Donations to the UGA Athletic Association’s Basketball Enhancement Fund (BEF) will be accepted beginning from today (June 1) through August 1. Current BEF contributors should expect renewal notices to arrive via email on June 5.
BEF contributions are utilized for determining renewable season tickets and various other benefits available to Georgia Basketball supporters. The BEF has established records for both amount contributed and the number of contributors in each of the past two years. The Georgia Bulldog Club is hoping for another record-setting effort and is challenging donors to contribute 110 percent of their previous donation.
The Bulldogs are coming off their fourth-straight postseason appearance and fifth overall during head coach Mark Fox’s eight seasons in Athens. Georgia is in the midst of its winningest stretch in SEC play in program history, capturing 42 victories over the past four seasons.
Georgia will return nine of its top-10 scorers from last season, headlined by All-SEC forward Yante MatenClick here to hear it. The 6-8, 240-pound rising senior from Pontiac, Mich., averaged 18.2 points per game a year ago, fourth-best in the SEC. Additional returnees with double-digit starts last season include senior Juwan ParkerClick here to hear it, juniors William “Turtle” Jackson and Derek OgbeideClick here to hear it and sophomore Jordan Harris. The Bulldogs will also welcome a highly touted quartet of freshmen to their 2017-18 roster.
The minimum donation to purchase renewable season tickets is $150 per seat. A gift of $150 also will be recognized with a car decal and an invitation to a designated preseason practice of the Bulldogs. Varying levels of BEF donations are used to determine ability to purchase premium courtside seating, as well as tickets to the SEC and NCAA Tournaments. Additional potential benefits associated with contribution levels include reserved parking at Stegeman Coliseum, invitations to the team’s preseason and postseason banquets and pre- and in-game hospitality.
Though yet to be finalized, the Bulldogs’ 2017-18 schedule is expected to feature 15 home games at Stegeman Coliseum – six non-conference outings including Georgia Tech and nine Southeastern Conference outings.
Stegeman Coliseum is undergoing major renovations this summer. Work began recently on Phase II of the approximately $8-million project to the Coliseum’s interior. Prior to last season, Phase I included the addition of an HD scoreboard and a dramatic mural covering the distinctive end wall of the arena’s east end. This summer, renovations include a center-hung scoreboard, new seats, significantly upgraded sound and lighting systems and additional LED signage.
The current projects follow a $13-million renovation in 2010 that transformed Stegeman’s concourses, upgrading the graphics, enhancing spectator access to concessions and restrooms and adding 5,000-square feet of concourse space on each side of the arena. Those efforts won awards from both the American Institute of Architects and the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America.