The main objective is three-fold: boost scholarship offerings, assistant coaching positions and facility upgrades.
Georgia College & State University’s athletic administration loves how the Bobcats are conducting themselves on and off the playing fields. Being the NCAA Division II leaders at 94 percent in academic success among public universities for two years in a row is and always will be a point to smile and brag about.
They also know it’s time to step up their competition level in the Peach Belt Conference.
“We are formalizing, for the first time ever, through the university structure with fundraising specifically designated for athletics,” said GCSU Executive Director of Athletics Wendell Staton about the new GCSU Bobcat Athletic Association. “We have a full-time development officer (Caroline Attaway) devoted to athletics. We are creating a board to oversee this.
“This is done through our existing university-wide foundation. It’s part of that. Call it a sub-committee, a wing of it if you will … specifically geared towards athletics.”
The Association mission statement says it strives to support a preeminent intercollegiate athletics program while continuing to maintain high standards of integrity and provide value to donors, fans and friends. Those who make an annual contribution to GCSU in support of the athletic program within a fiscal year make up the membership.
Staton said there’s also a strategic goal for this Association.
“We know where we are,” he said. “We need more external funds. This is a very strategic move to do that.
“Primarily in scholarships. We compete in a league where we give the lowest amount of scholarships. We have the lowest amount of personnel. We have to change that if we are going to be able to compete at a higher level. That takes money.”
Attaway, a 2017 GCSU graduate, has been working in the Office of University Advancement for five years for different areas such as student life on campus. She said athletics was under the student life ‘umbrella,’ but President Cathy Cox made the change for Staton’s position to report directly to her. Her role, then, transitioned on July 1 to focus solely on Bobcat athletics.
“That’s a wide range of things from what we call annual giving, which is a contribution of any amount, and major gift giving, which is what we refer to as endowment level,” said Attaway. “We are working on a mini-scholarship campaign. That’s one of our major focuses with this Association. There is a pretty large gap where we stand in the Peach Belt with scholarships we are able to offer student-athletes. Along with assistant coaches; that’s another huge thing.”
As of now, GCSU has two full-time assistant coaches on the athletic staff, one for men’s and the other for women’s basketball.
“We have great grad assistants who contribute, but we really need some full-time assistant coaches,” said Attaway. “Also, a strength and conditioning coach, facility upgrades.”
The Centennial Center arena has undergone several such upgrades over the past year, including new stands and court. The soccer field was also redone during the offseason.
“A huge thanks to President Cox for making that happen,” said Attaway. “Our baseball and softball field, we need much-needed updates. When it rains, they can’t play.
“We have many stats to prove the academic side is thriving. We have incredible student-athletes. Eight of the last nine valedictorians have come from athletics. We are really seeking to raise our competition level. We need dollars to be able to recruit and retain student-athletes, coaches.”
Recruiting is also the phase currently for the Association, according to Staton. He said he’s been discussing such formalization with Ted Smith, and Ted and Joni Smith are the inaugural chairs for the Association board.
“It’s very much in its infancy,” said Staton. “The goal is provide more visibility, more awareness. This is the first time we’ve had someone (Attaway) completely dedicated to athletics, so we are very fortunate there. Really appreciative of President Cox and her leadership. With Ted and Joni, we think the sky’s the limit.”
When they talk about being last in the Peach Belt in scholarships, that’s in both the number offered and amount offered. Staton said the Bobcats often play a team that has twice as many as they do. That makes for also a talent gap and a depth gap. They don’t have a specific amount needed in mind, just enough to get out of last place.
“Ultimately, we’d like to be at the top of that,” said Staton. “We’ll see where this thing takes us.
“The better the talent-level, the better product you are going to put out on the field.”
The NCAA – regardless of division – does create its full scholarship limit per sport; some like baseball do not have enough full rides for every player to get one. Some players do, but often the scholarships are split among multiple players. Student-athletes can enter a school as a walk-on with no scholarship money and eventually earn some along the way.
Part of the new Association’s efforts is a Varsity Scholarship Club. Attaway explained it would be a minimum commitment of $1,500 per year for four years, or a pledge of $6,000. The donor can name a scholarship and chose the sport that money goes towards.
“We are always trying to create endowed scholarships,” she said. “It would really help get a lot of our alumni involved.
“Definitely going to be a great starting point. I think it’s going to get a diverse group of friends and donors involved. A lot of people like to have their own named scholarship. Not everyone. Those are very much appreciated when it’s an unrestricted scholarship where Wendell can use it where it’s most needed.
“Also, our Bobcat Club is what we’re referring to those who give any kind of annual support. Traditionally, people will hear Bobcat Club and think that is just for basketball. We will have to do some revamping with that because our Bobcat Club members have been able to purchase basketball tickets. We’re still working on what the Bobcat Club looks like, but anyone who makes a contribution to athletics is a part.”
One more group, perhaps the biggest, is the Champions Council. Attaway said the total pledge is $100,000 over five years. These funds are earmarked for special projects within GCSU athletics. These ‘elite’ supporters can get preferred parking, in-game recognition and access to GCSU athletic staff and university leadership.
“We are going to see more personal visits from Caroline targeting major gift potential,” said Staton. “Very specific about getting out and seeing people. When people leave campus, the longer they are away … we want to make sure we contact them early on and stay in contact. Somebody’s thinking about it every day, how to make Georgia College athletics better. That’s the role Caroline’s playing.”
“A lot of people don’t know how Georgia College athletics is funded,” said Attaway. “That’s important for people to know.”
She is also working on the sponsorship package with local businesses. She believes people haven’t been asked before because nobody’s been on staff to do that.
Staton said there’s a lot of positives and momentum at GCSU under President Cox with the largest freshman class ever. He basically says if you want to support the Bobcats, call Attaway at 478-445-1186 or email caroline.attaway@gcsu.edu. She said feedback from alumni has been great so far, and they are also looking for volunteers to help with these efforts, and local restaurants are kind in donating food to certain events that allow alumni to reengage with the school.
“We have to get competitive where we are before we try to branch out,” Staton said about possible expansion of the athletic offerings. “We haven’t taken care of it like we need to, and this gives us a chance to do that.”
