Baseball 6/29/2022 2:00:00 PM

State of the Eagle Nation: A Sit-Down With Jared Benko

AD talks about the 2021-22 campaign as it comes to a close

As the fiscal year comes to an end, GSEagles.com sat down with Director of Athletics Jared Benko to get his thoughts on a wide range of topics pertinent to the department. Here below is his first State of the Eagle Nation.

You're now two full years into your tenure as the AD here in Statesboro. What are you most proud of?
JB: I would say that what I'm most proud of is the continued advancement of everything we're doing. Whether it's academics where we continue to set records in the classroom, or on the field where we set records this past spring, to fundraising where we set another record this past year, I think it runs parallel to the University as it sets records for enrollment and research. We've talked before and we're a process-driven organization. We don't focus on the outcomes as much as on the daily process of getting better. But what I'm most proud of is how we continue to get better every day.

We're now a year into the Name, Image, Likeness space. What are your thoughts on it and how did it affect Georgia Southern student-athletes?
JB: We're supportive of our student-athletes being able to take advantage of the N.I.L. and benefit from that. I think we continue to grow in that space and I know the opportunities will increase for our student-athletes moving forward. There has been a lot of conjecture with the N.I.L. piece tied to recruiting, which is not allowed, and it continues to draw scrutiny. Here at Georgia Southern, we're constantly focused on bettering our student-athletes and that's our primary objective. We can't always control national narratives so we control what we can control. We have several new initiatives out there and will continue to grow and expand our services in this space. Our partnership with Opendorse has been very beneficial for us and in these next few semesters, we'll continue to launch programs that will help our student-athletes grow in this NIL space.

This past semester, the department posted a 3.16 GPA and a record-tying 3.08 for the academic year. How proud are you of all those involved?
JB: Our student-athletes deserve the credit. They continue to excel in the classroom. I also want to applaud our coaches. They continue to recruit the right individuals who can do things the right way in the classroom and on the field. We're an institution of higher learning and academics are an important piece of the puzzle here. When I talk to prospective student-athletes (PSAs) and their parents, I share with them that the expectation is not only to get a degree when they come here but to also leave with a job in hand. I also want to commend Reggie Simpkins and his staff in Student-Athlete Services. They put in tireless efforts to ensure our student-athletes have everything they need to succeed in the classroom. It's a team effort. In our strategic plan, our goal was to have a 3.2 department GPA and while at some times it seems a long way off, I think it's very doable and we have to keep continuing to make it a priority.

This past spring, three sports made it to the NCAA postseason, marking the first time that has ever happened here. What are your thoughts on the direction of all 15 programs?
JB: The success of our spring sports this year reiterates the competitive excellence strategic priority highlighted in the five-year strategic plan we released last summer. We want competitive excellence across all 15 programs, all 17 sports, and with all 400+ student-athletes. What Mimi Burke did in year one was remarkable with the women's golf team and Carter Collins does a phenomenal job year-in and year-out with our men's golf program. Going to the NCAA Championship is a tremendous feat as that's the top 30 teams in the country. And then when you look at baseball, Coach Hennon did an unbelievable job this past season. There were unknowns in the lineup going into the season, but he and his staff did a great job of filling those spots to earn a postseason bid. And then when you get selected as one of the 16 Regional host sites by the NCAA, I think that says a lot about the resume that the team built. We had a good year in the Director's Cup with our highest point total since 2012-13 based on what we did this spring. What happened this spring with those three teams is what we look for all of our teams to do here in the near future. This year, we had two teams capture conference titles and overall, we had four teams that competed in their Sun Belt Conference championship game or match. I'm excited for the future of all 17 of our programs!

A lot has been put out about the upcoming Anthony P. Tippins Family Indoor Practice Facility and the Hill Convocation Center projects. How big are those projects for the department and what other projects are on the books that fans might be interested in?
JB: Those two projects are huge for us. So much of that is it makes our programs that much better, particularly operationally. When you're talking to PSAs and their parents, the ability to tell them you will not lose a day of training is tremendous. When you think about it, we're telling them they're going to reach their full potential, and part of that as an athlete is now they won't have to miss a training session due to weather. Progress is growth and growth is seen as a positive, especially for 16- to 18-year-olds that we're recruiting.

We're grateful to the Georgia Legislature and Governor Kemp for the funds to help build the Hill Convocation Center, and we've gone from proof of concept to breaking ground on the Tippins Family IPF in 16 months. Growth is happening here in the form of about $80 million in projects and it's an exciting time.

In addition to the two big projects, we have several other projects that I think fans of multiple sports will be interested in. We're replacing the chain-link fence around Paulson Stadium with wrought-iron fencing. Softball is getting new dugouts and some renovations to their locker room. The brand-new nutrition station is coming online soon in Iron Works. We're also updating the fueling station over at football as well. We're installing a camera system at tennis that will allow us to live stream matches on ESPN+. For soccer, we're going to make some upgrades at Herring Pavilion. For volleyball, we're raising money for a brand new Teraflex court, and for the track program, we're going to work on enhancing their locker room. Finally, we're just starting work on a pre-plan for the Wiggins Building with J.I. Clements Stadium. That project is huge for us. It's a great venue, but it's showing its age and we want to continue to invest in it and our student-athlete experience.

What are your goals for the summer for the department?
JB: We have to find a way to get better. The modus operandi isn't changing but we just have to continue to get better. I think there's a balance between being satisfied and being pleased. I'm very pleased with where we are. I have the luxury of looking down the road, sometimes three to five years out and to me, it comes down to people. I love our staff. I love our head coaches and assistant coaches. We have the right people on the bus. We have a lot of synergies converging and when that happens, that's where growth and excellence take off. A lot of our programs are on the right track and comprehensively we look to have high success in fall, winter, and spring and then use the summer to recalibrate to get better for next year.

There seem to be a lot of changes coming down the pipe in regards to the NCAA. How are you best positioning Georgia Southern for these new times?
JB: I think a lot of it starts with a mindset that you have to be flexible. You have to realize that what used to be common thought and practice is changing now. I think you'll see this summer some announcements from the Transformation Committee that will directly change guidance that has been on the books for a long time. Like anything in life, you can roll with it and adjust to the changes, or you can be a stick in the mud and get left behind. We're going to always be forward-thinking. We're excited to be the first department in the Sun Belt to offer Alston monies, which we announced in May. Change is rapid right now in our environment and you can either embrace it, whether you agree with it or not, or you don't. But if you don't, you're not putting your student-athletes in a position to be successful. These changes require us to take a look at everything we're doing to make sure we're positioning ourselves for future success. We must continue to look under the hood to tweak things so that we don't have to make radical changes at one point. We're pleased with where we're going, but that doesn't mean we can't get better.

There's a lot of excitement around football and Clay Helton. After watching him for seven months, why are you excited about what he and his staff are going to do?
JB: Every facet of the program is getting better. At the end of the day, you have to look at the development of those 130 men. We had a record-breaking 2.84 team GPA this spring and that's a byproduct of discipline, accountability, belief in the system, and belief in our coaches. Then you look at the on-field performance, which many of our fans got the chance to see this spring, you see improvement there. We're implementing new offensive and defensive philosophies and I'm pleased with the direction we're going. We're making an investment in recruiting going to five full-time staffers and making an investment in nutrition and strength and conditioning. When we made the progression from FCS to FBS in 2014, some areas were ahead and some were behind. Every area now is at an FBS level and that's exciting. It's fun working with Coach Helton and his top-notch staff. Alignment with football is the best it's been since I've been here and that's exciting.

There were record crowds at a lot of the Eagle Club Tour events. What do you sense the pulse of eagle nation is?
JB: I think collectively, there's a lot of momentum right now. This hasn't happened overnight and it's been a slow progression at times, but we're about to take off. We were able to build momentum through a pandemic. Coming out of that, you're starting to see all the results of the hard work. It's momentum all around. Our best days are ahead of us! We had another record-breaking fundraising year and we appreciate all of Eagle Nation's support. I think there's a lot of excitement right now!

And finally, what's your message to Eagle Nation as we move into the 2022-23 campaign?
JB: The best is yet to come! Buckle in because it's going to be a fun 2022-23 and even beyond that. I promise you, we're just getting started. This program is being built for sustained excellence; we're not going to be a flash in the pan. We're building this department to where it needs to be and we plan on having sustained competitive excellence across the board. That's the hallmark of the program. To me, when you think about our 400 student-athletes, we're trying to give them the best experience we can provide. But our goal is to give the next class coming in an even better experience because we're always trying to improve. That's what excites me knowing the best is yet to come.

Thank you for your time.
JB: Thank you! Hail Southern and G.A.T.A

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