Post by Admin on Nov 3, 2023 14:54:31 GMT -5
“Improving the locker rooms and video room used by our men’s and women’s basketball programs is the first of many projects we will address that will enhance the student-athlete experience and reflect the Division 1 program we aspire to be,” said WCU Director of Athletics Alex Gary.
The newly renovated spaces were unveiled Friday, Sept. 29, as donors and fans got their first look at the modernized locker rooms, players’ lounges and film room during tours guided by members of the men’s and women’s basketball teams.
The WCU Board of Trustees has approved the naming of five spaces in the Ramsey Center in honor of five major gifts that have helped make the project possible:
• In recognition of gifts and pledges from Waxhaw resident Gaither Keener and spouse Beverly, the men’s basketball suite is now known as the Gaither and Bev Keener Family Men’s Basketball Suite, which includes the men’s basketball locker room and player’s lounge. A political science major at WCU who graduated in 1972, Gaither Keener went on to earn his law degree from Wake Forest University. He retired from Lowe’s home improvement corporation in 2015 after 30 years of service in its legal department.
• In recognition of gifts and pledges from Stephen Couch, the men’s basketball locker room has been named the Stephen Carlton Couch Men’s Basketball Locker Room. Couch, who earned his degree from WCU in industrial technology in 1985, is president of Couch Oil Co. in Durham.
• In recognition of gifts and pledges from Susie Ray, the men’s basketball lounge is now the Robert G. and Susie R. Ray Men’s Basketball Players Lounge. A resident of Cullowhee, Susie Ray retired as director of WCU’s career services in 1996. Her late husband, 1957 WCU graduate Bob Ray, was a former WCU basketball coach and a faculty member in the Department of Health and Physical Education.
• In recognition of gifts and pledges from Mike and Marsha Sullivan, the athletics program’s film room is christened the Mike and Marsha Sullivan Film Room. Mike Sullivan is CEO and president of Gargiulo Farms and spouse Marsha is a retired customer service manager for Lee County Tax Collection Office. They are residents of Florida with a home in Cashiers, and daughter Marissa Sullivan is a 2022 alumna and current WCU graduate student.
• In recognition of gifts and pledges from James Causby and spouse June Causby, the women’s lounge has been named the Jim and June Causby Women’s Basketball Lounge. Both are retired educators, and James Causby is a former executive director of the N.C. Association of School Administrators and the N.C. School Superintendent Association who recently served as interim superintendent of Asheville City Schools. He graduated in 1967 from WCU where he earned his master’s degree here in 1969, and she graduated from WCU in 1969.
• In addition, two former men’s basketball standouts were recognized for making significant contributions to the project. They are Board of Trustees member Jake Robinson, a 2010 graduate of WCU and president of Champion Credit Union in Canton, and wife Olivia Robinson, also a 2010 WCU graduate; and retired NBA player Kevin Martin, who attended WCU in the early 2000s before becoming the first Catamount to be selected in the first round of the NBA draft.
The newly renovated spaces were unveiled Friday, Sept. 29, as donors and fans got their first look at the modernized locker rooms, players’ lounges and film room during tours guided by members of the men’s and women’s basketball teams.
The WCU Board of Trustees has approved the naming of five spaces in the Ramsey Center in honor of five major gifts that have helped make the project possible:
• In recognition of gifts and pledges from Waxhaw resident Gaither Keener and spouse Beverly, the men’s basketball suite is now known as the Gaither and Bev Keener Family Men’s Basketball Suite, which includes the men’s basketball locker room and player’s lounge. A political science major at WCU who graduated in 1972, Gaither Keener went on to earn his law degree from Wake Forest University. He retired from Lowe’s home improvement corporation in 2015 after 30 years of service in its legal department.
• In recognition of gifts and pledges from Stephen Couch, the men’s basketball locker room has been named the Stephen Carlton Couch Men’s Basketball Locker Room. Couch, who earned his degree from WCU in industrial technology in 1985, is president of Couch Oil Co. in Durham.
• In recognition of gifts and pledges from Susie Ray, the men’s basketball lounge is now the Robert G. and Susie R. Ray Men’s Basketball Players Lounge. A resident of Cullowhee, Susie Ray retired as director of WCU’s career services in 1996. Her late husband, 1957 WCU graduate Bob Ray, was a former WCU basketball coach and a faculty member in the Department of Health and Physical Education.
• In recognition of gifts and pledges from Mike and Marsha Sullivan, the athletics program’s film room is christened the Mike and Marsha Sullivan Film Room. Mike Sullivan is CEO and president of Gargiulo Farms and spouse Marsha is a retired customer service manager for Lee County Tax Collection Office. They are residents of Florida with a home in Cashiers, and daughter Marissa Sullivan is a 2022 alumna and current WCU graduate student.
• In recognition of gifts and pledges from James Causby and spouse June Causby, the women’s lounge has been named the Jim and June Causby Women’s Basketball Lounge. Both are retired educators, and James Causby is a former executive director of the N.C. Association of School Administrators and the N.C. School Superintendent Association who recently served as interim superintendent of Asheville City Schools. He graduated in 1967 from WCU where he earned his master’s degree here in 1969, and she graduated from WCU in 1969.
• In addition, two former men’s basketball standouts were recognized for making significant contributions to the project. They are Board of Trustees member Jake Robinson, a 2010 graduate of WCU and president of Champion Credit Union in Canton, and wife Olivia Robinson, also a 2010 WCU graduate; and retired NBA player Kevin Martin, who attended WCU in the early 2000s before becoming the first Catamount to be selected in the first round of the NBA draft.
