Football | 3/13/2015 10:56:00 AM

Wingate, N.C.----Wingate University vice-president and director of athletics Steve Poston and assistant athletic director and Athletic Foundation director Bill Nash announce the More Than the Game fund-raising campaign for a new Daktronics digital video display/scoreboard at Irwin Belk Stadium and John R. Martin Field on the Wingate campus (link to Wingate University Resource Development giving page).
 
The campaign seeks to raise money for the new Daktronics digital video display/scoreboard. A challenge gift from Mike and Carman Johnson gives the University a good start towards reaching its campaign goal.
 
"The Daktronics digital video display/scoreboard will vastly improve the game-day experience for home football games," Nash says. "We expect to utilize the video display for big University events as well. We are grateful to Mike and Carman Johnson for their generous challenge gift."
 
"We are always looking for ways to enhance the fan experience at Wingate University athletic events," Poston says. "An athletic event is more than an athletic event…it is an entertainment event. The Daktronics digital video display/scoreboard gives us another way to entertain our fans."
 
For more information about the More Than the Game fund-raising campaign for a new Daktronics digital video display/scoreboard at Irwin Belk Stadium and John R. Martin Field, contact Bill Nash at 704-233-8121 or via E-mail at bilnash@wingate.edu.
 
What They Are Saying...
 
Wingate University vice-president and director of athletics Steve Poston:
 
"The Daktronics digital video display/scoreboard helps us provide a fun atmosphere surrounding the game. We can communicate information to our fans about the game itself. We can visually provide more information during the course of the game."
 
"A digital video display/scoreboard is almost an expected part of the football game-day experience. In addition to providing information to supplement our fans' experience, the digital video display/scoreboard is an excellent way to communicate information about our sponsors. We will utilize the digital video display/scoreboard to recognize guests as well."
 
Wingate University head football coach Joe Reich:
 
"I am really excited about the new video display fund-raising project. I think this will be a great upgrade in the game-day experience. Every year, we have a bunch of prospective student-athletes come to our games. This is a great chance to show the type of experience they can have here at Wingate. The video display would bring an element to the experience that would be first class all the way."
 
"We will also use the display during recruiting visits, summer camps and tryout days. The possibilities are numerous. I also know that having a top production guy like Ryan Brown will maximize the potential of the new video board." 
 
Wingate University Director of Broadcasting & Productions/Asst. SID Ryan Brown:

"This is an exciting endeavor that will vastly improve the game day experience at Wingate football games. Daktronics is the industry leader in video boards, having constructed many displays for professional organizations and hundreds of colleges. The massive high-definition screen will be vital for our in-game atmosphere as we will be able to produce more fan-interactive promotions, see all of the amazing plays on the field over again and present our sponsors in a first-class way. I look forward to being a part of making Irwin Belk Stadium one of the best experiences in Division II football and bringing more exciting events to John R. Martin Field."
 
Wingate University Director of Alumni and Parent Relations Suzanne Bostic Philemon:
 
"Wingate University alumni will appreciate a new video display board as they return to campus for football games and other events. The board will only enhance their experiences and will provide that Wingate feel, by way of video, they had when they were students."
 
Wingate University assistant director of student involvement Emma Wallace:
 
"By having the video display at the home football games, I believe students will get the 'big school' feel as soon as they enter the stadium. It will also increase the spirit, because the students will be able to see themselves on the screen! I think this will only enhance the students' experience and will have them wanting to come to more games."

WINGATE UNIVERSITY
 
Wingate University, ranked as the 10th "best value" in the South by U.S. News & World Report, serves more than 3,000 students on three campuses in Wingate, Charlotte and Hendersonville, N.C. Founded in 1896, the University offers 35 undergraduate majors, 37 minors and career concentrations, numerous pre-professional programs, graduate degrees in business, accounting, education, physician assistant studies and sport administration, and doctorates in pharmacy, physical therapy and education.
 
With a 14 to 1 student/teacher ratio, Wingate students gain the tools and support needed to excel in academics and apply that learning toward an extraordinary career and life. To view current news, video and story ideas, visit www.youtube.com/wingateuniversity. 
 
In addition to a robust intramural athletics program, Wingate student athletes compete in 22 NCAA Division II sports. The University has won the South Atlantic Conference Echols Athletic Excellence Award for the past eight years. For more information, go to www.wingate.edu.
 
Wingate is first among NCAA Division II Academic All-America®-producing colleges in the 2000's with 72 selections. Among North Carolina's colleges and universities, Wingate's 72 Academic All-America® honorees are number one during this millennium. Wingate's 81 lifetime Academic All-America® picks are tops among all SAC schools. For more information on WU athletics, go to www.wingatebulldogs.com.