Dear Friends:
I hope you saw Atlanta native and proud Yellow Jacket Christopher Eubanks stun the tennis world at Wimbledon two weeks ago! Just a few months after cracking the top 100 ranked men’s tennis players, the 27-year-old broke through to the quarterfinals, upsetting two top-ranked seeds along the way.
Chris’ story became a global sensation among sports fans — and for all the right reasons. Chris attended Georgia Tech for three years, becoming a two-time All-American in the process, before going pro in 2017. Since that time, he has earned a reputation as one of the kindest, most thoughtful (and media-savvy!) players on the tour, even as he had to overcome challenge after challenge as an athlete.
Chris’ unbelievable run at Wimbledon made us all proud and highlighted one of my favorite things about Georgia Tech — that one of the world’s finest research universities also has a rich, storied tradition of athletic excellence.
Though some in the media and the public have become increasingly skeptical of intercollegiate sports — sometimes with good reason — I remain a believer in the value and opportunity they offer our students. Back home in Spain — and anywhere else in the world for that matter — young athletes must decide between a college education and the long odds of a professional career in sports. Doing both is extremely difficult. And if you choose to be an athlete — but then get to a point where you realize sports can’t pay the bills — by then, you will have wasted precious time and missed invaluable opportunities to develop a career that can.
Here at Tech, student-athletes get to train and compete at the highest level while earning one of the most valuable degrees in the nation — the No. 1 best value degree in the United States, to be precise, according to The Princeton Review. And that combination — the leadership, discipline, and teamwork developed through athletic competition, plus the intellectual maturity and problem-solving skills that come with a Georgia Tech degree — gives our student-athletes an invaluable, lifelong advantage whether they go pro, get a good job, or create their own business — or even do all three.
College sports also help expand access to a college degree. Every year, ticket sales, advertising revenues, and TV rights — in addition to the generous philanthropic contributions from our alumni and friends — provide the resources necessary to offer scholarships to hundreds of impressive students who might otherwise not be able to afford to come to Georgia Tech. Nationally, athletic scholarships have become the third-largest pool of financial aid, behind only the federal Pell Grant program for low-income students and GI Bill benefits for veterans.
If that weren’t enough, athletic competition also carries the Georgia Tech story to people near and far who would otherwise be unaware of what we do in our classrooms and labs. And this benefit is not restricted to just football and basketball. Think about Chris Eubanks sharing his Georgia Tech experience on TV, announcers and journalists telling audiences across the globe about his background as a Yellow Jacket student-athlete, and cameras zooming in on men’s tennis Assistant Coach Kevin King in the stands — a fellow alumnus (ME 2012) and former All-American standout who was proudly decked out in his Georgia Tech gear throughout the tournament. (Thank you, Coach!)
Incidentally, also in Britain, Christo Lamprecht, a business major from South Africa and current golf Amateur Champion, just put in an excellent showing at the British Open this past weekend. He was tied for the lead after the first round, made the cut, and earned the silver medal as the top amateur. During his senior year at Georgia Tech, he’ll be able to play in the Masters and the U.S. Open, an amazing experience for him and another great opportunity to spread the Georgia Tech story around the world.
So, as a new season nears, I encourage you to make plans to follow our teams in person or on TV — try to set up your ACC Network access if you haven’t already! After making some significant changes over the past year, including the addition of Athletics Director J Batt, Head Football Coach Brent Key, and Head Men’s Basketball Coach Damon Stoudamire, I cannot wait to see another exciting season unfold. With the great work of all our coaches and staff, and the dedication of our talented student-athletes, I hope to see many of our programs on top of the national charts once again. We are, after all, a pretty competitive bunch, and we expect excellence in everything that we do!
Thank you for all you do to support Georgia Tech athletics. Whether you’re cheering from the stands, following us on TV, or contributing funds to support our student-athletes, what you do matters. In sports, just like in everything else we do, we indeed swarm together
