CLEVELAND, Ohio - Through the directives set forth in the Cleveland State Athletics Promise and Strategic Plan, the department is guided to attract championship-caliber Vikings and develop unprecedented community support for all 18 sports programs.
Director of Athletics Scott Garrett and Head Fencing Coach Andy Tulleners are pleased to announce the creation of the Gebbett Family Fencing Endowment, earmarked for scholarship support of a female saber student-athlete within the Cleveland State fencing program. The Endowment was established through a recent gift courtesy of Ian and Matthew Gebbett (CSU fencing alumnus '18).
Ian Gebbett, Director of Business Development-America for Mobileum, had the opportunity to watch Matthew grow through the fencing community, including at the intercollegiate level for Cleveland State University.
Matthew currently works for Progressive Insurance after earning his BS in Mathematics from Cleveland State in 2018. During his time with the Vikings, he was a four-year member of the fencing team, winning gold at the CSU Open as a junior. Matthew also currently supports the program in a voluntary capacity as Associate Head Coach.
"From the first day that Matthew chose to become a fencer at the age of 12 and through 14 years of competition, the social interaction and strong, positive influence the fencing community had, created a "fit" for him," stated Ian Gebbett "From these experiences, we knew we wanted to make this gift to the University's fencing community so others can grow in the sport, gain confidence, and continue to bring more momentum to an already growing CSU program, specifically in women's saber. We hope, and believe, that many will benefit from our gift while also providing impetus to future fencing donations."
The fencing program saw great success in 2020-21 with six individual qualifiers for the NCAA Championships, the most in school history. Under the direction of head coach Andy Tulleners and Gebbett, the Vikings will look to build off their success with seven competitions this season.
"The gift provided by the Gebbett family not only shows the appreciation they had from their history with the Cleveland State fencing program, but it reveals a sense of commitment and belief in where we are taking Cleveland State fencing," stated Coach Tulleners. "Not only was Matthew an integral part of our past teams, but he has also become a vital part of our coaching staff with his ability to lead the team and differentiate his coaching instruction based on his experiences as a student-athlete. We cannot thank the Gebbett family enough for their unwavering support and look forward to making the fencing community proud in the year ahead!"
Individuals interested in making a scholarship gift to the Gebbett Family Fencing Endowment or otherwise supporting Cleveland State Fencing can make a gift at: https://www.supportcsu.org/give-today or contact Brandon Longmeier, Assistant AD - Viking Fund at 216.630.2974 or b.longmeier@csuohio.edu.
