Dear Booster Club Member:
This past year we celebrated the 20 year anniversary of the NCAA Division III National Championship for Coach Pate and the West Georgia Brave football team. It was a very special time for the coaches, the players and for our boosters who participated in the reunion. This March will mark the 30 year anniversary of the NAIA National Championship in men’s basketball. The team was coached by West Georgia Hall of Famer Roger Kaiser and featured All American Foots Walker and Tom Turner. It is our hope that we will be able to assemble the team in February so we can celebrate again their magical moment.
In looking back at these championships and more recently the back to back championships won by our cheerleaders, it clearly points out how special it is to participate in college athletics and why we need to provide for our West Georgia Braves athletes. Seeing the 1983 Braves Football team together at their championship reunion, seeing our cheerleaders jump out of their shoes upon the announcements of their victory televised on ESPN, reminiscing back on the thrilling ride of Kaiser’s kids in Kansas City, winning championships is a thrill and an experience that is second to none.
Using these magical moments as our model, let’s provide our athletes the tools they need to be successful in the classroom and at the same time give them the resources they need so that their athletic experience at West Georgia can be special.
After another successful fundraising year, we have again made advances toward this goal. Two areas that needed our attention were in the areas of strength and conditioning and academic support. In the area of academic support, we hired Devon Chapman to coordinate tutoring and we recently purchased six new computer stations complete with furniture. In the area of strength and conditioning, we have added four new Olympic stations and the biggest addition made was hiring Frank Christ who is an experienced strength and conditioning coach. While we still haven’t handled the problem of limited space, we have taken what we have and made it better. In addition to strength and conditioning and academic support, we recently purchased a new video system for all our teams so that we can learn from our games and prepare for our opponents. If you haven’t been by the Murphy athletic building lately, please stop by to see the remodeled training room, the new trophy case, the Hall of Fame, and the Braves weight room. All of these improvements were made with corporate and booster club dollars.
We still have work to do. I mentioned before the lack of space in our weight room and our academic support area. Also, we are trying to dress up our playing venues as best we can. To address these areas, we need your financial support. We hope you will please say yes to our Braves. By doing so, you will be helping some of the best kids around. And please come see our teams play. I know you will appreciate the talents and skills of our athletes and the hard work and dedication of our coaches. We appreciate your support and we look forward to seeing you soon.
Sincerely,
Ed Murphy
Director of Intercollegiate Athletics
Head Men’s Basketball Coach