John S. Martin

When John S. Martin returns to Western Carolina University on Saturdays in the fall to watch a college football game, the former four-year starter on the Catamount offensive line notices that E.J. Whitmire Stadium looks much like it did during his playing days in the late 1980s.

That's why Martin, a 1990 graduate of WCU with a bachelor's degree in business law who now serves as principal adviser with the CAPTRUST financial advisory firm in Raleigh, is making gifts and pledges totaling $150,000 to help improve athletics facilities at his alma mater.

"The facilities really haven't changed at all since I was a student-athlete," he said. "The locker rooms are a little nicer now, but that's about it. We have a long way to go to catch up. The stadium is in big, big need of repair. The same concrete foundation that was poured back in the 1970s when the stadium was built is still there, and it's past time for an upgrade."

As a current member of the WCU Foundation Board of Directors and past member of the Board of Visitors, Martin has gone behind the scenes for repeated firsthand looks at the state of all of the university's athletics infrastructure.

"Between the Board of Visitors and the Foundation Board, I got to tour and see all of the sports teams' facilities – not just the football stadium, but seeing where track and field is housed at the old Camp Lab Gymnasium. Frankly, it's pitiful. We have so many needs athletically. I know that there are other big needs throughout the university, but it really showed me what needs to be done for athletics," said Martin, who chairs the Foundation Board's finance and audit committee.

"I've come to realize the need and just how woeful our facilities are. We've got the ultimate canvas to paint on in Cullowhee with the Blue Ridge Mountains as our backdrop. We are going to need everybody pulling together, but we can do it. We'll be able to do even bigger and better things," he said.

Martin's contributions are part of WCU's $75 million comprehensive fundraising campaign titled "Fill the Western Sky." The campaign has a significant focus on raising money to support enhancements to athletics facilities, with a goal of raising at least $30 million in philanthropic gifts to support those specific upgrades.

"John's passion for Western Carolina to be great is as deep as it was during his playing days," said Alex Gary, WCU director of athletics. "We are so thankful for his continued leadership and support of Catamount Athletics through this most recent commitment."

Recruited by legendary coach Bob Waters, Martin came to WCU on a football scholarship and, after taking a medical redshirt his first year, became a four-year starter as left offensive tackle. "I was too skinny to play offensive line in college, but I think I was given the opportunity because I played really hard, I had good technique, and they figured I would bulk up," he said. "I played for four years for Coach Waters. It was just one of the greatest blessings of my life.



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