Coastal restores many athletics jobs that were cut due to COVID. Why that’s important
Coastal Carolina University’s athletes have more support within their programs than they did last school year.
The school’s financial recovery from the ongoing coronavirus pandemic has allowed it to reinstate a number of positions within the athletic department that were eliminated in the summer and fall of 2020 due to COVID and enrollment decline.
Buoyed by record freshman enrollment and record fundraising for its 19 intercollegiate athletic programs, CCU has been able to restore for the 2021-22 school year at least seven assistant coaching positions and additional support staff jobs within the athletic department and individual programs.
“Once we reached the point where, from the institution’s perspective, we were able to start addressing staffing we went into a phasing plan to restore what we could, beginning first and foremost with coaching positions, then moving from there to support areas like trainers, strength and conditioning, whatever it may be that we lost during that period,” said Matt Hogue, CCU vice president of intercollegiate athletics and university recreation. “Fortunately the climate turned and we were able to address those.”
In the summer and fall of 2020, the university instituted furloughs for nearly all employees and announced 36 campus-wide job cuts.
An analysis by The Sun News discovered assistant coach positions were cut in men’s soccer, women’s soccer, men’s tennis, women’s tennis, volleyball, men’s golf and women’s golf. That left all the golf and tennis programs without assistant coaches.
Those coaching positions have all been reinstated.
While the football team retained its 11 core coaching positions in 2020, the program lost a number of support staff jobs, as an office assistant position was eliminated and up to four support staff positions were open and could not be filled in analyst and assistant operations positions, according to head football coach Jamey Chadwell.
The football positions have been restored with the exception of the office assistant position, Hogue said.
Additional athletic support staff positions that were not filled in the fall of 2020 were, according to The Sun News research, director of volleyball operations, men’s basketball video coordinator, men’s basketball special assistant for quality control, women’s basketball video coordinator, and an administrative special assistant with responsibilities in volleyball, men’s basketball and women’s basketball.
Most have been filled, though Hogue said there has been some job consolidation. The outsourcing to a company of multi-media sponsorship rights has eliminated one full-time and one part-time position as well, Hogue said.
“You still have some residual impact, but all in all we’re very pleased things have come back maybe a lot faster and a lot more robust than we ever thought they would,” Hogue said.
The rehiring of athletic trainers was the second priority after coaches, and Hogue said the school is back to a full training staff.
Coastal went about a year without one- or two-year intern trainers “which is really a big part of what we do with sports medicine, so getting those back into the fold was crucial,” Hogue said. “They’re crucial to being able to address everything you do in the schedule, whether it’s practices or the games themselves.”
Hogue said the school never went without a trainer assigned to a sporting activity, but it didn’t have the optimal coverage it prefers for athletes.
“It was a tough time. It was a sad time in many ways because we had to let a lot of folks go,” Hogue said. “We’re very pleased that the overall atmosphere of the business has turned around to the point we can add these back.”
Recovering from COVID impacts
CCU and its athletic department have rebounded financially over the past year.
After three straight years of declining or stagnant freshman enrollment, Coastal set a new high for the number of incoming freshmen in the fall semester.
A record 2,519 freshmen enrolled in the fall. The school’s previous fall freshman class record was 2,319 in 2017.
The total fall enrollment was 10,473, which is close to the school’s all-time high of about 10,600 students.
Fundraising for CCU athletics set a record in the most recent fiscal year.
The Chanticleer Athletic Foundation exceeded $1 million in member donations for the first time ever for the 2020-21 fiscal year, which ended June 30, according to CAF executive director Kelly Moore.
The CAF, a nonprofit that supports CCU athletics, collected $1.015 million in member donations after collecting $852,000 from members in 2019-20.
Additional outright cash gifts, pledges and planned gifts brought overall CAF fundraising in the 2020-21 fiscal year to $2.565 million, which is an increase of more than $800,000 over the previous year.
Chairman of athletics and former head football coach Joe Moglia made a donation that has enabled the university to begin work on a $15 million indoor football practice facility, additional football facilities and a proposed football south end zone project, the school said. His gift will also complete funding for a new $5 million stadium for the men’s and women’s soccer programs.
The university did not disclose the amount of the donation at Moglia’s request.
CCU athletes give back
The CCU athletics department and the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee have been partnering with local organizations to give back to the community, particularly during the holiday season.
In November, SAAC sponsored a food drive that assisted Churches Assisting People by donating approximately 3,000 pounds of canned goods and nonperishable items for the Thanksgiving holiday.
Led by the athletics department, teams and student-athletes supported 35 underprivileged children in the Horry County area with toys, clothes, shoes and educational gifts in the Adopt A Chant Christmas Campaign.
Teams that participated in the annual event included women’s soccer, beach volleyball, women’s golf, volleyball, softball, baseball, football, women’s lacrosse and the dance team. Athletics department staff members also assisted with the 11-year project.
“I am always grateful and impressed at the generosity and outreach our student-athletes provide not just only during the holidays but throughout the year,” Hogue said. “Their commitment and passion for helping others and setting an example in our community speaks volumes about their character and why we are so privileged to call them Chanticleers.”
Last February, the CCU athletics department was presented the Hidden Hero Award by the United Way of Horry County, which is given out annually to an individual or organization that has gone above and beyond to help the United Way, and the work is often not recognized by the public.
During the lead-up to the Tailgreeter Cure Bowl in Orlando, the CCU and Northern Illinois teams packed more than 23,000 meals at Universal Studios for the U.S. Hunger Project.
Super senior defensive lineman C.J. Brewer, who participated in the Adopt A Chant campaign, was awarded the Community Soldier award by the Cure Bowl for his contributions to the community. Each football position group adopted two kids and received wish lists.
“It is real big and I pride myself on that. We do a lot of different things,” Brewer said. “ ... Each person used their own money, like 20 to 30 dollars each. Some kids wanted bikes and some just wanted some clothes, toothbrush, toothpaste and books. I really like doing that one. I did the program with the Tim Tebow Foundation for kids with special needs. I love doing that every year and take pride in helping out.”
This story was originally published January 6, 2022 at 10:28 AM.
