Coastal Carolina Begins Stadium Expansion. Who are the Chanticleers?

March 23, 2017 by CFP Staff and Mike Cawood, Associcate AD/Media Relations, Coastal Carolina

CONWAY, S.C. – Coastal Carolina University dignitaries held an official groundbreaking ceremony Tuesday afternoon to celebrate the expansion on Brooks Stadium, the Chanticleers' football facility.

The ceremony featured University President David DeCenzo, Board of Trustees Chair Wyatt Henderson, Director of Athletics Matt Hogue, Head Football Coach Joe Moglia, members of the Chanticleer football team and representatives from both McKinght Construction and Stubbs Muldrow Herin Architects.

The expansion of Brooks Stadium, with a current seating capacity of 9,214, will consist of two phases.

The first phase will boost the seating capacity to at least 15,000 and be completed before CCU's 2017 season opener on Sept. 2, when the Chants welcome their first NCAA FBS program, UMass. The initial project will include adding seats to both corners of the end zone nearest the field house, expanding the sections closest to the field on both side toward the scoreboard and expanding the upper deck on the east side (press box side) to match the length on the lower deck.

The second phase will give Brooks Stadium a capacity of at least 20,000 and includes adding luxury suites and an upper deck to the west side as well as additional features such as new entrances.

Coastal Carolina was the surprising 2016 national champions in major college baseball in 2016, with a 4-3 win over Arizona.

The school had a total enrollment of 10,479 for the 2016 Fall semester, according to the university's own website.

The Chanticleers are the 12th football member of the Sun Belt. The 2017 season is CCU's final transition year and will not be eligible for the postseason. However, Coastal Carolina will be eligible for the Sun Belt title in 2017.

In 2018, the Sun Belt will become the final FBS conference to stage an annual college football championship game. The Big 12 begins doing so in the 2017 season.

Coastal Carolina is located in Conway, South Carolina, just minutes from the oceanside vacation destination and golf mecca of Myrtle Beach. The school was founded in 1954 as a junior college and became a 4-year institution in 1974. After operating as a regional campus for the University of South Carolina for several years, Coastal Carolina was established in 1993 by the state's legislative body as a fully independent public university.

The Chanticleers (pronounced SHONT-uh-clears) are also known as the Chants (SHONTS). Chanticleer comes from a story within Chaucer's Canterbury Tales of a proud and fierce rooster who dominates the barnyard.

Coastal Carolina played its inaugural football game in 2003. After defeating Newbury 21-14 at home in its very first game, the Chants marched on to a 6-5 season. In its relatively short football history, Coastal has claimed 7 conference titles (5 shared and 2 outright) and advanced to the FCS playoffs 6 times.

To learn more about the Brooks Stadium expansion, please visit http://www.goccusports.com/ot/caf-brooks-stadium-expansion.html