{"id":40039,"date":"2025-11-07T09:49:44","date_gmt":"2025-11-07T14:49:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/?p=40039"},"modified":"2025-11-14T12:46:37","modified_gmt":"2025-11-14T17:46:37","slug":"magazine-the-newsom-effect","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/magazine-the-newsom-effect\/","title":{"rendered":"The Newsom Effect"},"content":{"rendered":"

Raymond Newsom\u2019s relationship with Furman University ran deep \u2013<\/strong> formed in the early 1960s as a student-athlete and fraternity member, and decades later cemented through transformative fundraising leadership, particularly around men\u2019s basketball and Timmons Arena. Before his passing on July 26, 2025, Newsom built a legacy of community and the belief in what athletics can mean to a university.<\/p>\n

From Student-Athlete to Loyal Alum<\/h3>\n

Newsom\u2019s connection to Furman began in 1961 as a student looking to play college sports. And what started with a bit of money and some encouragement has turned into true dedication.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf Furman hadn\u2019t given me a little bit of money and asked me to come, I wouldn\u2019t have thought about it,\u201d he said. \u201cIt honestly changed my life.\u201d<\/p>\n

But they did give him that opportunity and it would set him on a path that extended far beyond sports. It sparked something in him, starting with meeting his wife, Carol \u201966, and establishing a partnership that eventually would become a dream of advancing the future of athletics at the university.<\/p>\n

Building a Business \u2013 and Giving Back<\/h3>\n

After graduating in 1965 and serving in the Army, Newsom built a successful insurance business \u2013 NFP Corporate Benefits in Greenville \u2013 from the bottom up. But even as his professional life flourished, Furman remained close to his heart. \u201cI loved Furman, and I loved men\u2019s basketball,\u201d he said. \u201cMost of our efforts have gone to that and I\u2019ve had the great honor of bringing others along to help.\u201d<\/p>\n

Newsom\u2019s philanthropic leadership began in earnest when he became president of the Paladin Club in 1987. \u201cWith my wife\u2019s help, we raised a million dollars that year for the first time in the history of Furman,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Transforming Timmons Arena<\/h3>\n

Newsom played a pivotal role in transforming Furman\u2019s men\u2019s basketball program. He has been most influential in efforts to improve facilities, securing over $600,000 to install video boards in Timmons Arena. And today, with full-scale renovations completed, Newsom\u2019s vision has come to life. \u201cThe facility amenities are fantastic \u2013 competitive with anybody in the country,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s going to give us a chance, if we continue to grow the program, to go even bigger in so many ways.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to his own family\u2019s donations, Newsom has helped rally support from others, including donors with no direct connection to Furman. \u201cPeople love to be connected to successful things,\u201d he said. \u201cYou see success, and you want to be a part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Family Legacy<\/h3>\n

Newsom\u2019s dedication is now generational. His daughter recently served on Furman\u2019s Board of Trustees, and his grandchildren have continued the Furman tradition. \u201cThis is the Newsom effect, not the Raymond Newsom effect,\u201d he said. \u201cNone of this could\u2019ve happened without my wife.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carol\u2019s influence, he insisted, has been foundational: \u201cShe\u2019s the hardest sell I ever had. But she was always there when I needed somebody to say yes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Up until his death in July, the Furman Athletics Hall of Fame member visited major donors, traveled to home and away games and remained committed to Furman’s future. \u201cWe wanted to do something or Furman,\u201d he said. \u201cNot for ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Raymond Newsom\u2019s lifelong commitment to Furman established a family legacy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":389,"featured_media":39696,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,60,24,3494,3484,1963],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40039","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","category-alumni-profiles","category-athletics","category-class-notes-fall-2025","category-fall-2025","category-furman-magazine"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40039","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/389"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40039"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40039\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40289,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40039\/revisions\/40289"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39696"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40039"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40039"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40039"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}