Some of them came alone. Others arrived with their parents. A few made the journey with their teammates and coaches. In all, 116 showed up. The high school seniors from throughout the region strolled into Wall Auditorium on the Coastal Carolina University campus for one reason – they want to play football as members of the university’s new NCAA I-AA program.

The young men, many donning their varsity jackets decorated with pins and medals indicating their football prowess, were invited to campus by David Bennett, Coastal’s first head football coach. Bennett and his assistant coaches arranged an unofficial visit day on March 1 in search of additional players interested in becoming members of the Chanticleers’ upstart program. On Feb. 6, the coaching staff had signed its first recruiting class. Four of the 15 student-athletes who signed that day were ranked among the Top 50 prospects in South Carolina.

The monumental task of building Coastal’s football program, which begins competition in 2003, rests on the shoulders of Bennett, a 6-foot-4-inch, 225-pound South Carolina native. Bennett, hired away from Catawba College in Salisbury, N.C., was introduced as Coastal’s football coach in December 2001. In seven years as head coach at Catawba, he led the program to an overall record of 63-17 and three consecutive appearances in the NCAA Division II playoffs. The Indians had an impressive record of 33-5 over the last three campaigns and reached the national semifinal round of the playoffs in 2001.

Bennett’s decision to leave Catawba was a difficult one. Besides their considerable success on the field, his student-athletes had excelled in the classroom as well – only two players did not graduate during his seven years as head coach. He had also called Salisbury his home for 12 years.

“We feel very blessed and honored to have been asked to lead this football program,” said Bennett, who grew up in Cheraw and played quarterback at Presbyterian College in the early 1980s. “We want to build this program in a first-class way. We want to do it in a way that the alumni, board of trustees and the entire campus community will be proud of. What we want to do is bring in outstanding young men, men of character, men who can handle the academics as well as lead us to victory on the football field. What was tugging at us the whole time was that South Carolina is our home, with Coastal being just an hour and a half from where I grew up. My wife and I prayed about it, talked about it and felt like it was what we were supposed to do. We are supposed to come here and lead this program.”

Although the program is in its infancy, it will have to develop at an accelerated pace as the Chanticleers will host Newberry College in their inaugural football game scheduled for Sept. 6, 2003. According to Bennett, in an effort to build a strong and lasting foundation for the program, the young men who play football at Coastal will have to be comfortable with and support the priorities of the program, which are: (1) God and family; (2) education; and (3) football.

“We believe that if you take care of numbers one and two, number three will take care of itself,” says Bennett. “We want our student-athletes to get their degrees. They are here for that more than they are here for football. Our coaches will never get on a player for being late or missing practice if it’s related to academics.”

Warren "Moose" Kogel (left), Coastal's director of athletics, introduces David Bennett as Coastal's first football coach during a press conference in December 2001.

Bennett believes strongly in the importance of education, but his definition of the term encompasses more than just classroom instruction. He says all Coastal football players will be required to participate in community service activities such as reading to children and mentoring in local elementary and middle schools, visiting homeless shelters, assisting with the Special Olympics and holding car washes to raise funds for charities such as the March of Dimes.

“The process of coaching is not just about winning football games, it’s also about building the character of the young men,” said Bennett. “When they graduate, I hope they will have had the chance to win some football games, but more importantly, I hope they will have become better men. We want to touch the heart and make them better people. When they leave Coastal, we want them to be men of character, not just football players.”

During the unofficial visit day, the group of recruits and their representatives heard from Edgar Dyer, Coastal’s university counsel and professor of political science, who spoke to them about the academic life at Coastal.

“Seeking the truth is what education is about,” said Dyer, who has also served as interim director of athletics at Coastal. “If you choose to attend Coastal Carolina University, you’re going to be challenged to do things you didn’t think you could do, which will build self-confidence. When you finish Coastal, you will be a complete individual. At times you may become frustrated and call us names, but you’ll appreciate it all at the end. The body, mind and spirit are what makes a complete person and that’s what we emphasize here.”

When Bennett addressed the group, he explained the program’s three priorities and the advantages of attending Coastal. He said that while Coastal prides itself in being a public university, it has the intimate feeling of a private school because of its small classroom sizes and the one-on-one contact students have with the faculty members and the administration.

Bennett then showed them a three-dimensional animated video which revealed a panoramic view of what Coastal’s new state-of-the-art football stadium and athletic field house will look like once completed.

“Coastal Carolina University will have one of the best NCAA I-AA football facilities in the country,” Bennett said to the standing-room-only group in Wall Auditorium. “My feeling is that if you’re going to do something, do it right. And that’s what we plan on doing with our facilities and this football program. All of you can be a part of history by being on the first football team ever at Coastal. It’s easy to attend a school that already has an established program, but how many people can say they actually helped start a football program. It’s something you’ll be able to tell your children and grandchildren about.”

After a tour of campus led by representatives from Coastal’s Office of Admissions, the group was treated to a buffet-style lunch. Bennett and his staff worked the room, making sure they spoke one-on-one with every player, parent and coach.

“You have to speak from your heart and tell them what you believe in,” said Bennett, after the group’s departure from campus. “And you have to treat every single young man like he’s your own son. You love them when they do good and get on them when they do bad.”

According to Bennett, building a first-class football program is going to take a community effort. And by gaining support from Coastal alumni and friends, it will be a program that the entire region can proudly call its own.

“Football is going to bring a lot of excitement to this school and area,” said Bennett. “It will create even greater school spirit. It’s something folks will be able to look forward to on a Saturday. Football will help the students, faculty, staff and members of the community bond together and create a great deal of unity. Can you think of a better place to bring your family on a Saturday in the fall, than a college football game at such a class institution as Coastal Carolina University?”