On upcoming 'Dateline,' Tucker Hipps' parents discuss hazing and his death at Clemson
Tucker Hipps was a 19-year-old sophomore at Clemson University when he woke early one morning for a fraternity pledge run.
Hipps never made it home.
He was found dead near the S.C. 93 bridge hours after going on a run with about 30 members of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity on Sept. 22, 2014.
Although Hipps died that morning, his story lives on. His parents have dedicated themselves to helping others learn about and avoid college hazing, which they believe is what led to the death of Tucker.
On Sunday, Cindy and Gary Hipps will tell Tucker's story to possibly the largest audience to date. They will appear on NBC's news program “Dateline,” which reaches more than 20 million people every week.
Sunday's episode will be broadcast at 7 p.m. and is called “The College Fraternity Crisis.”
On the program, Cindy and Gary Hipps will participate in a panel discussion that includes 14 other parents who say they have lost a son to college hazing. NBC News’ Andrea Canning will host the show that reports on cases of alleged hazing at schools and fraternities across the country, including Clemson, Penn State, LSU, Texas Tech, Florida A&M, Rider University and others.
In August 2017, Cindy and Gary Hipps settled a lawsuit against Clemson, part of which required the university to pay them $250,000 and to fund a $50,000 endowment that will be slotted for a Palmetto Boys State student to attend Clemson.
In that lawsuit, Hipps' parents alleged that members of the fraternity forced their son to walk a narrow railing on the bridge over Lake Hartwell after he failed to bring breakfast for his fraternity brothers before the run.
He died of head injuries that Oconee County Coroner Karl Addis said were consistent with having hit his head on rocks in shallow water below the bridge.
Fraternity members denied seeing Hipps fall, and the university and local and national chapters of the fraternity denied responsibility for his death.
While Hipps died after falling from a bridge, his mother said she sympathized with other families’ stories of losing children to the misuse of alcohol, many of which will be shared on Sunday's "Dateline."
“Tucker’s case wasn’t alcohol-related, but all those scenarios played out in his fraternity house,” she said. “We have to focus on changing the culture.”
Among those alcohol-related hazing horror stories featured on “Dateline” is that of Nolan Burch, who died pledging a fraternity in 2014 at West Virginia University, and never-before-seen video from inside the fraternity house of the events leading up to his death.
Canning also sits down with Kordel Davis, a brother at a Penn State fraternity who was inside the house the night Tim Piazza, a pledge, died. Additionally, the broadcast includes interviews with a current and former university president, fraternity brothers and a critic of Greek life.
“Dateline” is the longest-running series in NBC prime time history. In its 26th season, “Dateline” is anchored by Lester Holt and features correspondents Canning, Josh Mankiewicz, Keith Morrison and Dennis Murphy.
This story was originally published June 1, 2018 at 7:58 AM with the headline "On upcoming 'Dateline,' Tucker Hipps' parents discuss hazing and his death at Clemson."