Dear Furman Athletics Family,
I hope this note finds you and your families doing well and enjoying the beautiful fall season.
It has been a remarkable start to the academic year at Furman University, and we could not be prouder of the success of our Paladins, on the field and off. Congratulations to senior Anna Morgan and our Women’s Golf team on winning the Lady Paladin Invitational and to all of our fall sports teams, led by #3 ranked Furman Football, for their achievements so far. We have enjoyed seeing you at games, events and social occasions and are excited to cheer on Soccer and Volleyball as they compete in post-season tournaments in the weeks ahead, as well as Men’s and Women’s Cross Country as they pursue their 11th straight Southern Conference Championship!
As you are aware, last year was another banner academic year for Furman Athletics as our outstanding student-athletes, coaches and staff continue to lead the Paladins to unprecedented heights. It is truly an honor to work with talented individuals and dedicated programs that are committed to achieving academic and athletic excellence at Furman. Just some of the highlights from this past year:
Furman student-athletes registered a record 3.37 GPA for the spring semester, with half of them earning Dean’s List Honors and 36 student-athletes recording perfect 4.0 GPAs. A total of 233 Paladins were named to the 2022–2023 Southern Conference Academic Honor Roll.
The Paladins won six Southern Conference team championships led by Men’s and Women’s Cross Country, Men’s Basketball, Women’s Tennis and Women’s Golf, with Cross Country, Football, Men’s Basketball, Men’s Golf and Women’s Golf qualifying for NCAA competition.
Furman was the only institution in the nation with its Football and Men’s Basketball teams earning FCS Championship and NCAA Tournament wins, with Football defeating Elon 31-6 in the opening round and Paladin Hoops defeating #4 Virginia 68-67 in the First Round.
Paladin student-athletes, coaches and staff combined to capture 711 individual awards including the Southern Conference Male (Jalen Slawson, Men’s Basketball) and Female (Anna Morgan, Women’s Golf) Athletes of the Year for the second straight year.
Athletics recorded its third consecutive record-breaking fundraising year with over $19 million in commitments from nearly three thousand donors, including 1,800 donors giving $511,549 in support of athletics on Dins Day. Thirty-three gifts were made last year of six or seven-figures in support of athletics as well as the largest gift in Furman Athletics history, a $10 million commitment from Ravenel Curry ’63 to renovate Timmons Arena.
Furman established new participation, attendance, and engagement records, hosting 6,199 fans at the Men’s and Women’s Basketball doubleheader versus Wofford at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena; witnessed an 930% increase on Twitter, 800% increase on Facebook and 275% increase on Instagram along with three million impressions based on Men’s Basketball wins in the Southern Conference championship and NCAA Tournament.
These are just a few of the incredible accomplishments from last year that were made possible through the passionate and generous support from our donors, alumni, families and fans. The success of our department is built upon a commitment to excellence from the university and from all of you. And for this, we sincerely “Thank You” for everything you do! Please know that your continued support is critical to the sustained success of Furman Athletics. Our staff is here to serve you, our coaches and student-athletes, and our doors are open if we can be of assistance to you.
We hope you will join us for Furman Homecoming Weekend and our home football game vs. East Tennessee State on October 28th. We will be hosting several events including a Paladin Scholarship Fund Tailgate and a Furman Athletics Alumni Gathering. We look forward to seeing you there!
Thank you again and Go Paladins!!!
Sincerely,
Jason Donnelly
Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics
Furman University
