Together we

Athletics

Experience the Eagle Spirit. Fuel the Momentum.

Embracing the enthusiasm of our student body and growing Eagle pride. Eagle Nation athletics enhances the atmosphere of our campuses and builds our prestige and profile within the Sun Belt Conference and beyond. Our 400+ Varsity student-athletes balance academic and athletic activities as they learn discipline, leadership, and responsibility while surprising and delighting those of us in the stands and on the sidelines. We must increase the level of support we provide our athletes and athletic programs to attract and retain elite athletes and coaching staffs.

Attracting and retaining elite athletes and coaching staffs. By providing robust, competitive packages within our 17 NCAA Division I programs through endowed scholarships for students, and by boosting the Competitive Excellence Fund to give our staff the flexibility to recruit and retain the best coaches, we will elevate our athletics program.

Supporting student-athletes all the way to graduation. We must ensure athletes get the financial support they need once they are here to perform in their sport and in the classroom to be career ready, maintain high GPAs, and enjoy a well-rounded educational experience including opportunities to participate in special programs like study abroad.

Providing top-notch facilities for athletes and fans. We position our student-athletes to compete at the highest level and attract fans to cheer them on through our excellent practice and competition facilities.

The Anthony P. Tippins Family Training Facility

The $12.3 million Anthony P. Tippins Family Training Facility is located adjacent to Allen E. Paulson Stadium and serves all 17 NCAA-sponsored athletic programs. The transformative project, which opened in summer of 2023, benefits the needs of all 430-plus student-athletes while also creating new revenue-generating activities for the department.

The facility features a 91,300-square-foot practice area, highlighted by a fully-covered 120-yard regulation synthetic turf football field. It also features a 30-yard practice area for supplemental drills. An advanced netting system was installed to further enhance training opportunities for the student-athletes, particularly in football, baseball, softball, men’s soccer, women’s soccer and women’s track and field.

The facility has an interior height of 65 feet that allows for a variety of practice drills (not inclusive of live punting). The practice field has a 20-foot buffer outside the sideline perimeter that provides a safe space to conduct live play workouts.

The Jack and Ruth Ann Hill Convocation Center

The Jack and Ruth Ann Hill Convocation Center will be the future home of Georgia Southern basketball and the growing Waters College of Health Professions. With new locker rooms, training rooms, a strength and conditioning area, fueling stations, and academic spaces coming on board, the 95,000-square-foot Jack and Ruth Ann Hill Convocation Center will create a best-in-class student-athlete experience.

J.I. Clements Stadium Renovation

Georgia Southern plans to demolish the existing Wiggins Baseball Facility, which was constructed in 1996, to build a much larger, state-of-the-art baseball addition to provide office space, multipurpose use batting and pitching tunnels, a training room, team room, locker rooms, lounge, and versatile outdoor space that could be used for tailgating and seating areas on game days.

Outdoor enhancements also include verandas and fan zones overtop of the dugouts of Jack Stallings Field at J.I. Clements Stadium, home of the Eagles Baseball Team.

Alumni Marcela Montaya’s Success Story

“It was a tough decision whether to stay at Georgia Southern to get my master’s, but the new engineering building was opening right in time, and I could do the biomedical research I wanted. Plus, I had built a great relationship with my teachers and the soccer team. My soccer coaches, trainers, and professors all cared about me. I wanted to be pushed and give 100% and I was lucky to have those resources behind me.”
Marcela Montaya, ’20 Bachelors and Master’s in Mechanical Engineering

Marcela Montoya played soccer at Georgia Southern until a second ACL tear slowed her down. Born in Medellin, Colombia, Montoya was a 2021 Sun Belt Conference All-Tournament Team member. She was also a scholarship recipient and dedicated student. She worked in the English department as a graduate assistant for two years to help pay for her master’s degree. Today Montoya is a Product Design Engineer at Arthrex where she is designing instruments to people, including athletes, live better lives.