Eagles Break Ground on New Practice Facility

Anthony P. Tippins Family Gives Largest Gift in Athletics History

Georgia Southern breaks ground on the new indoor practice facility. (Pictured are L to R): Mike Sanders, chairman of the Georgia Southern Foundation Board; C. Everett Kennedy III, Board of Regents, University System of Georgia; Leonard Bevill, chairman of the Georgia Southern Athletic Foundation; Natalie Powlas; Anthony P. Tippins, lead donor, and former chairman, Georgia Southern Athletic Foundation Board; Georgia Southern President Kyle Marrero; Jared Benko, Georgia Southern Director of Athletics; Clay Helton, Georgia Southern Football Head Coach; Megan Przybysz, member of the Eagles women’s soccer team; and Sharon Perkins, Georgia Southern Softball Head Coach.

Groundbreaking was held April 23 for the $12.3 million Anthony P. Tippins Family Indoor Practice Facility prior to the annual Blue vs. White Spring Football Game. Being built adjacent to Allen E. Paulson Stadium, the facility will benefit all 17 NCAA-sponsored athletic programs and expand revenue opportunities through tailgating suites and other game day-related activities.

“The Anthony P. Tippins Family Indoor Practice Facility fulfills a critical need for our athletic department,” Georgia Southern Director of Athletics Jared Benko said. “Inclement weather currently inhibits our ability to fully practice and prepare for competitions. Additionally, the facility provides our student-athletes, coaches and staff the ability to escape the sunlight and extreme heart during the summer months.”

The Indoor Practice Facility will include a 91,300-square-foot practice area, fully-covered 120-yard regulation football field and an approximately 30-yard practice area for supplemental drills. An advanced netting system will further enhance training opportunities for student-athletes, particularly football, baseball, softball, men’s soccer, women’s soccer and women’s track and field.

Eagles fans will benefit, too. The north and south sides of the structure will be outfitted with game-day tailgating suites. Some southside suites are positioned to have a close-up view of the pregame Eagle Walk, and turnkey tailgating will be introduced on the practice field for the 2023 football season.

“Georgia Southern has meant so much to my family and me, and we saw an opportunity to give back and make a positive impact,” Tippins said. “We look forward to seeing the exciting changes this gift will bring.”

Anthony P. Tippins and his family donated the lead gift for the facility — the largest gift ever committed to Georgia Southern Athletics. Remaining costs will be covered through fundraising and donations.

This transformational gift puts Anthony Tippins in the prestigious Oak Circle, the highest level of recognition in the Georgia Southern Athletic Foundation.

Couple Give $1 Million in Honor of Late Spouses

Dennard and Wanda Scoggins have made a $1 million donation to the Plaza at the new practice facility as part of the Anthony P. Tippins Indoor Practice Facility project. Pending approval from the Board of Regents, the couple will name the Parrish-Scoggins Donor Recognition Plaza in memory of their late spouses Patricia Griffin Scoggins and Dan J. Parrish Jr.

“When approached about giving for this project, the idea of naming the Plaza that serves as the main entrance for the fans appealed to Dennard and me,” Wanda said. “That entrance area will celebrate the lives of Dan and Pat but will also celebrate all the great memories that Eagle fans have had at Paulson Stadium over the years. It will also allow us to recognize donors who have given significantly to the football program over the years. “

“We love Georgia Southern and don’t take its history and traditions lightly,” Dennard said.

The couple met for the first time in an English classroom at Georgia Southern in 1960. They dated for about two years then moved on and lived separate lives. After Pat and Dan died, Wanda and Dennard reconnected over their love of Georgia Southern football. During the home opener for the 2019 Georgia Southern football season, Scoggins proposed to Parrish on Glenn Bryant Field at Paulson Stadium, asking for the approval of Eagle Nation. They tied the knot that October on the top step of the administration building on Sweetheart Circle where they first met.

They call Metter home but return to Statesboro often for Eagle sporting events. The couple believes that although their lives have come full circle, that circle is open-ended to embrace all of Eagle Nation.

Parrish, the original secretary for the Southern Boosters and the first woman to serve as the Georgia Southern Athletic Foundation chair, was inducted into the Georgia Southern Athletics Hall of Fame in 2016. Scoggins was the head of school, athletics director and head coach for two football and track state championships at Tiftarea Academy in Tifton, Georgia, and retired as an administrator with Bibb County Public Schools.