Coastal Carolina University's football field in Brooks Stadium has been named the James C. Benton Field in honor of a major gift the Benton family of Myrtle Beach recently made to CCU's athletic program. The official dedication of James C. Benton Field was held at half-time of the Coastal vs. Furman football game on Saturday, Oct. 7.

"Coastal Carolina University is growing and creating a lot of great things for our community," said Lawton Benton of C.L. Benton and Sons. "We want to be a part of that energy and help Coastal become the great university it is poised to be. If you can educate people, it will lift up the entire community."

C.L. Benton and Sons is a Myrtle Beach-based private construction company founded in 1938 by Casper L. Benton. James Benton and his sons Lawton and Carson and their employees have built a company that is a leader in the construction industry in South Carolina.

The Benton gift was made as part of Coastal's Advancing the Dream Campaign, which seeks to raise private support for the academic and athletic needs of the university. The gift is part of an $8 million project for the construction of a field house in the end zone of Brooks Stadium. More than $2 million in private gifts and pledges have already been committed to the project.

The building will provide a much-needed weight room, team meeting rooms and coaches' offices as well as permanent space for the Buddy Sasser Hall of Fame. Additional seating for Brooks Stadium will be in front of the building. Ground breaking for the field house is expected in 2007.

"Football has generated a lot of excitement and created a lot of opportunities for the university. We have a great facility now, we just need to continue to improve upon what we have to help take Coastal Carolina to that next level," Benton said.