McNeese Receives Naming Rights Gift For Basketball Stadium

The McNeese Athletic department held a press conference yesterday to announce that they have received the largest naming rights gift in the schools history.

David and Kimberly Griffin who are local business owners of the Chick Fil A restaurant on Nelson Road in Lake Charles and Legacy Jewelers gifted $2.5 million over 10 years to McNeese State University. The donation is for the naming rights of the McNeese H&HP Complex where the Men and Women's McNeese basketball teams play.

The McNeese H&HP Complex will be renamed The Legacy Center.

The Legacy Center name has a deep meaning for the Griffin's as they explained in the press conference.  They said,

"This is a premiere facility in the state, especially in the five-parish area," said Griffin. "It's one of the most beautiful facilities and truly one that McNeese should be proud of. We (David and Kimberly) talked and prayed about it and decided if we do this, we don't want our name on it.

"It's bigger than the restaurant, bigger than the jewelry store, bigger than our name. It came back to the Legacy concept. One of our businesses is Legacy Jewelers, our farm is Legacy Fields. We have other businesses that are built on the Legacy concept. For us, it's our life's purpose of using a platform of business success to impact those around us. To impact our community, to impact foster children. It's our way to give back. It became not just a name, but a call to awareness, a call to action."

Matt Bonnette with McNeese Athletics said, "This is the largest gift for naming rights of a McNeese athletic facility in the 82-year history of the university."