By: Peter Relic
Public Relations Writer for SCAD
National champions deserve championship-level facilities and resources, and Georgia continues to deliver.
For more than 45 years, Savannah College of Art and Design has helped define Georgia’s creative landscape, preparing superstars of the stage and screen while expanding its reach into sports and competition. That creative spirit now extends to a new arena: athletics, where artist-athletes are making national headlines and driving investment in state-of-the-art facilities.
The latest milestone is the new SCAD Athletic Complex, a transformative development that will serve the university’s lacrosse and soccer programs and further position Savannah as a destination where art, innovation and athletics thrive side by side. The new complex will bring state-of-the-art locker rooms and an athletic training space to the university’s existing sports fields north of Savannah, helping artist-athletes continue competing at the highest level, elevating SCAD athletics programs and contributing to the overall growth and success of the university.
“Our soccer and lacrosse teams have a wonderful history of excellence, our alumni have paved the way to the success we see today, and I couldn’t be more thrilled to enhance the experience of our teams while adding to the future of each program with this athletic complex expansion,” said SCAD Savannah Director of Athletics Amanda Haverstick.
The new facilities will magnify the university’s ability to host conference and national tournaments, showcasing the prowess of SCAD athletics teams and bringing national attention to SCAD and the Savannah region. In addition to enhancing teams’ competitive edge, these improvements will significantly raise recruitment efforts. The facility will serve as a beacon for prospective student-athletes, illustrating SCAD’s commitment to providing the highest-quality resources for their athletic and academic pursuits.
“The SCAD athletics fields have become a special place filled with memories of the teams that play and work hard there, and it deserves to be expanded to match the work the artist-athletes put into competition while maintaining their placement in the classroom,” said women’s lacrosse standout alumna Grace Gibson (B.F.A., business of beauty and fragrance, 2024). “SCAD offers something no other art school does; it’s the place where my athletics and creative careers grew in tandem, and that is so special.”
The SCAD lacrosse and soccer teams are among the most decorated at the school, earning consistent top-20 rankings and winning conference and NAIA national titles. The women’s lacrosse team is one of the most successful in the NAIA, with frequent top-five rankings and six national championships in its history.
The women’s soccer team won the Sun Conference regular season and tournament titles for the first time in program history in 2023 and went on to win the NAIA national championship in 2024. It was the first 20-win season in program history for SCAD women’s soccer. The Bees finished the season with a 20-1-2 overall record and brought the NAIA national championship trophy home after a 4-1 victory over Keiser University on Dec. 9, 2024.
“The new SCAD Athletics Complex will provide a championship environment to match the championship mindset we instill in our artist-athletes every day,” said women’s soccer head coach Rebecca Gunn. “Having a facility to call home encourages our family culture, one that builds the commitment, competitiveness and relationships that lead to success on and off the field. The on-site facility will lead to extra time to focus on tactical breakdowns and aid in pregame treatment and postgame recovery, adding to the artist-athlete experience and putting us on par with other universities of our caliber.”
In addition to these team accolades, artist-athletes frequently receive conference and national honors. Multiple NAIA All-Americans and NAIA Daktronics Scholar-Athlete honors reflect success on the playing field and in the classroom. These accomplishments underscore the school’s dedication to excellence in both academics and athletics, demonstrating the caliber of talent and commitment within the SCAD community.
Each year, SCAD hosts about 50 home games for its lacrosse and soccer teams. Including players and fans for both teams, these events can bring in at least 200 people per game, or more than 10,000 visitors each academic year. SCAD teams are at the athletic fields five to six days per week based on practice and game schedules; four daily practices totaling eight hours a day are common when team schedules overlap. The complex will be used consistently throughout the year, and its expanded facilities will offer opportunities to host more events, including regional and national tournaments and exclusive exhibitions.
First up, first down: Flag football arrives at SCAD
Before flag football comes to the Olympics, the sport is arriving in Savannah. SCAD has added women’s flag football to its lineup of varsity sports, with the first competition slated for spring 2027.
“SCAD is committed to supporting artist-athletes through intentional program growth and investment, and I am thrilled to announce the addition of women’s flag football to SCAD Athletics,” said Haverstick. “This is an incredibly exciting step forward for SCAD, reflecting our commitment to expanding opportunities, fostering inclusivity and supporting the growing enthusiasm for this fast-paced, competitive sport. With flag football set to debut in the 2028 Olympics, there has never been a better time to invest in its future and provide our student-athletes with the opportunity to be part of this global movement.”
As one of the fastest-growing sports in the United States, the International Federation of American Football states that 2.4 million children under age 17 are participating in organized flag football in the U.S. Seventeen states have officially sanctioned girls’ flag football as a high school varsity sport, including Georgia, Florida, Tennessee and Alabama. An additional 17 states are conducting pilot test seasons.
The NAIA’s National Administrative Council Executive Committee has approved women’s flag football as an invitational sport for the 2025-26 season. Women’s flag football launched as an emerging sport in the NAIA in 2021. The upcoming season will feature 35 programs competing in the NAIA, and beginning in the spring, the postseason will shift to a qualification-based invitational tournament.
SCAD Bees will join Brewton-Parker, Florida Memorial, Keiser, Life, Point, Reinhardt, St. Thomas, Thomas, Warner and Webber International in the Sun Conference. SCAD has initiated a nationwide search for its first head coach and aims to field its inaugural team for competition in spring 2027.
SCAD’s expansion of its athletic programs reflects a larger movement across Georgia where sports, creativity and economic development intersect. From film studios and gaming labs to arenas and athletic fields, Georgia’s creative economy is increasingly defined by collaboration between culture and competition.
As institutions like SCAD continue to invest in world-class facilities and experiences, they help shape a future where the arts and athletics share the same stage, each inspiring the other to reach new heights.
This article appeared in the 2026 edition of the Creative Economy Journal. See more from the Journal here
