BATON ROUGE — LSU, the Tiger Athletic Foundation and Cox Communications of Baton Rouge today announced a partnership that will bring state-of-the-art technology to LSU’s new Academic Center for Student Athletes.
Cox Communications of Baton Rouge is providing $5.5 million in cash and in-kind contributions over a 10-year period to help establish an academic learning center for LSU students. In return, the center will bear the name “Cox Communications Academic Center for Student Athletes.” Jacqui Vines, vice president and general manager of Cox Communications in Baton Rouge, said, “Cox Communications is deeply committed to the communities we serve, and education has long been the cornerstone of the Cox community outreach efforts. We’re so pleased to be a part of such a great effort to promote academics.”
The Tiger Athletic Foundation is leasing the Gym-Armory building from the university to establish the center. TAF is raising private donations for the renovation of the Gym-Armory to create a premier facility that will be available not only to student athletes, but to all LSU students. The center’s 1,000-seat auditorium will be the largest student auditorium on campus.
“TAF is proud to be a part of this crucial project because we want to help provide only the best resources for the student athlete, LSU and Tiger athletics,” said Gen. Ron Richard, TAF chief executive officer.
Cox’s gift to the center includes wiring and equipping the facility with cutting-edge fiber optics, as well as data and cable wiring for each of the 1,000 individual seats in the center’s auditorium and 1,000 other locations in the center. Cox will donate 75 new IBM computers with flat screen monitors for the center’s 14 computer rooms and computer lab. Cox will also donate production and air time for a monthly one-hour coaches’ show promoting Olympic Sports at LSU.
LSU Chancellor Mark A. Emmert said the partnership between LSU, TAF and Cox will benefit both the campus and local communities.
“The Academic Center for Student Athletes will provide a great service to all LSU students,” Emmert said. “The university’s top priority is academics, and this center will provide additional learning tools to both student-athletes and non-athletes. And partnerships like these enable local community members and businesses to get involved in education and feel like they’re a part of the state’s flagship university.”
LSU football coach Nick Saban said, “this center is going to give every student-athlete that we recruit, and the one’s that are here now, and the one’s that we recruit years from now, a much better opportunity to get an education, a much better opportunity to graduate and a much better opportunity to be successful in life.”
Cox Communications of Baton Rouge serves seven parishes in south Louisiana — East Baton Rouge, West Baton Rouge, Iberville, Livingston, Ascension, St. James and East Feliciana.
Cox recently announced its “Diplomacy Initiative,” which provides cash and in-kind contributions to LSU and Southern University to promote academic and athletic excellence. Future initiatives will include community colleges in the Cox Baton Rouge service area.
“Education plays such a key role in shaping the future of our communities,” Vines said. “Because of the importance we all place on education, our company has actively sought to assist our local universities and colleges in every way possible.”
Cox Communications is a Fortune 500 Company and is among the nation’s largest broadband communications companies, serving 6.2 million customers in more than 20 states. Cox offers an array of services, including Cox Cable; high-speed Internet access; advanced digital video programming services under the Cox Digital Cable brand; and commercial data services via Cox Business Services. Cox is an investor in programming networks, including Discovery Channel, The Learning Channel, Outdoor Life and Speedvision.