KENNESAW, Ga. | Jan 22, 2026

For Jay Cunningham, owner of Superior Plumbing in Kennesaw, providing sponsorship of school athletics programs is a fundamental part of building the community. The way he sees it, the gifts he and Superior Plumbing have given to Kennesaw State University for more than a decade are a key part of his business.

“In order for our business to have a chance to thrive, we have to give back,” Cunningham said. “It’s not really something you sit back and wonder, ‘if you should do it’ – too many people do. It’s a must that you also give back.”

That philosophy lies at the core of Cunningham’s company, which has grown in 40 years from a one-man operation to a team that services hundreds of households every week.

Superior Plumbing is currently responsible for providing more than $2 million in support of Kennesaw State Athletics.

The most recent contribution is a $500,000 Athletics Capital Campaign gift for naming a suite in KSU’s Convocation Center, the centerpiece of which was itself renamed Vystar Arena earlier this year.

This gift is in addition to this year’s $1.6 million renewal of Superior Plumbing’s general sponsorship of Kennesaw State’s athletics programs. The original arrangement for $1.5 million began before KSU’s inaugural football season and ran through 2025.

For that sponsorship, Superior Plumbing received naming rights to the Loge Section in Fifth Third Bank Stadium and became the “Official Plumber of KSU Athletics,” with signage at the KSU Convocation Center, Bailey Park, and Mickey Dunn Stadium, advertising in game programs, during television, and radio broadcasts, and on the Department of Athletics’ official website.

“We thought it would be a good fit to step in on the ground floor of something major at the university,” Cunningham said of the sponsorship.

That relationship has continued for more than 10 years since, and it will continue in the future. Over that time, in addition to the basketball and volleyball home of the Owls being christened VyStar Arena, the football stadium became Fifth Third Stadium, and the baseball Owls have seen Stillwell Stadium replaced by the expanded and upgraded Mickey Dunn Stadium.

“It’s a little over $2 million that we’re investing in the school, in our relationship as we go forward,” Cunningham said. “And we just finished a 10-year one, which isn’t big on a big scale, but it is for a small business in Kennesaw. And we are in Kennesaw, too. A family-owned small business located a mile from the school.”

Cunningham and his family have a myriad of connections to Kennesaw State. Several of his eight children attended KSU, his wife works there, and he even attended classes early in his career. But it’s the building of a community that has kept him connected to the university for so long.

“It’s local. It is where a few of my kids went to school. It’s where I have resided for the last 48 years. So, it is home,” he said. “And we believe as a company that we give back to the community that we live in, that provides us with our livelihood.”

That focus keeps Cunningham dedicated to supporting Kennesaw State, as well as many other educational programs in Cobb County.

“In business, all that we get comes from the community, so it’s incumbent on a good business to give back,” he said. “I wish that we could deliver that message to all the business community — that’s how their business succeeds, is to give back.”

A leader in innovative teaching and learning, Kennesaw State University offers undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degrees to its more than 51,000 students. Kennesaw State is a member of the University System of Georgia with 11 academic colleges. The university's vibrant campus culture, diverse population, strong global ties, and entrepreneurial spirit draw students from throughout the country and the world. Kennesaw State is a Carnegie-designated doctoral research institution (R2), placing it among an elite group of only 8 percent of U.S. colleges and universities with an R1 or R2 status. For more information, visit kennesaw.edu.