CHARLESTON – Charleston Southern Athletics and Goose Creek Heating & Air + Plumbing announced on Thursday morning exciting news regarding the continuing efforts to enhance the CSU student-athlete experience with the “Student First Initiative.”
“We are so excited to have Goose Creek Heating and Air + Plumbing become the founding sponsor of our Student First Initiative,” said Jeff Barber, Charleston Southern’s Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics. “Successful academic standing and progress are the keys to graduating our student-athletes and having them provide a positive impact to their community. This is a huge step in growing our academic endeavors. Our wish is that other local businesses will see the importance of this initiative and join Goose Creek Heating and Air + Plumbing in making a difference in the academic lives of our student-athletes.”
During the fall, the Buccaneers’ athletics department added Goose Creek Heating & Air + Plumbing to their network of corporate partners and the company had signed on to be the founding sponsor for this new venture. This project is the “Student First Initiative” which was created to reward the various CSU athletics programs for their success in the classrooms and keeping their academics at the forefront of their plans. Every program that finishes the academic year with a cumulative team GPA of 3.0 or higher receives a $500 financial contribution that directly supports the individual program.
“At Goose Creek Heating & Air + Plumbing, we are deeply committed to giving back to our local community, particularly to students of all grades who represent its future,” said Robbie Wright, President of Goose Creek Heating & Air + Plumbing. “We are beyond thrilled to be the founding sponsor of CSU’s Student First Initiative and support teams that demonstrated academic excellence during the 2023-2024 school year. We see this initiative not just as a sponsorship, but as an investment in the future leaders of our community. We’re excited to continue to cheer on the CSU athletes as they set new standards of success.”
In the founding year of this, 12 Charleston Southern athletics programs completed the year with a cumulative GPA above 3.0 which amounts to $6000 of contributions. The programs that finished the year at that level are listed below with their team GPA listed as well:
- Men’s Baseball (3.29)
- Men’s Basketball (3.05)
- Men’s Cross Country (3.37)
- Men’s Golf (3.19)
- Women’s Basketball (3.15)
- Women’s Cross Country (3.14)
- Women’s Golf (3.47)
- Women’s Soccer (3.74)
- Women’s Softball (3.30)
- Women’s Tennis (3.54)
- Women’s Track & Field (3.45)
- Women’s Volleyball (3.45)
To learn more about or become a sponsor for the “Student First Initiative,” contact Corporate Sponsorship General Manager, Preston Hayden ([email protected]).
