Marshall University Athletics
Big Green announces the "Drive for 35"
6/1/2017 12:00:00 AM | Big Green Scholarship Foundation
Note: This story appears in the June issue of Thundering Herd Illustrated.
Since 2009, the Big Green Scholarship Foundation has cleared two milestones -- first a record 3,000 members, and then last year's successful Operation 3300. The Big Green concluded 2016 with 3,384 members, eclipsing its goal and setting a record for membership.
Now, the fundraising arm of the Marshall University athletic department is getting more ambitious. The "Drive for 35" is the organization's latest endeavor to increase membership and funding for the athletic department's 350 scholarship student-athletes. It is an aggressive approach with multiple goals: retain current members and pull in new members.
If one is unconvinced about the value of being a Big Green member, South Point resident Kent Brown is a good place to hear about the reasons to join the Big Green. Neither Brown, who graduated from Ohio University, nor his wife are Marshall graduates, but they are passionate about their support of student-athletes.
Brown's support isn't contingent on wins and championships, either.
"We love Marshall sports, we're season ticket holders in basketball and football, but the key driver is not sports for us," Brown said. "It is seeing the lives changed of these athletes.
"We'll go to a football banquet and basketball banquet and the coaches will have these athletes talk and tell their story, or I'll get to know them and hear their story, and folks who grow up in bad situations or poor situations, this is their only ticket. I don't think they fully understand the power of getting that degree. They go through the process of going through football, basketball or whatever their sport is, but the coaches we have at Marshall and the culture they're in, they grow up. You see what it means to them. They probably all have aspirations of being a professional athlete somewhere, but it's such a small percentage of people that happens to.
"That is why Debbie and I belong to the Big Green. That's been our driver, our motivation, being excited about helping them get their education."
Brown grew up in Mason County and bounced around from Cleveland to Dayton before retiring in 2013. Now he enjoys his three grandchildren and Marshall athletics.
"Our kids grew up going to Marshall games with us," he said.
The Big Green announced in April its Ambassador Program. Those ambassadors act on the behalf of the Big Green as recruiters who solicit new members and represent Marshall in a positive way. They are focused on retention of current members, increased giving from all members and the recruitment of new members. It is the Big Green's hope to reach 3,500 overall members and eclipse the more than $2 million raised last year, which goes to support scholarships for all 16 of Marshall's men's and women's sports.
A person wishing to give to the Big Green can contact the organization in multiple ways:
Phone: 304-696-4661
Address: P.O Box 1360, Huntington, WV 25715
Online: mubigreen.com
