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RISING TIDE ALL TECH STUDENT-ATHLETES BENEFIT FROM TECH’S ACADEMIC SUPPORT SYSTEM

EVOLVING LANDSCAPE ALLOWS ALL NCAA INSTITUTIONS TO OFFER THEIR STUDENT-ATHLETES A BETTER EXPERIENCE, FROM NUTRITION TO FACILITY UPGRADES

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WINTER 2014-15 • VOLUME 8, NUMBER 2

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In This Issue4 FUEL FOR SUCCESS

Evolving landscape allows all NCAA institutions to offer their student-athletes a better experience, from nutrition to facility upgrades

8 THE LEARNING CURVE Rising tide lifts all boats because of Tech’s academic support system

30 PHILANTHROPIC PRIORITIESAn update on major facilities projects happening now in Tech athletics

EXPANDING HIS ROLE Tech junior Marcus Georges-Hunt relishes his responsibilities at home and on the basketball team

12

WORLDLY WISE Georgia Tech women’s basketball has found success by recruiting international players

16

SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT Tech athletics is marshaling all available resources to connect to its fan base

22

HEART AND SOLE How four Georgia Tech students brought the Ramblin’ Wreck to the Miss America Pageant

24

COMPLIANCE CORNER FAQ on Institutional Control35

WWW.RAMBLINWRECK.COM 3

GTGEORGIA

TECH

Tech student-athletes have enjoyed having an athletic dining hall since the Edge Center opened in 1983, but the facility and its offerings have been modernized many times.

4 THE BUZZ

FUEL FOR SUCCESSEVOLVING LANDSCAPE ALLOWS ALL NCAA INSTITUTIONS TO OFFER THEIR STUDENT-ATHLETES A BETTER EXPERIENCE, FROM NUTRITION TO FACILITY UPGRADES

TThe leading edge is familiar territory at Georgia Tech, and not just in the

laboratory, research center or classroom.The Georgia Tech Athletic Association has positioned itself at the fore-

front of providing a top-level student-athlete experience. Hundreds of millions of dollars in facility improvements; upgraded meal, nutrition and supplement offerings; and expanded services in the Total Person Program have boosted Georgia Tech’s profile at a time when the NCAA’s definition of amateurism is rapidly evolving.

Legal challenges regarding use of student-athletes’ names and like-nesses as well as an organized labor movement among football players promise to reshape the collegiate landscape. Whether the end result is an “enhanced scholarship” that covers “the full cost of attendance” – which would add a stipend of $2,000 to $5,000 a year to cover the miscellaneous expenses incurred by student-athletes beyond tuition, room, board and books – or full-fledged profit sharing, Georgia Tech is currently committed to provide “the best we can, given what is permissible and appropriate,” says Georgia Tech Director of Athletics Mike Bobinski.

“We are anxiously awaiting clarity,” Bobinski says. “We try to be in tune with the environment without being excessive or over the top.”

Georgia Tech takes a two-pronged approach to delivering a superior student-athlete experience: initiatives done in response to NCAA changes, and initiatives done outside of the NCAA’s purview.

HUNGER GAMESNew NCAA rules implemented this summer regarding food allowances

have sparked major changes to Georgia Tech’s nutrition offerings. The athletic department is now permitted to contribute funds for expanded offerings in the Edge Center cafeteria, such as a Tuesday steak night; issue student-athletes up to $150 in meal dollars for restaurants at Tech Square; and construct three “fueling stations” where student-athletes can pick up healthy snacks around the clock to supplement their meals.

The food bounty is a significant benefit for student-athletes. Prior to the NCAA rule change, Georgia Tech athletic scholarships covered 21 meals per week, and training staffs were limited to offering fruits, nuts and plain bagels – providing cream cheese or peanut butter as bagel toppers was a rule violation -- as post-workout snacks. Now, student-athletes can pick up protein shakes, smoothies, fruit, power bars, bagels with cream cheese and other snacks at the fueling stations located in the main weight room, the Edge Center and the Zelnak Basketball Center between classes or when running from practice to a study session.

“The new rules have turned college athletics upside down from a nutri-tionist’s standpoint,” says Leah Thomas, the Yellow Jackets’ nutritionist. “As a dietician, when you are working with young people who burn calories

BY ADAM VAN BRIMMER

5WWW.RAMBLINWRECK.COM

constantly throughout the day, you know they should be eating frequently. They certainly shouldn’t be eating just two or three times a day. Especially when they have pre-dawn practices and they do much of their studying late into the night. They need to eat throughout the day.”

The Edge Center fueling station doubles as a lounge, with comfortable seating, televisions and lighting conducive to studying. The facilities in the weight room and the Zelnak Center are more utilitarian but still give student-athletes a place to relax and recharge.

“Understanding kids all have different schedules, the fueling stations are open from early morning to late in the evening,” says Ryan Bamford, senior associate athletic director for internal operations. “They have been a nice en-hancement.”

HOMES, SWEET HOMESGeorgia Tech’s athletic facility enhancements

are ongoing.The Yellow Jackets went on a building spree

at the end of the economic downturn, taking advantage of low construction costs and cheap financing. The new McCamish Pavilion, Mew-born Field, and Byers Tennis Complex are show-places, and the football, basketball, golf, and track and field teams got new practice facilities.

Current projects include upgrades to the Russ Chandler Stadium clubhouse for the baseball team and improvements to the Edge Center.

Servicing the debt on the facility upgrades “Fueling stations” like the one shown here next to the men’s basketball locker room, exist in the primary weight room in the Wardlaw Center and will be included in the current baseball stadium renovation.

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6 THE BUZZ

costs Georgia Tech more than $13 million a year. But the improvements enhance the student-athlete experience and are a boon to recruiting. Plus, additional television revenue and bowl agreements are generating approximately $5 million more in revenue each year to help offset those costs.

“We ask our kids to put out a world-class ef-fort,” Bamford says. “We owe it to them to pro-vide world-class facilities in which to do it.”

The remodeled weight room is the buzz this fall. John Sisk, who heads Georgia Tech’s strength and conditioning efforts, relocated all the training equipment to the Brock Foot-ball Practice Facility this summer in order to redesign and renovate the weight room. New flooring, lighting, an air-conditioning system, graphics and artwork, and audio-visual equip-ment were installed, as was a fueling station and a glass wall that gives the facility an added sense of spaciousness.

With all 400-plus student-athletes using the weight room, the upgrades resonate.

“The weight room is now more than just a place to lift or condition; it’s the place to be,”

Sisk says. “We’ve had football recruits who com-mitted to us before the renovation who can’t wait to come back and see it.”

LONG-TERM BENEFITSGeorgia Tech has long supplied services to

student-athletes few other schools offered. The Total Person Program, established in the

1980s by the legendary Homer Rice, provides life skills and career counseling aimed at prepar-ing student-athletes for life after college athletics and graduation. The Total Person concept was the model for the NCAA CHAMPS/Life Skills program.

NCAA rule changes are allowing Georgia Tech to enhance the Total Person Program, particu-larly in the career services area. Thomas, who heads the Total Person Program, is expanding counseling services. Student-athletes have ac-cess to resume critiques and business card design and printing as well as exposure to Atlanta-area companies that offer internships and co-op op-portunities.

“Those things were always there, it’s just now we have the flexibility to fund them better,”

Thomas says. “That opens up a whole new world of potential. It doesn’t feel like anything terribly new but we are able to do more. More than the student-athletes ever realized.”

The Total Person Concept of preparing student-athletes for life is one Bobinski insists he and his colleagues keep in mind going forward. He is concerned that as the NCAA loosens its rules, schools will go to excessive lengths to gain a competitive advantage.

The leaders of the schools and athletic depart-ments that compete in the so-called power con-ferences need to work collaboratively in the years ahead and not focus on “trying to outdo each other,” Bobinski says.

“Providing excessive benefits won’t help our student-athletes at the end of their collegiate careers when all of the sudden the safety net that some suggest we put in place is no longer in place,” he says. “To this point, the changes have made sense. We can create a terrific environ-ment that sets them up for success. I’m hopeful that as an industry we don’t let the pendulum swing too far the other way.” ■

Tech’s main strength and conditioning facility, the Hugh Spruill Fitness Center in the South end of Bobby Dodd Stadium, was completely renovated over the summer.

7WWW.RAMBLINWRECK.COM

CCollegiate student-athletes, by nature, keep

score in everything they do.From the court or field to the video game

console, they live for achievement. Nowhere do Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets succeed like in the classroom.

Four Yellow Jacket programs, including the football team, rank among the top-10 percent nationally within their sports in the Academic Progress Rate, the measure used by the NCAA to gauge academic success. Georgia Tech’s student-athlete Graduation Success Rate reached an all-time high of 81 percent last spring. And the cumulative grade point aver-age for student-athletes on scholarship stands at 3.0 on a 4.0 scale.

“I am so personally proud of our student-athletes for their performance given all that we ask of them,” says Mike Bobinski, Georgia

Tech’s director of athletics. “This is an incred-ible academic institution and the expectations are high. Performing at the level we are, and on an upward slope at that, is a great testament to our student-athletes, coaches and academic advisory staff.”

Georgia Tech is trending toward greater success. Fourteen of the 17 varsity sports pro-grams equaled or improved their APR scores in the 2013-2014 school year.

The men’s basketball team, traditionally an underperforming program academically not just at Georgia Tech but at schools across the country, is thriving in the classroom under head coach Brian Gregory. The Yellow Jackets set a new APR high last academic school year, and three seniors graduated.

“The student-athletes here take a lot of pride in their academics,” says Marcus

Georges-Hunt, a men’s basketball player who is as big a star in the classroom as he is on the court. “You can’t play basketball or run track or whatever forever. At Georgia Tech, the type of education is so great you must take advan-tage of it.”

SUPPORT STRUCTUREGeorgia Tech’s success secret is in its ap-

proach to and execution of academic support.The Student-Athlete Academic Support

Services group consists of 16 academic staff members led by Associate Athletic Director for Student Services Phyllis Labaw. Labaw is in her 10th year – and working under her third athletic director – in the role. She spearheaded a comprehensive restructuring of the organiza-tion in 2011, splitting her staff into four parts, each with a responsibility to serve a group of

BY ADAM VAN BRIMMER

GTGEORGIA

TECH

THE LEARNING CURVERISING TIDE LIFTS ALL BOATS BECAUSE OF TECH’S ACADEMIC SUPPORT SYSTEM

The cornerstone of Tech’s academic services is the Technology Center on the ground floor of the Edge Center, a place where all student-athletes can utilize high-end computers, study in private or in groups.

8 THE BUZZ

THE LEARNING CURVE

sports. The approach lowered the student-ath-lete-to-staff ratio, strengthened the relation-ship between coordinators and support staff with coaches, and provided the ability to focus on the needs of individual student-athletes. The mentoring begins even before the student-athlete enrolls – during the recruiting process.

Labaw deflects much of the credit for the across-the-board academic improvement, giv-ing kudos to coaches and student-athletes and the academic services staff for their commit-ment and dedication. But she acknowledges Georgia Tech athletics has benefitted signifi-cantly from the greater engagement achieved since the restructuring.

“The student-athletes respond to the trust and relationships they build with the academic staff, and the same goes for the coaches,” La-baw says. “They really trust us, which is usually the greatest obstacle that academic support people must overcome.”

Labaw and her staff’s efforts have eliminated another hurdle prevalent at schools with big-time sports programs: a tentative relationship with faculty. Labaw remembers initial warn-ings that Georgia Tech faculty members were unwilling to work with the athletic depart-ment’s academic support services staff. Profes-sors didn’t respond to requests or share day-to-day progress reports on student-athletes, she was told.

Taking the lead from Tech’s faculty athletics representative, Labaw “bridged that gap” by communicating with faculty and getting them involved in special initiatives, like the guest faculty coaching program, where professors get a first-hand look at the life of a student-athlete on game day.

“For many faculty, that is their first chance to really understand what it means to be an athlete as well as a student,” Labaw says. “And the way it is set up, the student-athletes choose the professors to invite, so they have a stake in the process as well.”

FOCUS ON WELLNESSAcademic support at Georgia Tech goes

beyond study halls, tutoring, and one-on-one mentoring. Labaw and her staff stress a well-ness component that leverages many of the resources available to all students on campus, from emotional counseling to technology labs.

“There is this perception among student-athletes that they are on an island by them-selves and whatever isn’t on the island is not available to them. That is not the case,” Labaw says. “They have tremendous access to things like sports medicine and nutrition, but we help them take advantage of other resources around campus.”

This holistic approach is reflected in the ris-ing graduation rate, Labaw says. The grueling schedules faced by student-athletes as they try to balance school, sports and social lives take a mental and emotional toll. By providing com-prehensive support, the staff can keep student-athletes focused on the long-term goals as well as those in the short term.

“We do advise to make sure student-athletes remain eligible to compete but we’re more interested in helping them maximize their op-portunity to graduate,” Labaw says. “We win when student-athletes graduate.”

Each victory is sweet. All 15 members of football coach Paul Johnson’s first recruiting class that remained at Georgia Tech gradu-ated. Several Yellow Jacket standouts that went on to play professional sports have returned and are either working toward graduation or have already earned their diplomas. Among them are Izaan Cross, Keyaron Fox, Mike Cox,

Will Heller, Vance Walker, Gary Guyton, T.J. Barnes, Joshua Nesbitt and Jarrett Jack.

“We are building an environment where academic achievement is a priority,” Bobinski says. “You give student-athletes a goal – any goal – and most will strive to reach it.” ■

ACADEMICS SUMMARYSPRING 2014

Record Mean GPA: 356 student-athletes earned a mean gpa of 3.0.

Our Female Student-Athletes (n=119/33%) earned a mean gpa of 3.11

Our Male Student-Athletes (n=237/66.5%) earned a mean gpa of 2.93

54.78% of our student-athletes earned a 3.0 gpa or higher.

9 of our 13 teams earned a mean team gpa over a 3.0.

The mean gpa of our freshmen student-athletes, 28.37% of our total student-athlete population, was a 2.87 this semester.

SPRING 2014 TEAM ACADEMIC PERFORMANCEWomen’s Tennis lead ALL sports with a 3.53 mean team gpa.

Women’s Tennis has been in one of the top 3 spots for all Women’s teams for the last 6 years.

Women’s Tennis and Volleyball held the top academic spot for the 2013-14 academic year (WVB Fall 13/WTE Spr 14).

Golf lead all Men teams with a 3.34 mean team gpa.

Golf has earned a mean team gpa > 3.10 for last 18 semesters

Football mean team gpa - 9% increase from Fall 13 to Spr 14 and at level not earned since 2007-08.

Mean gpa of 8 teams improved from Fall 13 to Spr 14: Softball, Women’s Soccer, Women’s Tennis, Men’s Basketball, Football, Golf, Men’s Swimming and Diving, Men’s Track and Cross Country

APR KEY POINTS2012-13 APR Multi-Year Rate revealed that 11 teams improved or remained at a perfect 1000

2nd consecutive year Football 2013-14 APR recognized nationally by NCAA as Top 10 percent performer for Football earning a 988 single year and 983 Multi-Year Rate

Multiple year recognition for Golf with 2013-14 APR recognized nationally by NCAA as Top 10 percent performer for Men’s Golf. GT Golf has recorded a perfect 1000 rate for every year since APR inception

Men’s Swimming and Diving 2013-14 recognized nationally by NCAA as Top 10 percent performer for Men’s Swimming earning a 1000 single year and 1000 Multi-Year Rate

Women’s Tennis 2013-14 recognized nationally by NCAA as Top 10 percent performer for Women’s Tennis earning a 1000 single year and 1000 Multi-Year Rate

Men’s Basketball 2013-14 APR marked 3rd consecutive year at 1000 AOR with 989 Multi-Year Rate: 5th best in ACC.

Men’s Basketball recorded a new high multi-year APR of 972 (978 for single year)

Tutoring takes place in the Hearn Academic Center daily.

10 THE BUZZ

MMarcus Georges-Hunt can feel the eyes upon

him, can sense that his every mannerism, his every action and reaction, is being observed by those who consider him an influence.

Georgia Tech’s basketball star appreciates the scrutiny.

Georges-Hunt is the anti-Charles. As in Charles Barkley. Georges-Hunt relishes the role model status Barkley, the NBA great, once shunned. Be it at his childhood home with his two teenage brothers, at his girlfriend’s home with his 1-year-old son, or at Georgia Tech’s home, the Zelnak Basketball Center, with his bevy of teammates, Georges-Hunt knows his example is one that will be followed. And he accepts that responsibility.

“I always try to do the right thing because there is always somebody watching me and looking up to me,” Georges-Hunt says. “I like showing how to do things and answering ques-

tions. They ask because they really want to know and be prepared.”

Georges-Hunt is also the center of Yellow Jackets’ fans attention these days. He enters his third season as Georgia Tech’s returning leading scorer and one of only four players with significant experience in coach Brian Gregory’s system. Six newcomers -- three transfers eligible to play immediately and three true freshmen -- are expected to contribute this season, as are sophomore Travis Jorgenson, who played in just four games last year before suffering a knee injury, and senior Robert Sampson, who sat out the 2013-2014 season under NCAA transfer eligibility rules.

The refreshed roster makes the Jackets more green than yellow. Everyone, from coach Greg-ory to close friend and confidant Corey Hey-ward, is looking to Georges-Hunt to “expand his role” and establish an environment for suc-

cess in the locker room and on the hardwood.“Marcus is really what college athletics is all

about,” Gregory says. “Leadership is always a big question and debate, and it doesn’t truly show until the season starts and adversity hits. That is when you need leadership, direction and that one voice in the locker room making sure everybody is on the same page. That is one of Marcus’s main jobs this year, no question about it.”

STEPPING UPGeorges-Hunt found his voice during the

offseason.While he has been a starter and go-to player

since his first practice with the Yellow Jackets, he confesses he “wasn’t really that talkative” during his freshman and sophomore seasons. He deferred to veterans and focused on honing

BY ADAM VAN BRIMMER

MBMEN’S

BASKETBALL

EXPANDING HIS ROLETECH JUNIOR MARCUS GEORGES-HUNT RELISHES HIS RESPONSIBILITIES AT HOME AND ON THE BASKETBALL TEAM

Part of Brian Gregory’s first recruiting class at Tech, Marcus Georges-Hunt has taken seriously his leadership, classwork and basketball development.

12 THE BUZZ

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EXPANDING HIS ROLE

his game, particularly last year, when opponents schemed to limit him offensively in response to his breakout freshman season.

“He’s evolved, I guess you could say,” says Heyward, who along with Georges-Hunt and Chris Bolden was part of Gregory’s first recruiting class at Georgia Tech. “He’s been the guy everybody watched since he first stepped on campus. All the guys in the program respected him and his game, and by being more vo-cal, he won the respect of all the new guys, too.”

Georges-Hunt is the prototype college basketball player in many respects. He’s athletic, highly competitive and knows no en-emies in the locker room. He also excels in the classroom – he’s a two-time Academic All-Atlantic Coast Conference performer – and fulfills his responsibilities to his girlfriend, a student at Georgia State, and their young son.

His work ethic and time man-agement skills leave teammates in awe, and his positive, upbeat de-meanor speaks to his maturity.

“We take a psychology class together, and one day we were go-ing over life’s major stressors, and

he deals with almost all of them on a daily basis,” Heyward says. “Yet he’s as calm and focused as anybody you’ll ever meet. And he’s going to ace the class.”

Georges-Hunt credits his family and upbringing for his success. His father, Willie Hunt, instilled in him a competitive will and sense of teamwork and fair-ness. His mother, Larisa Graves, stressed academics and account-ability, messages echoed by his grandmothers. His three broth-ers, particularly his two younger siblings, pushed Georges-Hunt to be a positive example for others to follow.

MULTI-FACETED LEADERSHIP

Gregory is counting on Georg-es-Hunt emerging as Georgia Tech’s next great impact player.

The coach’s discipline approach requires commitment and atten-tion to detail, and Georges-Hunt acknowledges the risks of that come with mixing a hard-nosed environment with a roster heavy on young players and transfers.

“Everybody has to buy in, and then everybody has to stick with it

when things get tough,” Georges-Hunt says. “I see competitive toughness in this group, though, and very few signs of mental weak-ness. I feel we will be ready to handle adversity when it comes, and I intend to do what it takes to lead us through it.”

Georges-Hunt’s most tangible contribution will be on the score-board. He averaged 11 points a game as a freshman and 12 points as a sophomore, but with the de-parture of double-figure scorers Trae Golden, Robert Carter Jr. and Daniel Miller from last year’s roster, Georgia Tech will need Georges-Hunt to pour in more points. Georges-Hunt also defends the opponent’s top perimeter scoring threat in most games.

Georges-Hunt needs to display nothing short of “total unselfish-ness on defense and offense,” Gregory says.

“He’s in a pretty high category already,” the coach says. “He’s the guy to keep your eye on.”

Georges-Hunt, role model, doesn’t mind. ■

Georges-Hunt’s brightest moment of the 2013-14 season was his three-point basket at the buzzer to defeat Boston College.

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IIt’s a commonly held belief that if you have

talent it doesn’t matter where you are, someone will find you.

Over the last 11 years, it’s been proven that if you have talent and an excellent GPA it doesn’t matter where you are, Georgia Tech women’s basketball coach MaChelle Joseph will find you.

She will leave no stone unturned in pursuit of that talent.

“We definitely go to them, there’s no doubt about it,” said Joseph, who begins her 12th season at the helm of the Yellow Jackets with a career record of 213-134 (a .614 winning per-centage), seven 20-win seasons and a matching seven NCAA Tournament appearances, includ-ing six straight of each from 2007 through 2012. “We pursue them. We go to Europe. We watch the European Championships. We work with several scouting services. It’s a work ethic, too. That’s a big thing because not a lot of coaches want to go over to Europe and make those trips.”

Coach Jo will. When she wants a player, there is no destination too far. For example, there was the excursion to Serbia two summers ago to convince forward Katarina Vuckovic to come to school in Atlanta.

“I went to Serbia and back in 72 hours,” Joseph recalled. “Forty eight hours were spent on a plane of some sort, traveling, connecting. Literally, in 72 hours, I went from Atlanta to Serbia, watched a game and came back.

“Those are tough trips. They’re a little bit dif-ferent than flying to Florida or New York,” she added, with a laugh. “It’s a challenge, for sure.”

But it’s a challenge that usually pays off. It did with Vuckovic, who chose to come to Georgia Tech, got her feet wet last season and is expected to be a big part of the 2014-15 season. This past summer Joseph again ventured to Europe and came home with two more prize recruits, 6-3 center Simina Avram from Romania and 5-9 point guard Antonia Peresson from Italy. Both cited Joseph’s visit as a factor in choosing Geor-gia Tech.

“I really liked Coach Jo,” said Avram. “I really liked her when she came and visited me. I think she was the deciding factor.”

“I really like Coach Jo. She made a really good first impression on me. So I chose Georgia Tech,” said Peresson. “I also chose it because the academics and it’s a really good university. In Italy, we think America is like ‘The Dream’ for every player. So when I had the opportunity to come here I took it and I’m here.”

Joseph has been making “The Dream” reality for 11 years. It began in the summer of 2003, when she boarded a plane to Uppsala, Sweden — some 4,632 miles and nine and a half hours away — to visit with a 6-0 guard named Chioma Nnamaka.

“It was always a dream of mine to play college basketball so being recruited by Georgia Tech was very exciting,” Nnamaka recalled. “Coach Jo came to Sweden for a day or two just to be able to watch me play. It was a great visit, nerve-wracking but great!

“I wanted to play for a program where I could help make a difference as well as play for a coach that would make me a better player as well as a person,” she added. “After visiting with Coach Jo in Sweden and my visit to Atlanta, I knew Georgia Tech was the right place for me.”

Nnamaka was just as right for Joseph’s pro-gram.

Nnamaka, part of Joseph’s first recruiting class, helped the Jackets to the first back-to-back NCAA Tournament berths in school history (2007, ’08) and the first two of six straight ap-pearances. She is still the school’s all-time lead-ing three-point shooter (269 three-point field goals made) and ranks sixth in school scoring (1,593 points), among her accolades. Nnamaka earned ACC All-Freshman Team honors in 2005 and was honorable mention All-ACC in 2008. Upon graduation, she was drafted by the WNBA’s San Antonio Silver Stars in the second round in 2008 (21st overall), later playing for the Atlanta Dream.

Joseph has brought 10 international players to the states in her tenure, including Australia native Brigitte Ardossi, who, like Nnamaka, rewrote the record books in her four years, was named All-ACC (second-team in 2010), then, after graduation was selected in the WNBA

BY JON COOPER

WORLDLY WISEGEORGIA TECH WOMEN’S BASKETBALL HAS FOUND SUCCESS BY RECRUITING INTERNATIONAL PLAYERS

From left, Simina Avram of Romania, Katarina Vuckovic of Serbia and Antonia Peresson of Italy are all expected to assume big roles for the Yellow Jackets.

Simina Avram

Katarina Vuckovic

Antonia Peresson

16 THE BUZZ

Draft (by the Dream, coincidentally, also at No. 21 overall). She credits Georgia Tech’s reputa-tion in drawing these talented international student-athletes.

“Georgia Tech is recognized and accepted internationally, not just nationally, as one of the top schools in the U.S. and therefore in the world. That’s, obviously, first and foremost,” Jo-seph said. “It really helps us to be able to attract those types of players. Secondly, having interna-tional players that go on to play professionally after they leave Georgia Tech, like Chioma Nna-maka, like Danielle Hamilton-Carter, Brigitte Ardossi, we have a track record of them not only coming to Georgia Tech but being successful, graduating and going onto professional careers in basketball as well as moving back to their country and having success.”

It’s a win-win. The players get a unique op-portunity academically and athletically at Geor-gia Tech while Joseph gets a more mature player for her program.

That’s especially true with the European play-ers Joseph has brought over. The Yellow Jackets have three on their current roster, Vuckovic, a sophomore forward, Avram and Peresson, and Joseph is counting on that experience and ma-turity in helping them adapt and contribute as soon as this season.

“The thing about international players is they come with so much experience,” she said. “[Simina and Antonia] are not typical freshmen, because when they’re in ninth grade they move away from their families, and they live in anoth-er city and they play on teams where the women are 25 to 35 years old. These are experiences they’ve had since they were 14 years old, so it kind of separates them a little bit from typical freshmen. They just come with a different type of maturity level and they play at a higher level than most high school players.”

Joseph hopes to see a high level of play from her European stars, most of all Vuckovic.

The 6-3 forward played in 27 games as a fresh-man, averaging 3.5 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 1.2 assists, but showed flashes of brilliance, like on Feb. 14 against Virginia, when she scored her season-high 14 points, including a pair of three-pointers.

“I think I needed some time to adjust, first to the American style of play from the Euro-pean, but I think I did good for a first year,” said Vuckovic, who, in addition to the obvious language barriers and cultural adjustments, also had to overcome a knee injury that cost her the first five games of the season. “When I first got here I didn’t know what to expect but I think it was harder than I thought it was going to be. The ACC is way more physical and the basket-ball is faster. All the teams are good.”

She enters 2014-15 at full strength and get-ting stronger, thanks to an off-season condition-ing program. Mentally, she’s more confident, as she’s familiar with what’s ahead and is building off her performance in the U-20 European Championships, where she hit a tournament-best 57.9 percent from three-point range

(11-of-19), 11 points higher than the nearest competitor, shot 82.6 percent from the line and averaged 8.7 points per game for the Serbs, who scored a tournament-best 66.0 points per game.

“Katarina is our most improved player com-ing into the pre-season,” said Joseph. “I think she’s going to be a key to our success this year.”

Vuckovic is taking the lead in mentoring of Avram and Peresson.

“I know what to expect in practice and what [Joseph] wants us to do in the game,” Vuckovic said. “I’m talking to them and getting them ready, telling them what to expect from Coach Jo in practice and the ACC and just trying to get them prepared for that.”

“She’s helping so much, me and Simi, be-cause she lived here for a year so she knows how things are,” said Peresson. “It’s good to have a person like Kat that can help us with every-thing.”

Joseph is eager to see what Peresson, the first Italian-born player to come to Georgia Tech, can do.

“Antonia is a true point guard,” Joseph said. “It’s been a while since we’ve had someone that’s really a true point guard that can run a team and run a system. She thinks pass first, shot second and she’s also going to give us an added shooter on the perimeter. I see tons of po-tential and her being able to help tremendously down the road this season.”

Peresson averaged 3.0 points, 0.5 rebounds and had three assists vs. one turnover in 10.8 minutes per game, helping Italy earn a bronze medal in the European Championships.

She and Vuckovic actually met at the Cham-pionships, twice as opponents, with Serbia winning the first time — Vuckovic scored her tournament-high 16 points, in the first game, a 77-67 victory, while a controversial charge was the decider in Italy’s 68-63 win in the medal round.

“At the European Championships I asked her how [Georgia Tech] was,” said Peresson, who had seen Vuckovic at previous European Cham-pionships but hadn’t spoken with her prior to this summer. “She told me a lot of good things but that it would be so hard.”

Avram also played in the European Cham-pionships but in Division B, scoring 10 points in 10.0 minutes per game over four games, and grabbing 11 rebounds for. Her best game was a five-point, three-rebound effort in 11 minutes in a 89-57 loss to Israel.

The fall started much better for Avram, who pleasantly surprised Joseph in early practices.

“Simi’s really surprised me with her con-ditioning level,” she said. “She gives us some depth at the five position. She’s got the ability to score with her back to the basket. I’ve been re-ally impressed with how she’s come in and been able to pick up the system and really play physi-cal for an international player.”

It’s a big deal for both, as the first players from their respective countries to come to Georgia Tech.

“I can’t wait to start,” she said. “From my country there are just a few players that came here, so it’s kind of a huge thing to be here.”

“In Italy, they want to have their talents

THE WORLD COURT PRESSThe talented array of international talent that Coach Jo has brought to Georgia Tech

Georgia Tech Women’s Basketball Head Coach MaChelle Joseph has gone to great lengths to bring talent to Georgia Tech. Here are the results of her international recruiting efforts and the approximate miles and flight times required to make visits.

AustraliaGiuliett Ancora – 2005-06Brigitte Ardossi – 2007-10

Atlanta to Melbourne, Australia: Distance: 9,705 milesFlight time: 20 hours, nine minutes

ItalyAntonia Peresson – Italy – 2015-Present

Atlanta to Pordenone, ItalyDistance: 4,894 milesFlight time: 10 hours, 37 minutes

RomaniaSimina Avram – 2015-Present

Atlanta to Brasov, Romania: Distance: 5,429 miles (To Sibiu)Flight time: 12 hours, 53 minutes

SerbiaKatarina Vuckovic – 2014-Present

Atlanta to Smederevo, Serbia: Distance: 5,279 miles (To Belgrade)Flight time: 12 hours, 37 minutes

SloveniaTjasa Gortnar – 2012

Atlanta to Preddvor, Slovenia: Distance: 4,952 miles (To Ljubljana)Flight time: 11 hours, 58 minutes

SwedenChioma Nnamaka – 2005-08Danielle Hamilton Carter – 2010-13Frida Fogdemark – 2011-14Sondra Ngoie-Hasahya – 2011

Atlanta to Stockholm, Sweden: Distance: 4,637 milesFlight time: 9 hours, 49 minutes

18 THE BUZZ

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there; they don’t want to share them,” said Peresson. “I decided to come here, because I think you have to try to improve with the best, and here I can work with the best players. So I’m glad to be here and I’m glad to be the first Italian to play for Georgia Tech.”

Being first and having success can help loosen restrictions. Nnamaka, although not the first Swedish-born player to come to Georgia Tech, helped bring in the likes of countrymen Hamilton-Carter and Frida Fogdemark.

“I believe so,” said Nnamaka. “I think when you see other players from your country succeed, it makes you want to follow in their footsteps.”

Avram and Peresson have taken their first steps, and, while it’s a chal-lenge, they are proving up to it.

“It’s really different from what I’m used to but I like it a lot,” said Avram. “I think the basketball part was the hardest. Everything is faster, the players are stronger.”

“The basketball is so different because the players are much stronger and they play so much more physical,” said Peresson. “It’s a totally different game. The intensity is the most different thing between my previous prac-tices before coming here and this practice, but I like so much how Coach Jo works and how she pushes us and how she makes us improve every day.”

The learning curve may not be as steep, as both have played in multiple European championships, with Peresson, even playing the 2012 FIBA U-17 World Championships, against the U.S. team that included Jackets star Kaela Davis.

Joseph isn’t worried about the freshmen’s drive in working to get their bearings and play well.

“They just come with a maturity level that’s hard to explain,” she said. “The sacrifice they’re making to be away from their families, to come to the States, to become a better basketball player and to get a degree, they don’t have a lot of room for other things. They’re very focused on what they’re here for.”

It’s the same things that brought Nnamaka and every international player since to Georgia Tech in the MaChelle Joseph Era and is what keeps them coming.. ■

Chioma Nnamaka blazed a trail for international players at Tech.

20 THE BUZZ

Y You need not hold an advanced engineering

degree from Georgia Tech to devise a formula for successful marketing.

Recognizable Brand + Exposure Everywhere at Once = Strong Customer Engagement

The problem has long been the “exposure everywhere at once” part.

#NOTANYMORESocial media is shifting the marketing

paradigm, and the Georgia Tech Athletic As-sociation is taking a comprehensive approach to leverage the reach and power of social media channels. The result is a growing interest for in-depth information from the technology-savvy fan base and greater engagement in the under-30 Yellow Jacket faithful.

“We have so many good stories here, and it’s time people started listening to that story,” says Chris Yandle, assistant athletic director for communications and public relations. “We are making social media a bigger part of the strat-egy and that should feed the content strategy.”

Yandle assumed leadership of the communi-cations office in July, coming to Georgia Tech after two years at the University of Miami and four years before that at Baylor. He led Miami and Baylor’s efforts to increase the social media presence of their programs and was a key con-tributor to the social media-heavy 2011 Heis-man Trophy campaign for Baylor quarterback Robert Griffith III.

Yandle’s social media expertise appealed to Georgia Tech director of athletics Mike Bobin-ski. The Yellow Jacket programs and coaches have grown their social media presence in recent years, and the communications office produced a series of popular behind-the-scenes videos with the football team last fall.

But in recent months, Tech’s communica-tions and social media staffers have worked to raise that footprint to even greater heights. The real power of social media from Georgia Tech’s perspective is in giving the athletic depart-ment, including coaches and in some instances student-athletes, the ability to converse in real-time with the Yellow Jacket faithful.

The long-time popularity of call-in shows and “Lunch Bunch” appearances speak to the ap-peal of personal engagement.

“The word fan is short for fanatic,” Yandle says. “They want as much of an inside look as possible. They are invested in us and want to feel a part of the team. We can deliver that through social media.”

Implementation of the social media strategy continues to develop. Tech’s staff started by redesigning all the Yellow Jacket pages on the major social media channels – Facebook, Twit-ter, YouTube, Instagram and Pinterest – to pro-vide a consistent look and experience.

The communications staff formulated a con-tent delivery approach, posting daily updates from practices and games, and mixing in value-added features, such as short video interviews with coaches or players. A popular post was a clip of a pregame speech by the football team’s chaplain, Derrick Moore.

Georgia Tech’s play-by-play voice Brandon Gaudin is spearheading a regular feature, known as #AskJackets. Fans can submit ques-tions for their favorite Georgia Tech student-

athlete via Twitter, Facebook or Instagram. Once a week, Gaudin will ask those questions to the player in a video posted on all Georgia Tech’s social media channels.

A popular game-day feature is the “Social Swarm.” Ten fans, spread in locations around Bobby Dodd Stadium, share their observations and insights about the atmosphere and the play on the field throughout the game. Each partici-pant gets a tour of the field and the press box and attends the postgame press conference.

The early returns on the social media in-vestment have been impressive. The athletic department website, Ramblinwreck.com, registered more than 1 million views in Sep-tember, with 25 percent of those leads coming from social media accounts. The new Georgia Tech Gameday app, which features stadium and campus parking maps as well as live stream-ing audio of games, is among the top-10 most downloaded apps produced by college athletic departments.

And the trends are moving upward, Yandle says.

“We’re getting better every day,” Bobinski says. “The next step is to better coordinate it and put it all together. We’re moving the needle and are not far from where we want to be.”

Greater fan engagement can translate into several benefits, from ticket and merchan-dise sales to fund-raising to recruiting. What Georgia Tech must guard against, though, is saturation. The social media strategy calls for a balance of news, behind-the-scenes features, promotional items, and dialogues with the com-munity.

“If all you are doing is standing on the corner and shouting and not listening to what is being said about your programs, you aren’t taking advantage of the medium,” Yandle says. “You have to gain trust and not turn the fans off. You don’t want the people you need most to stop listening to you.” ■

BY ADAM VAN BRIMMER

TECH ATHLETICS IS MARSHALING ALL AVAILABLE RESOURCES TO CONNECT TO ITS FAN BASESOCIAL ENGAGEMENT

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Tech fans are better able than ever to follow their favorite teams and players online.

22 THE BUZZ

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TECH

CClothes may make the man but

shoes, while considered an acces-sory, may be the most invaluable of articles. They finish off the ensem-ble and can act as the vehicle that allows for greatest expression.

For example, the gold track shoes worn by Olympic sprinter Michael Johnson at the 1996 At-lanta Olympics, defined his career.

Shoes also have served as a can-vas where the wearer scribes a per-sonal message to friends, family or someone special or a point of view. They have been a place where one can privately find motivation and inspiration — longtime NBA player and coach Mark Jackson used to play with his wedding band tied to the laces of his left shoe (former player and current TNT analyst Kenny “The Jet” Smith did so as well, until one day unwittingly giving away the shoes, ring and all, to a fan as a postgame goodwill gesture).

Of course, “shoes as messen-ger” isn’t limited to sports.

On Sept. 14, 2014, on the grand stage of the 88th Annual Miss America Pageant, held in Atlantic City, N.J., Miss Georgia, Maggie Bridges, used a pair of specially made shoes as an important ve-hicle of recognition and respect for Georgia Tech. Fittingly, said shoes were crafted in the shape of the most iconic motor vehicle in exis-tence, the Ramblin’ Wreck.

Miss America was the perfect platform for the presence of the Wreck, as it was established in 1921, longer than Tech’s icon, which first drove onto Bobby Dodd Stadium at Historic Grant Field in 1960.

Leave it to Georgia Tech ingenu-ity to create the perfect representa-tive shoes.

“After speaking with several people at Tech we kind of put to-gether this little team to make these shoes and started brain-storming ideas that we wanted and things that we thought would be really cool,” said Bridges, a

resident of Brinson, Ga., and a senior at Tech’s Scheller College of Business (she plans to gradu-ate as part of the class of 2016). “We brought together a bunch of sketches, and I was specific about what I liked and what I didn’t like. We came up with the honeycomb design and the Ramblin’ Wreck as a general theme because I really wanted to reflect Georgia Tech as a big theme. I wanted people to know where I was from and what I reflected, and I think the shoes did that.”

Stephen Norris, Social Media Manager at Georgia Tech, sent an e-mail to the Industrial Design department and found takers for the project in a trio of I.D. majors, Julia Brooks, a second-year from Fayetteville, Ga., Maren Sonne, a fifth-year from Newnan, Ga., and Jordan Thomas, a third-year from Locust, Ga., a member of the Georgia Tech track and field team.

“I think it was really flatter-ing, and I think we were all really excited to do it,” said Sonne. “We talked about Buzz and the Yellow Jacket, but the Wreck was some-thing that was really different and you don’t see a car on a shoe every day. It’s really iconic, and histori-cal. [Maggie] wanted it to be really Georgia Tech and from there, we kind of decided what we wanted to do.”

The shoe was not going to be used in the actual on-stage event but in the “Show Us Your Shoes” parade the day before, in which the 52 contestants ride down the Boardwalk and show off their footwear to the audience. That played into the idea of a wedge and allowed for the honeycomb design, something upon which Bridges insisted.

“One thing that Maggie was decisive about that she wanted a wedge,” Brooks said. “So that gave us a lot of opportunity to dress that part up a bit with the honeycomb, which is another nod to Georgia Tech.”

BUILDING THE SHOESThere were a lot of moving

parts, including the wheels, flags, and a hand-crafted grill, in addi-tion to several computer-printed pieces, like the honeycomb, which was made of custom-designed, laser-cut chipboard. Thomas esti-mated the cost of supplies in the neighborhood of $500.

The front of the shoe required specialized care with a miniature replica Wreck grill and bumpers, which were computer-illustrated then cut with a laser, and the flags and wheels, which also were hand-crafted, The wheels were 3D-printed with a heat-molded acrylic inset.

“They’re the first 3D-printed shoes to be in Miss America,” Brooks said. “They’re not com-pletely 3D-printed but they have the parts that are. So it’s gotten a lot of buzz off of that.”

The intricate detail of the grill was especially painstaking and, at times, downright vexing.

“The grill was really hard be-cause we laser-cut it. We probably laser-cut it like 40 times,” said Sonne. “The problem was the grill was so tiny and so intricate that the laser-cutter would just burn it and it would just disappear. So we had

to test the settings so many differ-ent times to get it to leave enough, just for the grill to show up but to not fall apart and then we had to poke out the little pieces. We were using little needles and poking it out.”

Thomas recalled that at one point they even used one of Brooks’ earrings to poke out holes. With such intricacy involved and only about a month to make it hap-pen, there were some frustrating times and a lot of time, period.

Then, one night — early morn-ing, actually — voila!

“We had a clear plan, but then it was a bit discouraging in the middle because there was a week or two when we were assembling all of these parts and individual components, and we didn’t see any progress because we were spend-ing so much time on these little things,” Brooks said. “But then all of a sudden they all just came to-gether one night at like 2 a.m., and it started looking so good. We were really excited about it.”

Thomas remembered that work-ing late, while quite common, wasn’t a bad thing.

“It might have been that late was where our BEST work was done,” he said, adding with a

BY JON COOPER

HEART AND SOLEHOW FOUR GEORGIA TECH STUDENTS BROUGHT THE RAMBLIN’ WRECK TO THE MISS AMERICA PAGEANT

Thomas estimated the cost of supplies to build the shoes in the neighborhood of $500.

24 THE BUZZ

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laugh, “We probably just compro-mised on some of the stuff. ‘We’re going to do this like this’ and just leave it.”

TRYING THEM ONThe group got the shoes done

about two days prior to their dead-line of Tournament week — Brooks took them for a test-walk, which proved rather humorous, as her foot was smaller than Bridges’ (she wears a size 7, Bridges is a 10 1/2). The unveiling would come in a special ceremony.

“The first time I saw them was at the Institute address,” Bridges recalled. “I was presented them in front of most of the faculty of Tech, which was pretty fun. After that I got to try them on. It was exciting. It just was cool to see this idea that we had and design that was on a piece of paper completely come to life. I got to see the very, very beginning stages and then I got to see the end product but I didn’t see a lot of the middle stages that happened. I just kind of left that up to the design team to do at their discretion. They did all the hard work. I was just honored that they did that.

“I think it was absolutely perfect,” she added. “It was exactly what I wanted, and it to-tally reflected the school. It was so detail-oriented. I was unbelievably satisfied with it. I could not have been happier with how they turned out.”

Jordan, Sonne and Brooks gave the shoes one more going-over then bubble-wrapped them and packed them up, also giving Bridg-es a “CARE package” of items to make her own repairs. Included was hot glue gun and sparkles as well as extra flags and wheels.

“Those had already come off before,” Jordan pointed out.

The spare parts came in handy, and were immediately put to use once Bridges arrived in Atlantic City.

“I had to do some little repairs, just like a wheel would come off or one little piece would be crooked and I would have to put it back in place, just because the transport up there was kind of tough on them,” she said. “But other than that it was no big deal. It was really easy and pretty stress-free.”

THE PARADEOn the night of the parade,

only hours after Georgia Tech had pulled out a heart-stopping 42-38 victory over Georgia Southern, Bridges took to the parade route, proudly displaying her Ramblin’ Wreck shoes and Georgia Tech pride.

They made quite an impression.“A lot of times people would

say, ‘Why do you have a car?’ I would say, ‘It represents Georgia Tech. I’m a Georgia Tech Yel-low Jacket,’” she said. “It always clicked. Everyone always knew. It’s awesome that people could make that connection and then several people yelled, ‘To Hell With Geor-gia!’ It was really great. We won our game that day so it was kind of cool, especially with the football season we’ve had. It was a great reflection of all that. It was really, really fun.”

She had fun with those that did not make the connection as well.

“Some really oblivious fans would ask me, ‘How’s the game going?’ because during the parade

there was a Georgia game going on. I would always say, ‘To Hell With Georgia!’” she said, with a laugh.

“Most of them would get it at that point, but a few people they were like, ‘What?!?’” she said, with a laugh. “I would then, of course, retort with I’m a Georgia Tech Yellow Jacket and it clicked at that point. I had a really good time with it. To be able to keep it in school spirit when we were so far into the week at Miss America, to be able to kind of pull for Tech and do one for Tech was really fun. I was really proud to do that.”

While the banter went pretty much unheard in Atlanta, the pride and reward of seeing the Ramblin’ Wreckin on TV, even in shoe form, was special.

“It was really cool to see it actu-ally on TV, something that you had made,” said Thomas.

“It was raining that day, but they still looked beautiful,” said Sonne. “We couldn’t see them super-well but the sparkles in the light were the prettiest thing I’ve ever seen.”

The positive feedback has con-tinued to come in.

“It’s been really good,” said Thomas. “A lot of people have been asking for us to make shoes for them.”

Brooks hinted that there was a celebrity request, although she was not at liberty to reveal the celeb-rity’s identity.

OPENING DOORSThe Ramblin’ Wreck shoes have

kicked doors wide open for the trio.

“A lot of 3-D websites, a lot of fashion and technology people have been interested in it,” Sonne said. “I think it’s the main aspect of bringing technology and fashion together that a lot of people have been interested, especially because that’s becoming more popular, wearable things that use technol-ogy. So we’ve gotten a lot of press, and it’s been huge. Miss America’s never had anything like this. I don’t know where it will go but it’s really exciting to see what will happen.”

One outcome Jordan does NOT foresee is his taking the Wreck pro-totype onto the track, ala Johnson.

“I could try to do that,” he said, with a laugh. “I could probably paint them but the extra acrylic and 3-D printed pieces probably wouldn’t work so well.”

As far as what will happen with the shoes, Bridges, who was awarded a $5,000 STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) Scholarship at the Pageant and plans to attend pharmacy school and get her doctorate in Public Health, feels there is only one proper course of action.

“I definitely plan on giving them back to the school in some capacity because they were really given to me by Georgia Tech and I think, for this year anyway, they’re a little bit iconic for me and my journey in Miss America,” she said. “I would love for Georgia Tech to be able to do something with them. Whether that’s auctioning them off to raise money for something, whatever that may be, I think it would be a really cool item to invest in that way, invest it back into the school that I love so much.” ■

Miss Georgia Maggie Bridges wore the specially made shoes in the “Show us your Shoes” parade the day before the Miss America Pageant. “I wanted people to know where I was from and what I reflected, and I think the shoes did that.”

The shoe design team of Julia Brooks, Jordan Thomas and Maren Sonne.

26 THE BUZZ

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28 THE BUZZ

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THARPE FUND PHILANTHROPIC PRIORITIESCOMPLETE CONSTRUCTION AND RENOVATION OF THE NOONAN GOLF FACILITY, RUSS CHANDLER STADIUM, AND THE EDGE CENTER

With your philanthropic support, there is no limit to what we can accomplish. Between now and the conclusion of Campaign Georgia Tech (December 31, 2015), our fundraising priorities are simple, yet ambitious:

To complete construction and renovation of three athletics facilities: the Noonan Golf Facility, Russ Chandler Stadium, and the Edge Center.

To be come one of the few Division I schools to fully endow all athletic scholarships.

To increase annual unrestricted support via the Alexander-Tharpe Fund.

The following pages will provide you with updates pertaining to each of these initiatives.

PETERSON APPROVES RENOVATION OF GEORGIA TECH’S GOLF PRACTICE FACILITY TO BEGIN IN SPRING 2015G.P. “Bud” Peterson, presi-

dent of the Georgia Institute of Technology, has given the green light to begin work on an ambitious plan to redevel-op Tech’s golf practice facil-ity. The full-scale renovation will begin in spring 2015.

The decision comes after many months of collaborat-ing with philanthropic part-ners to secure the financial resources needed to initiate the first phase of the project to renovate the existing site. The property, which is located close to campus on 14th Street, was recently pur-chased by the Georgia Tech Athletic Association.

“Georgia Tech’s golf team has a tradition of excellence, both athletically and aca-demically,” said Peterson. “Through ongoing support, we’re taking bold and deci-sive steps to provide a state-of-the-art practice facility im-mediately adjacent to cam-pus. This exciting and trans-formative project has the potential to make a dramatic impact on student-athletes’ experience while at Tech, and on our ability to continue the successful recruitment of the

best golfers in the nation.”The golf program at

Georgia Tech has set a high standard — winning ACC championships, producing talented professional golfers, and maintaining a Dean’s List cumulative GPA among players.

Thanks to the philanthrop-ic support of alumni and friends, the “groundbreak-ing goal” has been reached. And, for President Peterson, that means it is time to put shovel to earth. The planned enhancement of the golf facil-ity will include completely renovated and redesigned indoor hitting bays, teach-ing areas, a clubhouse with locker facilities, and a par-3 competition course.

“There is no doubting the importance of having a quality practice site near cam-pus,” said Coach Bruce Hep-pler. “We cannot thank our alumni and friends enough for supporting Georgia Tech golf, or put into words how much their association with the program means to us.”

Every step of the way, two people have stood at the forefront of fundraising:

Kim P. Noonan, IM 1983, and Thomas E. Noonan, ME 1983. Their leadership has been integral to the success of the project to date. They, along with countless other generous donors and volun-teers, will continue to reach out to individuals, founda-tions, and corporations in helping to ensure that the overall philanthropic goal for the project is met, and that Georgia Tech’s golf team will enjoy and make the most of the significant benefits that come with having a first-rate practice facility near the Tech campus.

As professional golfer Stewart Cink, MGT 1995, put it, “In an effort to recruit

the best possible student-athletes, a program must provide outstanding fa-cilities. The proximity of the practice facility to campus is a tremendous asset.” As is a permanent, state-of-the-art home — which, starting in the spring, will begin to come to fruition.

NOONAN GOLF FACILITY

30 THE BUZZ

31THE BUZZ

RUSS CHANDLER BASEBALL STADIUM RENOVATION CHALLENGE

An anonymous donor has es-tablished a $2.5 million challenge grant designed to inspire chari-table gifts to fund the first phase of renovations to Russ Chandler Stadium estimated at $5 million.

The areas undergoing renova-tions are shown to the left and inlcude player and coaches locker rooms, a new weight room, train-ing room, study room and lounge.

While construction has begun in order for the first phase to be completed for the upcoming sea-son, an additional $1.8 million is needed to trigger the challenge match to complete phase I.

atALEXANDER-

THARPE FUND

ARTHUR B. EDGE, JR. INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETICS CENTERAnother anonymous donor has come forward with a $3 million challenge grant to renovate the Edge Center. The upgrades

will be focused on enhancing the academic center and the sports medicine/rehabilitation center, and will touch every student-athlete at Tech, regardless of their sport. It has been decades since either of these areas has been significantly updated, and now is the time to ensure that every Yellow Jacket has the tools and resources to excel academically, as well as access to the best treat-ment for the physical rigors of competition. More details about the challenge and how your involvement and support can make a difference will be announced once the project scope is further defined.

The Director of Athletics has a vision to fully endow all athletic scholarships. The table below shows the number of scholar-ships allowed by the NCAA by each sport compared with how many scholarships are fully funded by endowments at Georgia Tech.

- Golf endowments support golf program once scholarship cost is covered

- Unrestricted and Olympic endowments totaling $23.1 million are not reflected in the above table

A commitment to create an endowed scholarship presents an opportunity to make a tremendous impact on lives of student-athletes as it allows us to bring in quality and talented athletes that may not otherwise be able to attend Georgia Tech. It can be equally rewarding to donors as they are recognized on field with the recipient of the named scholarship and are invited to attend the annual endowment dinner, getting to know the student-athletes on a more personal level. This year’s endowment dinner will be held on January 24, 2015.

PHILANTHROPIC PRIORITIESENDOWMENT OF TECH’S ATHLETIC SCHOLARSHIPS

32 THE BUZZ

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680 The Fan Ad

Shoshanna EngelAssociate Athletic Director

for Compliance

COMPLIANCE CORNERINSTITUTIONAL CONTROLWhat is institutional control?

Institutional control is one of the primary principles of NCAA Division I and as a condition of membership, every NCAA institution is required to conduct its athletics program in ac-cordance with NCAA rules and regula-tions. Institutional commitment to and atmosphere of compliance are often associated with institutional control.

Who is responsible for institutional control?

The president of an institution is ultimately responsible for the for all aspects of the athletics program, but the scope of institutional responsibility extends to all faculty, staff, coaches, student-athletes, and any other indi-viduals or groups/organizations that engage in activities that promote the athletics program.

Why is institutional control important?

Lack of institutional control is one of, if not the most serious of, NCAA viola-tions. Institutional control may be dem-onstrated in many ways and is at the foundation of a sound intercollegiate athletics program. Programs commit-ted to institutional control demonstrate strong leadership oversight and build compliance cultures and systems that include robust rules education, monitoring systems, and enforcement protocols. This commitment is essen-tial to operating an athletics program that upholds both the letter and spirit of NCAA rules and regulations.

How can you help maintain institutional control?

All members of the Georgia Tech family – student-athletes, faculty, staff, coaches, alumni, fans, boosters – are

essential to the promotion and success of the Yellow Jackets. Please join us in maintaining our commitment to com-pliance and protecting the eligibility of our student-athletes. If you ever have any questions, please do not hesitate to call the compliance office and if you see something, say something.

While the landscape of college athletics continues to evolve and change, Georgia Tech’s commitment to compliance and institutional control is unwavering. We appreciate the role our supporters play in helping us maintain the highest levels of integrity and compliance.

BY SHOSHANNA ENGEL, ASSOCIATE ATHLETIC DIRECTOR FOR COMPLIANCE

Shoshanna EngelAssociate Director of Athletics for Compliancesengel@athletics.gatech.edu(404)894-8792

Marquita ArmsteadDirector of Compliancemarmstead@athletics.gtaa.edu(404)894-5507

Bret CowleyAssociate Director of Compliancebcowley@athletics.gtaa.edu(404)385-0611

Shardonay BluefordAssistant Director of Compliancesblueford@athletics.gatech.edu(404)894-0416

Kyle BuffolinoCompliance Assistantkbuffolino@athletics.gatech.edu(404)894-0416

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