Briscoe is called to serve

Grace College Director of Athletics Chad Briscoe is called to serve. Briscoe is in his 14th year at the position. He recently took a moment to discuss his role.

Briscoe said, “We all want to be in a place where we fit the mission. We want to shape and change lives for Jesus Christ. The mission fits for living this out in the area of athletics.”

When Briscoe was hired nearly 15 years ago, Dr. Ron Manahan was the president and Dr. Bill Katip was the provost. Briscoe said you could have put anybody in his seat because of the tremendous support of the administration. Briscoe also mentioned current president Dr. Drew Flamm as being very supportive of the athletic programs.

There were only four fulltime coaches at that time. The school decided to start investing more money into their athletic programs. They had a burning desire to use athletics as a mission to impact lives for Jesus Christ. Briscoe said they didn’t really change how they were doing things before, but started doing things on a larger scale.

“My big role is hiring the right people for what God wants them to do. The success we’ve had is due to the coaches who lead in a God-honoring way. I just try to direct and support them to the best of my ability.”

He talked about how the school and athletic department have stayed true to the process in the development of their programs. Before his tenure, there were some teams knocking on the door of winning a championship.

“By doing things the right way, winning is just a byproduct of the culture that we’ve built,” said Briscoe. He talked about how much fun he’s had watching that process unfold. “It’s just fun to watch the years of hard work come to fruition,” he said.

Briscoe made it clear that regardless of Grace’s success on the field, the winning and success is a platform to live out the mission of sharing Christ through athletics. He said,“We want Christ to be the focal point of all we do.”

Briscoe said he could talk for hours about all the different coaches at Grace and the amazing impact they’ve had on the lives of student athletes. He did not want to leave anyone out of the conversation and is very thankful for every coach who has contributed to the school’s mission. Each coach has played a huge role in serving and developing student athletes and preparing them for a servantcentered life.

Women’s head golf coach Denny Duncan is a Grace alum and former men’s golfer at Grace. He came to Briscoe in 2014 with the idea of starting a women’s golf program. Five years later, in 2019, the women won a national championship.

Briscoe said, “It was really fitting that Duncan had the idea to create the program and it was great seeing him lead the team to a national championship.”

Grace had a men’s track program for many years. The team previously used the track at different local schools to conduct their practices. The school invested in a new track about six or seven years ago.

“Head men’s track coach Jeff Raymond did a great job. In his last year as coach, the men’s track team won the national championship. Now we’ve won back-to-back national championships. Michael Moffitt took over and coached them to the championship last year,” said Briscoe.

The Grace women’s basketball team went to the national tourney for the first time last year and set the record for most wins in program history with 24 wins. The men’s basketball team lost in the Elite Eight of the tournament and finished with a final record of 31-4.

Aside from all their success on the field of play, Briscoe kept going back to what it means to serve others.

He said,“ The one thing that always is important for me is the servant leadership piece — developing young men and women to serve the community, campus, etc. Our job is to prepare them for life. We want our student athletes to see us serve and prepare them to serve in life. The spiritual component is at the forefront at what we do.”

He referenced Matthew 20:28, “Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Briscoe closed by saying, “I mean, let’s face it, the world will tell you to focus on yourself. This is a lifelong process for all of us. What is the focus? It’s hopefully changing lives and preparing them to go out into society and make it better. To serve other people.”

Holder honored at The Citadel’s awards convocation

One of the first major events during the commencement season at The Citadel is the annual awards convocation for the South Carolina Corps of Cadets. The awards are presented to cadets and active duty students in recognition of their outstanding accomplishments.

This year’s convocation took place Thursday, May 4, inside the McAlister Field House. The 2023 award recipients include:

Col. Floyd W. Brown Jr. Memorial Award — Presented annually to a senior cadet who has contributed to the success of cadet life and best exhibits the highest degree of customs and courtesies of a cadet, citizen and soldier. Elijah Holder of Warsaw received this award.