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ESU Foundation Hosts Ribbon Cutting for Football Locker Room

The East Stroudsburg University Foundation hosted an official ribbon cutting ceremony on Saturday, April 23, 2022 at the new Warriors football locker room in Koehler Fieldhouse.

The You WIN In the Locker Room First campaign, a $750,000 fundraising initiative, was launched by the ESU Foundation and the Department of Athletics on Oct. 8, 2020. The campaign kicked off with a virtual event that invited more than 100 alumni and friends of the program to learn more about the project. A 17-member fundraising committee was tasked with reaching out to alumni and friends, led by co-chairs Pat Flaherty '78 and Mike Terwilliger '78. The campaign surpassed its goal and raised over $860,000.

Rich Santoro, executive director of the ESU Foundation, said the swiftness of the fundraising shows the dedication and loyalty of ESU alumni. "To hit our goal at the six-month mark is pretty much unheard of. The football program is close-knit group of alumni and we had more than 200 former players donate from every generation, the 1960's through recent graduates in 2020, help make this new locker room a reality. We're excited to bring all of our donors back to celebrate."

The upgraded facilities include 30-inch wide, open cherry-wood lockers with LED lighting, replacing the existing grey metal lockers, a cell phone charging station, an equipment drying system on top of each locker, and a speaker system to pump music throughout the space. The space includes seven named areas, including the academic center where players can work on assignments, and coaches' space. All the lockers have been sold and contain a plaque bearing the name of a campaign donor.