from 20 schools in the competition who logged their workouts on the Climategames app, the ‘24 Collegiate Cup built on what we started last year, and then some: 

This year’s participants exercised for over 4,313 hours, four times more than in 2023! This resulted in the removal of 9.2 metric tons of carbon from the atmosphere, the equivalent of preventing 10,139 pounds of coal from being burned, thanks to the funds generated by the Collegiate Cup for the Turkish methane capture project. The ‘24 Collegiate Cup more than quadrupled the amount of carbon removed by the Collegiate Cuppers vs. last year! 

“What an outstanding Year Two for the Collegiate Cup!,” Clemson’s Ana Klenke exclaimed. “The fact that all competitors in the Cup quadrupled the amount of carbon removed as compared to last year is further evidence that, by working together, athletes can lead real climate action. It was so motivating to see the incredible work every participant from Clemson put in to contribute to the methane capture project in Turkey. To be able to successfully defend the title in the face of such strong, consistent competition from San Jose State is just amazing. My experience with the Collegiate Cup last year and this has convinced me that athletes will indeed help drive the #ClimateComeback!”

“I am so grateful to everyone who joined us at San Jose State to workout to help reduce methane,” Grad student water polo star Ivanna Anderson-Villela shared. “The conversations we held with student-athletes about EcoAthletes and how participating in the Collegiate Cup could lead to lower carbon emissions drove enthusiasm, increased exercise, and took us to our strong finish! Even though I won’t be on campus next year, I look forward to helping a new captain lead the Spartans to the 2025 Collegiate Cup win!”

* Methane (CH4), is a greenhouse gas (GHG) that is 80 to 100 times more potent than CO2. It leaks from landfills so methane seepage from natural gas transmission is a significant source of global GHG emissions. The 2024 Collegiate Cup project funded the capturing of methane at a major landfill project in Turkey, converting it into cleaner generated electricity.