Coastal Carolina University will dedicate its first official Alumni House at a cookout and open house scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 17 at 4 p.m. CCU head football coach David Bennett will speak at the event.

The facility, located on the Elvington property recently acquired by the university, will provide a temporary center for campus alumni events such as meetings and social activities. "It will be the beginning of a new tradition at Coastal, a place alumni can call home," said Christi Chambers, Coastal's alumni director.

Long range plans approved by CCU's board of trustees call for a permanent Alumni House be to established in the university's Atheneum Hall. The facility on the Elvington property will serve as CCU's Alumni House until that plan is ready to be undertaken. Coastal's Alumni Association is raising funds to facilitate the project.

"As Coastal's alumni base grows, it's important to have a central facility on campus designated specifically for alumni activities," said Dan Sine, vice president of Coastal's Alumni Association.