BAKER — Doug Griffith Memorial Stadium on the Baker School campus will be the place to be this fall.
The Gator varsity football team plays seven home games, which includes the Aug. 22 Kickoff Classic against rival Jay. And head football coach and athletic director Matt Brunson is trying to capitalize on the heavy home schedule.
“We are sending out our fence (banner) renewal notices now and everybody is anxious about that because we put them up in the order they are received,” he said. “We also are seeking corporate sponsorships for our home games. So if there are any businesses out there that annually renew their signs with us we will be coming to see you.
“Also if there are any new businesses out there that would like to have a stadium banner we can do that as well as our corporate sponsorships.”
Brunson said the goal is to raise $10,000 through banner sales and another $10,000 in corporate game sponsors.
The money will help fund the Gator football program that has a combined120 players in the middle school, junior varsity and varsity teams. A large part of the money will be used to keep the equipment updated.
Brunson said it costs $500 to outfit one player for a game.
The Gators reuse as much as they can with old uniforms and equipment passed down from the varsity to the junior varsity and middle school teams. But each year the team must replace helmets and shoulder pads that are no longer safe and uniforms that can no longer be used.
HOW TO HELP
Contact Matt Brunson, 689-7333 or brunsonm@mail.okaloosa.k12.fl.us, to sponsor Baker School's football team
Randy Dickson is the Crestview News Bulletin’s sports editor. Email him at randyd@crestviewbulletin.com, tweet him @BigRandle, or call 682-6524.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Gator football team seeks sponsors