Marshall University Athletics
Big Green Scholarship Foundation Announces Record Membership
12/20/2016 12:00:00 AM | General
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - At the outset of the Big Green Scholarship Foundation's 2016 membership drive, the fundraising arm of the Marshall athletic department set an ambitious goal of 3,300 members. The Big Green staff titled the drive Operation 3300, placing the bar for memberships at record-setting heights.
Mission: Accomplished.
The Big Green announced Tuesday that its membership drive, launched in May, had pushed past its benchmark to a record-setting 3,327 members. The Big Green has added 435 members, an increase of 15 percent in seven months.
"I am proud of the Big Green staff and all of the people who volunteered their time and effort to help us in this endeavor," said Mike Hamrick, Marshall's director of athletics. "It is a reflection of their support for what we are trying to accomplish as an athletic department and a welcome wave of support for our student-athletes.
"Times are tough economically," Hamrick added, "so it means the world to me to see our Marshall family band together to fund scholarships for our student-athletes."
The primary purpose of the Big Green Scholarship Foundation is to support more than 350 student-athletes at Marshall by raising the funds necessary to support athletic scholarships.
Reaching the goal of 3,300 - 3,327 as of December 16 - would not have been a successful endeavor without teamwork, according to Big Green executive director John Sutherland.
"As executive director I want to thank and give credit to our Big Green board, our army of volunteers for Operation 3300 and to our Big Green staff," Sutherland said. "Our goal was 3,300, an all-time record and we accomplished that with lots of hustle.
"I just appreciate supporters for showing their confidence in us to support Marshall athletics by funding scholarships."
