Change often is uncomfortable. I experienced that this past October. With the addition of numerous sports on the horizon for Erskine I needed to make office space available in the Galloway Center for new staff. I moved out of the space I had an occupied for the past nineteen years and re-located my office to Reid Hall. My new office was quite a step up in quality but it was a huge change and honestly, my attitude about it was not the best. Then one late Friday afternoon I looked out the window and saw the sun beaming at my unobstructed view of the Erskine Towers. I realized I had never witnessed the beautiful Erskine campus from this perspective and never would have if a change had not occurred.

Historic changes are taking place at Erskine. The board of trustees voted last August to reinstate football after a seventy-year hiatus. This fall we will welcome 130 football players to our campus. A new football locker room and weight room is currently under construction in the parking lot behind the baseball field. Football is not all we are adding at Erskine. Track & Field (Indoor and Outdoor), Acro-Tumbling, Beach Volleyball, Rodeo, Bass Fishing, and E-sports will all compete in 2019-20 for the Fleet. In 2000 Erskine had 138 students participate in ten intercollegiate athletics programs. We anticipate the number of participants to grow to 670 in twenty-four programs this academic year. In the immortal words of Peter Parker (Spiderman), "Change, big change!"

I am not on Facebook but I know there are plenty of people voicing their opinions about these huge changes at Erskine. I am sure there are many positive and many negative opinions on the direction this awesome Christian college in the backwoods of South Carolina is taking. I don't seek to change those opinions but I do desire to make sure information is getting out to the people who don't live and work here every day.

So back to those Towers, the signature landmark of this wonderful place. The view from Reid Hall is quite spectacular on a daily basis. With that in mind, I will send out a weekly update on Erskine Athletics, "From the Towers." The blog will be posted on our website, Twitter account, and Instagram. I hope it is informative and keeps all of our constituents updated as we progress through these historic changes. This is an exciting but also overwhelming time in Due West. Many on this campus have worked tirelessly to get us to this point but now know the hardest part of the journey is right in front of us. I pray that you will do more than just read this blog. I pray you will support all of Erskine and the Flying Fleet not only with your resources but with your heart and words.
 
Respectfully,

Mark