By: Will Harper, Contributing Writer
Senior athletes at Wofford will receive a free dress suit after their season is over to help with job interviews and future careers, curtesy of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC). Wofford’s athletics department teamed up with Men’s Warehouse and their sister company Twin Hill through a program called “Dress for Success” to get the suits for the 70 men and 27 women graduating in May 2017.
On Monday, Nov. 14, Men’s Warehouse representative and store owner Keith Ferguson met with the majority of the 97 seniors. Offensive Lineman Chuck Rouse called the suit “beneficial.” He says, “For me, towards the end of my college career, I have job interviews coming up, so I really think that it is going to help me.”
One of the most excited people on campus is Elizabeth Rabb, a fifteen-year member of the Wofford athletics department and former member of the NCAA Administration Cabinet. She is in charge of interpreting the NCAA, Southern Conference and Wofford rulings for athletes. According to her, the gifting of the suits will be completely within the confines of the rules since the students will no longer be athletes when they receive their suits. She says SAAC is paying for the suits from their own budget. “[SAAC] has a budget that comes from the NCAA Student Assistance Fund,” she says. “They decided to set aside some of their budget this year to help our graduating seniors.”
Keith Ferguson is elated to be helping with this endeavor as well. He played two years of college football at Benedictine College, a small private school in Kansas. “It’s fantastic because they work so hard in school, both in studying and athletics,” he says. “I was a student athlete as well, way back in the day, a long time ago… and they didn’t have that for us back then. So this fantastic, especially getting into the work force. We just want to get them something, and teach them how to set up great for an interview.”
Monday’s presentation was just the first step. Each male athlete will travel off campus to the store and be fitted on site. Since there is no Twin Hill in Spartanburg, the women will be measured and their suits will be ordered.
Rouse imagines how his suit will fit: “Fitted. I want to show off my physique a little bit more since I am a football player. Hopefully it’s not going to be too tight.” Thanks to Men’s Warehouse and SAAC, the suit will fit just right.
