Lumbee Bank backs football

By Kelly Griffith
Staff Writer

As UNCP kicks off its “First and Ten” campaign, the university announced a gift of $500,000 on Sept. 9 from the Lumbee Guarantee Bank in Pembroke to support Braves football.

The gift will be given over a 10-year period with the promise the field at the Belk Athletic Center will be named after the local bank.

Photo by Carol Franch The Lumbee Guarantee Bank in Pembroke donated $500,000 to support the new UNCP football program.

Vice Chancellor for Advancement Sandra Waterkotte said UNCP would need $4,000,000 in donations to build a field house to hold the football team coaches and locker rooms.

“The rest of the football team, in terms of their uniforms and other expenses, are being paid for with the student athletic fee,” Waterkotte said.

The Office of Advancement began campaigning in August and approached more than 50 local businesses to ask for donations.

President and Chief Executive Officer of Lumbee Guarantee Bank Larry Chavis said bringing football back to UNCP in 2007 would help the university.

“I think it will recruit a totally new set of students,” Chavis said. “I think we have a group of talented students who will stay close to home.”

Waterkotte said she thinks the football team will raise the number of UNCP students.

“I think it will boost enrollment. It will help the retention rate,” Waterkotte said. “I think students want a campus community. They want things to do.”

The university has made an enormous impact in Pembroke and its surrounding towns, according to Chavis.