Coastal Colors Day brought out approximately 1,500 new and returning students on Aug. 29 to the surf turf to for a football game watch party and a chance to win three T-shirts.
During the event, students participated in yard games, visited the concession stands and cheered on their Chanticleers to a historical 55-27 on-the-road win over the Jacksonville State University Gamecocks.
To guarantee three free T-shirts, students had to be one of the first 1,000 in line. In anticipation of the event, students arrived as early as 5 p.m. for a 7:30 p.m. start time.
Seniors Nevaeh Vecchione and Caleb Adkins were the first two students in line starting at 4:50 p.m. for guaranteed shirts.
“We wanted free shirts,” Vecchione said. “People really want free shirts, so they get here early.”
Students received one black, one teal and one white shirt in total. Senior exercise and sport science major Kadence Matthews said she was most excited for the black T-shirt that featured a graffiti-style design.
“I’ve been here so long, I really deserve a free shirt at this point,” Matthews said.
Excitement surrounding game days is already in full swing, according to sophomore Jaime Evans.
“I am here for all of the screaming and hype for our first game of the season,” Evans said.
The annual event is organized by the student involvement and leadership team who began planning the event at the beginning of summer.
The student involvement and leadership team partnered with University Marketing to draw a larger crowd and bring attention to the University’s strategic reach plan, which was launched earlier in the year.
Activities involving the University’s alma mater were included to help build a connection between their students and the words of their alma mater.
There was also a new plan in place to hold the T-shirt giveaway until halftime to encourage students to stay and fully participate in the event for a substantial amount of time.
University Housing Director Judy Johns wanted students to fully experience what a gameday at Coastal Carolina University is like with a rare opportunity to physically be on the surf turf.
“I was blown away by how many new students already know our alma mater, it is what our strategic reach strategy is all about,” Johns said.
However, not everyone was satisfied with the introduction of a new T-shirt distribution system, according to sophomore Taylah Griffin.
“The T-shirt system was a disaster. We had to wait within a swarm of people where the organizers were telling everyone to ‘push back, push back,’” Griffin said.
