6 Testosterone Lane
By Mary Brannon, contributing writer
Ask almost any recent male Furman graduate currently employed by the university where he lives, and his response will most likely be the “graduate dorms” or the “alumni employee house.” Can't find this building on the Furman map? That's because these are nicknames for Chris Colvin's split-level house at 6 Devonshire Lane.
Colvin, the director of athletic facilities and game operations and the Atlanta Falcons training camp coordinator at Furman, bought the four-bedroom house five days before graduating from Furman in 2000 and now rents rooms to recent university graduates.
Over the past four years, Colvin has had 11 roommates, nine of whom were employed by the university. “Just about any male who has graduated from Furman and then taken a job at Furman has moved into the house,” says Colvin.
This bachelor pad, located one mile from campus in the Northwood Hills subdivision behind Publix, has housed four to six alumni per year since Colvin bought it. In university circles the house has even been referred to as “the hostel” and the “Furman halfway house.”
The dining room was converted recently into a guest bedroom complete with bunk beds from Colvin's old room in the basement of Manly Hall.
What began as an easy way for Colvin to live with friends and a convenient way to help pay off his mortgage has evolved into a revolving door for Furman employees seeking housing.
Clint Hill '03, an athletic department intern, currently lives with Colvin. He describes his transition from Furman to the alumni employee house as a natural progression. “When you come to Furman,” he says, “you live in the dorms. When you come to the athletic department, you live with Chris.”
In addition to their professional involvement in Furman athletics, the roommates also have a fondness for participating in athletics. Many of the residents have played on the athletic department's intramural basketball team. Last year, the roommates even formed their own intramural tennis team and won the Recreation League championship.
Nicknamed 6 Testosterone Lane because of the abundance of males in residence, Colvin's house seems like the ultimate bachelor pad. However, he describes his roommates as people who “really loved Furman and had the opportunity to work and stay here.”
Inside Furman is published monthly during the school year by the Furman University Department of Marketing and Public Relations. For story ideas, e-mail John Roberts, editor.
