WCU Stories      April 24, 2025

By Bill Studenc

More than 150 citizens of Catamount Nation rallied Saturday, April 12, in Asheville to celebrate the accomplishments of student-athletes who have represented Western Carolina University during the 2024-2025 sports seasons.

Many of those in attendance at the Athletics Gala, held at the Omni Grove Park Inn, were donors whose contributions enable more than 350 student-athletes to pursue their higher education goals while donning purple-and-gold uniforms on game day.

In addition to giving student-athletes an opportunity to meet benefactors who provide scholarship support and funding for athletics facilities renovations, the event also served as a sort-of pep rally for WCU’s “Fill the Western Sky” fundraising campaign.

The initiative, which entered its public phase earlier this year, is an effort to secure a minimum of $100 million in philanthropic support for WCU’s academic, student engagement and athletics programs. Only the third comprehensive fundraising campaign in WCU’s 136-year history, it is the first with an emphasis on seeking financial support for renovations to aging athletics facilities.

Upgrades to WCU’s E.J. Whitmire Stadium, which marked its 50th anniversary last season, are the top priority for upgrades through the “Fill the Western Sky” campaign.

In her remarks at the gala, WCU Chancellor Kelli R. Brown warned the Catamount faithful to be prepared for construction dust and parking changes during this fall’s football season.

“We are fulfilling our promise to inconvenience as many of you as possible  by initiating our project to build the Western Skybox. This addition on our westside stands will accommodate a new press box, coaches’ offices, player study space and hospitality space,” Brown said. “That’s right, the purple construction fencing is up, and we are finally moving forward with the most significant upgrade to Catamount athletics facilities in decades.”

A nod to the name of the fundraising campaign, the Western Skybox has become the unofficial moniker for the new hospitality area that will sit atop additions to Whitmire’s westside stands. But those initial enhancements to athletics facilities won’t be the last, Brown said.

“We are just beginning the next chapter of Catamount athletics, and we will continue to ask for your support. We’ve come a long way, but our journey together is not yet complete,” she said.

“We need you to help us capitalize on this success. Challenge yourself to a stretch gift, volunteer, solicit a new Catamount Club member or reach out to a former member to re-engage. There are so many ways to help,” Brown said. “As a former academic, I never thought I would be the chancellor who would have athletics as my focus, but I am all in. WCU is all in. I am so proud to be on this journey with each of you.”

Kyle Pifer, WCU’s interim director of athletics, provided a list of accomplishments of Catamount student-athletes over the past year, including a second consecutive Southern Conference regular season championship for the soccer team, with coach Chad Miller earning conference coach-of-the-year honors.

The football team had its third straight winning season, earned second place in the conference and was nationally ranked in the Football Championship Subdivision poll, Pifer said.

The volleyball team won the Campbell Invitational tournament, and men’s cross country took second place in the SoCon Championship, the team’s highest finish since 1993, he said, while the women’s basketball program led by first-year coach Jonathan Tsipis doubled its win total from the previous year, and men’s basketball welcomed new coach Tim Craft.

In track and field, seven Catamount women and 12 Catamount men were named All-Southern Conference, he said, and women’s tennis, still playing, has already tied the record for most wins in school history.

Turning to academics, Pifer told the crowd that 91 WCU student-athletes made the Chancellor’s List and 57 made the Dean’s List. He also reminded attendees that community service activities are a big focus of the athletics program.

“I believe it’s appropriate to mention the impacts of Hurricane Helene – the most damaging natural disaster in North Carolina history,” he said. “Our student-athletes participated in several relief efforts.”

They included assisting with deliveries of supplies at Jackson County Airport, cleanup efforts, soccer team donations, a Fill the Truck campaign during home football games, and donations collected by the baseball team for local Little League programs that lost equipment and fields to the storm.

Alumnus Michael Harris, a 2023 WCU graduate with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a five-time conference champion in track and field, moderated a panel of current student-athletes from the football, volleyball, soccer, women’s golf and men’s and women’s basketball teams. Topics ranged from the student-athlete experience and life after graduation to dealing with coaching changes and the importance of support from Catamount Club members.

Harris shared his story as a former student-athlete who went on to earn his master’s degree in human resources management at the University of Tennessee, where he now works in the Department of Human Resources.

“My journey wasn’t always gold medals and perfect races. I arrived during what was already a challenging time – COVID,” he said. “And, just when things started picking up, I was faced with injuries for more than a year. Those moments taught me something powerful – life doesn’t always go the way we plan. But growth often happens during the tough parts.”

Being on the track team taught Harris more than just how to sprint, he said. “It taught me how to be patient with my progress, how to adjust when things fall apart and how to trust the process, even when the results aren’t immediate,” he said.

Harris also expressed gratitude for the financial support he received as a WCU student-athlete, and he encouraged the current student-athletes to thank their supporters.

“A scholarship gave me a chance to become more than just an athlete; it gave me access to an education, a network, a future,” he said. “So, whether you’re in your first season or your last, know that your journey doesn’t stop there. You’re building a foundation for something bigger.”

C.J. Mitchell, assistant director of the Catamount Club, moderated a panel discussion featuring six WCU coaches before Ben Pendry, vice chancellor for advancement, closed the gala by thanking supporters of Catamount athletics and reminding them their continued support through the “Fill the Western Sky” campaign is needed to help make long-delayed upgrades to athletics facilities a reality.

For more information about the campaign or to make a contribution, visit WesternSky.wcu.edu, call 828-227-7124 or email advancement@wcu.edu.