Eagle Nation,

I pray this note finds you and your family safe and healthy. 

It is hard to believe that we are already in the first week of August. This time of year is always one of my favorites as student-athletes officially start reporting back for the fall semester and begin practice. Women's soccer kicked off team practice this past Tuesday, football had its first practice Wednesday, and volleyball and men's soccer are slated to start next week. 

I am fired up to start the 2022-23 academic year! Our student-athletes, coaches and staff put in countless hours of work this summer preparing for their respective seasons. We enter the fall with a lot of momentum coming on the heels of a record-setting year in 2021-22 when the following was accomplished:

• Tied school record with a 3.08 cumulative GPA
• Five teams won and/or competed in a conference championship
• Secured best finish in the Learfield Cup standings since 2012-13 
• Best spring on record with three (3) NCAA appearances
  • Women's Golf won the Sun Belt Championship
  • Men's Golf advanced to the NCAA Championship
  • Baseball earned a No. 16 National Seed – hosting our first NCAA Regional in program history

As impressive as these accomplishments are, we are just hitting our stride as a department, and I cannot wait to see our student-athletes' accomplishments in and out of the classroom this year!

I want to thank Eagle Nation again for another record-setting fundraising year! The Athletic Foundation received $10.6M in pledges and outright gifts last year - $3.2 million in the Erk Russell Fund and $7.4 million in major gifts. All three of these totals were records, in addition to an increase in our number of donors to 2,423. We are progressing in our "Soar to Six" campaign and look to close the gap further this year.

I am so grateful and appreciative of our very generous and loyal Erk Russell Fund members, fans, donors, alumni, parents, and friends of Georgia Southern University who catapulted us out of the pandemic. We will continue to be excellent stewards of your hard-earned dollars as we work diligently to provide an elite championship-level environment for our student-athletes, coaches, and staff. 

Erick Reasoner and the Athletic Foundation staff are the best in the country. The staff of Reasoner, Jeremy Collins, David Cutler, Alisha Erves, Larry Mays, Stephanie Roberts, and Ben Rodriguez continue to prioritize strong, personal relationships that foster transformational results. I also want to offer a special thank you to the Athletic Foundation Board (chaired by Leonard Bevill), President Dr. Kyle Marrero and Vice President for University Advancement Trip Addison for their teamwork and partnership.

Last week I was blessed to travel with Clay Helton, Dillon Springer, and Kyle Vantrease to New Orleans for Sun Belt Football Media Days. I thought Dillon and Kyle did an outstanding job representing our University and Coach Helton is a pro's pro, particularly in this type of setting. I shared with Sun Belt Commissioner Keith Gill following the event that he and his team orchestrated a first-class football media day that further positions us as the preeminent Group of 5 conference. Of note, season ticket sales across the Sun Belt are up at several schools and we continue to push to sell more tickets as we approach our own record. Our Athletic Ticket Office is ready to assist you in purchasing tickets and can be reached at 1-800-GSU-WINS or via email at tickets@georgiasouthern.edu. We Need You!

Storm drainage piping infrastructure is being upgraded this week at the Anthony P. Tippins Family Indoor Practice Facility, along with other site work. I want to thank you in advance for your patience as part of our 2022 parking lot is being used by our contractors. Crushed gravel will be laid (and spots marked) on any disturbed ground prior to our first game. I look forward to seeing the project progress in the coming weeks (and months)! We are also in the planning stages of a new project at J.I. Clements Stadium and look forward to sharing more information as that project progresses.   In closing, for Georgia Southern to reach its desired goals, I will continue to strategically highlight three (3) action steps that individuals and companies can take to help us:

1. Financially support the Athletic Foundation and the Erk Russell Fund
2. Buy season tickets and create a home-field advantage
3. Get others to do the same!

Our Athletic Ticket Office is ready to assist you in purchasing tickets and can be reached at 1-800-GSU-WINS or via email at tickets@georgiasouthern.edu. For those wishing to donate, please go to: www.Give.GSEagles.com.

Our best days are ahead – thank you for your continued support!

Hail Southern! GATA!

Jared Benko
Georgia Southern Director of Athletics