Funded center to open in 2024. Photos provided.
By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher, GwinnettForum
SEPT. 1, 2023 | What Georgia Gwinnett College’s athletic teams have done since the program was founded in 2011 is absolutely amazing. The six teams GGC now fields have a combined winning record of a 1,590-433-41 (.780) overall record across all sports through spring 2023, and that includes capturing 16 NAIA national championships.
The Grizzly teams participate in six sports, boys (baseball) and girls(softball), and boys and girls soccer and tennis. For the soccer and tennis programs, many of the athletes are international students, helping make their winning records.
The Grizzlies have now collected 18 national titles ( nine in men’s tennis, eight in women’s tennis and softball) and 26 conference championships. In total, GGC has 123 NAIA All-Americans and three NAIA National Player of the Year.
Look in particular at the tennis program. The men’s tennis team has a 232-4 (98.3) record, while the women’s team are 78-20 (79.5). Jay Chase-Hodges was the original head tennis coach for both teams, from 2013-2022. His replacement, Hannah Keeling, in her first season, led a record, for the men, 22-1, and for the women, 21-1.
That’s amazing!
Wilson
You must give credit to the college sports department, and its leader, Dr. Darin Wilson, the associate vice president of athletics, for these accomplishments. He’s been the only person to head this department, establishing the athletic department and teams in 2011. But before he came to GGC, there was nothing at all for its collegiate athletic department.
Now student-athletes at Georgia Gwinnett College compete at the state-of-the-art Grizzly Athletics Complex, a $15 million facility which features baseball, softball, soccer and tennis complexes, plus a 25,000-square-foot Athletics Building with staff offices, team locker rooms, a weight room, training areas, hospitality suites and academic resource space.
Wilson already had a winning record at Union College in Barbourville, Ky. When he came to GGC, he had served as the athletics director at Union (his alma mater) since 2003, following a five-year stint as baseball coach. His departure ended 18 years of involvement with Union, from an undergraduate student-athlete to leading the athletics program.
Wilson also grew Union’s department of athletics from 15 intercollegiate programs to 23, while effectively revitalizing the athletic booster club and managing a multi-million dollar operational and scholarship budget. They even had a competitive hiking team!
He admitted to the Norcross PDC (people drinking coffee) Club on Wednesday that he was getting a little bored at Union College, where he participated in sports when a student, and later got a master’s degree there. “I had never heard of Georgia Gwinnett College, and did not know where Lawrenceville was.”
So he set out to build the athletic arm of Georgia Gwinnett College. “We’ve had great support from the college, and from the community.”
Center with seats for events
How about the recently announced new facility, a$36 million, 72,280 square foot convocation center with classrooms, student health and other activities, to open in 2024. It conveniently has planned a basketball court to be painted on its floors. Is another sport, basketball, and possibly volleyball, on the horizon?
He says: “We are exploring basketball and potentially volleyball in the future. Both of these would be presented to the students and require Regent’s approval.”
The obvious next step for GGC athletics would be to move to NCAA Division One competition. To do that, GGC would have to increase its athletic teams from six to a minimum of 10 sports.
That will eventually happen. Meanwhile, Darin Wilson can feel good about his success at GGC with the athletic department. They are bringing victory after victory for Georgia Gwinnett College. Keep it up!
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
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