Marshall University Athletics
A Message from Mike Hamrick, Marshall Director of Athletics
5/8/2013 12:00:00 AM | General
May 8, 2013
A letter from Mike Hamrick, Marshall Director of Athletics:
The recent groundbreaking for our Indoor Athletic Facility was more than a special day on a special weekend for the Thundering Herd. It was a historic moment for our program. Those who were in attendance for the ceremony know it also was emotional.
We had great speakers on a great, sunny day. To have the kind of passion provided by our president, Dr. Stephen Kopp, track sprinter Hadassah Lynch (representing our student-athletes) and the great Chad Pennington in their remarks really set the tone as we move forward.
Now, it's full speed ahead, with construction on the IAF starting soon, and completion expected in August 2014. At the soccer complex site, the turf is down, the lights are going up and the Veterans Memorial panel from the old Field House is being affixed to the main entrance wall. Our teams will open there this August. The progress on the Edwards Stadium sky suites and other amenities is moving rapidly.
That progress is overwhelmingly encouraging, but there's much more work to do in the Vision Campaign, and we need more of you to step up and help finish the job on a facility that I believe will change the face and the future of Marshall athletics.
Thanks to the wonderful $5 million gift from Jim Justice, The Greenbrier owner and CEO, we have passed the $15 million mark. We need to get to $20 million in private funding for these projects.
If we were on the six-lane, 300-meter track in the Indoor Facility running the 1,500 - the so-called metric mile - we'd have four of the five laps completed ââ'¬Â¦ but we still need to kick to the finish.
We have great momentum from the groundbreaking. Jim Justice couldn't be there, but the letter he sent for the occasion displayed how much love and support he has for his alma mater. Mike D'Antoni was still coaching in the NBA playoffs with the Lakers and couldn't attend, but his passionate letter detailed how much his years at Marshall still mean to him.
Chad and Mike have done a wonderful job as co-chairs of the Vision Campaign, and I personally want to thank them for their efforts and support. To those who have helped in the campaign, I really appreciate it. And there is added good reason to get on board now, with contributions driving point rankings when the stadium reseating and reparking are done for 2014-15.
The groundbreaking ceremony kicked off a stellar weekend for Herd athletics. That night, we had a great Big Green Dinner honoring our student-athletes. The evening served as a refreshing and uplifting reminder of why the Vision Campaign is an absolute necessity. The next day, the Memorial Fountain was turned on, and that ceremony was followed by the Green-White spring football game, where we had an enthusiastic turnout of more than 5,100.
It's that kind of momentum we carry into the summer, toward what we expect to be a special 2013-14 year. You can help make it special, too, by helping us reach our Vision Campaign goal.
LET'S GO HERD!!
Sincerely,
Director of Athletics
