GEORGIA SOUTHERN BECOMES OFFICIAL SUN BELT CONFERENCE MEMBER JULY 1
Georgia Southern University President Brooks Keel welcomed Sun Belt Commissioner Karl Benson to Statesboro last year on March 27th, 2013, to announce the acceptance of an invitation to join the Sun Belt Conference. The official first day of membership begins Tuesday, July 1st. The Eagles enter their second year of two transition years in the Football Bowl Subdivision and are eligible to win a Sun Belt championship in 2014, but cannot compete in postseason bowl games until 2015.

FRESHMEN EAGLES NOT FLYING SOLO
Members of Georgia Southern's 2014 freshman class arrived on campus and began classes for summer term B this past Monday. Coach Willie Fritz paired up each Eagle freshman with one of the rising seniors with the intent of serving two purposes. First, it helps the new student-athletes get acclimated to campus more quickly and provides them with a veteran teammate who can also show them what Coach Fritz and the staff expects in terms of being a part of the Georgia Southern program. The second purpose of the Buddy Program, which Coach Fritz has instituted at his previous institutions, is to help the seniors develop leadership and mentoring skills.

SOUTHERN CONFERENCE HONOR ROLL
Twenty-two Georgia Southern Football Eagles were named to the Southern Conference Academic Honor Roll for the 2013-14 academic year. These student-athletes recorded a 3.0 grade point average or higher with a minimum of 24 hours of credit hours passed. Eight of those Eagles were honored with the Commissioner's Medal for attaining a GPA of 3.5 or higher throughout the year.  

"MEET YOUR SEAT" PRIZE WINNERS
Eagle fan Michael Hendrix came away with one of the top prizes from the "Meet Your Seat" event held at Paulson Stadium last month. Hendrix's name was pulled from the submissions and he won the autographed football. Matt Kuykendall won two sideline passes for a Georgia Southern game and Ronny Cannon and a guest will enjoy the pre-game fan experience for one of the Eagles' games this fall. Terrence Mabry scored two tickets for an upcoming game by for registering his name.

More than 500 people came to enjoy an afternoon and check out the new mid-deck and North Stands amenities.  Five fans, Allen Braswell, Stacy Creel, Scott Hall, Kristin Leonard and Jake Stewart all will receive Eagle Fan Packs with an Eagles Verizon Wireless T-shirt, Chick-fil-A cow, cup, True Blue towel, pom-pom, beach ball, car magnet and two spirit bands in a Georgia Southern Verizon Wireless drawstring bag. Paul Ferguson, Bob Miller and Jake Sasser won "One More Time" T-shirts as part of the drawing.

YOUNGEST EAGLE
At first glance, incoming freshman quarterback Monteo Garrett may look like the youngest Eagle on the Georgia Southern Football roster, turning 18 at the end of August. Freshman running back Noah Hickey, however, has Garrett beat, technically, by almost 14 years. Hickey, with a birthday on Leap day, February 29th, has had only four birthdays, with his next actual birthdate in 2016.

"People ask me all the time when I celebrate my birthday, either the day before or the day afterward during a regular year," Hickey said. "I respond that I try and celebrate it a little every day!"

TICKET ORDER FORMS FOR AWAY GAMES GOING OUT EARLY NEXT WEEK
One of the benefits of being or becoming a donor to the Eagle Fund or a season ticket holder is the accumulation of priority points, donor benefits and first access to purchase tickets to away games. Ticket order forms for 2014 Football away games will be sent to donors and season ticket holders early next week with options to purchase tickets for all Eagle road games. Georgia Southern opens the 2014 season at N.C. State August 30th and plays its first Sun Belt Conference game at South Alabama Sept. 20th.  The Eagles play in Atlanta twice, Sept. 13th at Georgia Tech and October 25 at Georgia State.

"BASH IN THE BORO" FOOTBALL CAMP SET FOR JULY 18TH
The final Georgia Southern Eagle Football Camp, "Bash in the Boro" is set for Friday, July 18th at Allen E. Paulson Stadium in Statesboro with check-in beginning at 11 a.m.. The camp session, directed by Coach Willie Fritz and the Eagle coaching staff, runs from 12:30-3:30 p.m. This camp is open to rising ninth-12th graders and the cost is $40 per camper, which includes an evaluation and a T-shirt. The "Bash in the Boro" Football camp is open to any and all entrants limited only by number, age, grade level and/or gender.

For more information on Georgia Southern's "Bash in the Boro" football camp or to register in advance, visit EagleInvasion.com or call 912-478-5522.

Georgia Southern Athletics provides up-to-date information on all its sports through its official website, GSEagles.com, through social media channels facebook.com/GSAthletics, twitter.com/GSAthletics, iOS app Georgia Southern Eagles and Android app Eagles GATA.