Photo courtsey of Winthrop Athletics
The final three words of the Winthrop University alma mater are, “Winthrop ever stand.” Winthrop Athletics is taking those words to a new dimension starting this fall with a new branding campaign.
Ever Stand will symbolize a new outlook for Winthrop Athletics. The campaign will not only focus on the athletic department, but also its integration with the main campus and the Rock Hill community.
Dr. Ken Halpin, Winthrop’s Director of Athletics, has seen a lot of growth in the athletic department since he was hired three years ago. With the new campaign, Halpin is looking forward to the road ahead.
“The marketing team really got together and decided there is a lot we could do with ‘Ever Stand’ if we intentionally created a campaign around it,” Halpin said.
Halpin appreciates that the campaign is on-brand with all things Winthrop. Additionally, Halpin feels that it will be comprehensive in combining many different elements that will impact the Winthrop community.
“It’s a campaign being driven from athletics, but it’s very uniquely Winthrop,” Halpin said. “So it’s not just for athletics fans, it’s for anybody who’s ever attended this institution; or has a degree from here; or has ever rooted for a student to be successful here — we can all stand together.”
Winthrop Coliseum and Winthrop’s main campus is separated by a mile stretch of houses and businesses. However, that does not symbolize a breach of unity.
The push in the campaign is to bring the Winthrop community closer by asking, “What do you stand for?” Halpin noted that while there are many goals for the campaign, engagement is at the forefront of those goals.
“Engagement has multiple tiers: student body engagement, campus engagement, fan engagement, donor engagement, community engagement, and alumni engagement,” Halpin said.
Halpin said that each tier differs in tangibility, but culminates as a way of banding people behind a cause.
Winthrop softball senior Ansley Gilreath believes that the campaign is a neat way of bringing in the alma mater. The softball team takes pride in playing the alma mater after home wins for the fans.
Gilreath said that Ever Stand is a great way to get everyone involved.
“The campaign is a way of bringing in the school and the alma mater and the academics part into athletics,” Gilreath said.
Gilreath noted character as something she stands for.
“I think that should be the main goal from Winthrop, to build the character of not only the athletes, but the students as well,” Gilreath said. “Because this is a huge part of our lives and it shapes us and directs us into the paths we are going to in the future.”
Character is something Gilreath would like to express amongst her team by being an example for her teammates on and off the field. Gilreath also believes that she can display strong character across campus by being present and participating in class, reaching out to others and being an aid when she can.
Junior English education major Beth Warnken supports the idea of the athletic department helping find a new way to carry on Winthrop’s principles.
“Ever stand means upholding Winthrop’s traditions and just getting people involved in upholding it at the campus, at the coliseum, and even outside of Winthrop,” Warnken said.
Warnken enjoys attending athletic events and is excited about carrying on traditions with her friends that will help boost the campaign.
Furthermore, as a peer mentor, Warnken is excited about spreading the word to first-year students and showing them how they can get involved.
“To me, I think it’s cool because you get to support your peers; and it’s your school and it’s theirs too, so it’s all one united effort towards a better Winthrop,” Warnken said.
The words “ever stand” have been engraved in Winthrop’s history for over 30 years. Ever Stand now stands as not only a branding campaign, but as a way of influencing, engaging, and impacting the Winthrop community.
