Post by ripreilly755 on Sept 15, 2005 17:27:29 GMT -5
This is old news (I think it was Fox or someone who mentioned it a few weeks ago) but here is the official release. Great news for Bona baseball, and the longest tenured (20+ years) head coach on campus !!
09/14/2005
ST. BONAVENTURE — Thanks to a gift from a former student-athlete, St. Bonaventure University’s McGraw-Jennings baseball field will soon be renovated.
Thomas Marra, a 1980 alumnus who played baseball at Bona and is member of the University Board of...
ST. BONAVENTURE — Thanks to a gift from a former student-athlete, St. Bonaventure University’s McGraw-Jennings baseball field will soon be renovated.
Thomas Marra, a 1980 alumnus who played baseball at Bona and is member of the University Board of Trustees, has given back to athletics by earmarking a lead gift to the Anniversary Campaign for St. Bonaventure for the baseball program.
Marra’s gift is $900,000, all of which will go toward the renovation. St. Bonaventure Director of Athletics Ron Zwierlein said the focal point of the project will be a conversion of the field from natural grass to an artificial surface.
Larry Sudbrook, who has been St. Bonaventure’s baseball coach since 1986, said the change will help his program in multiple ways.
“In my mind, this renovation will make McGraw-Jennings Field the premier college baseball facility in our region and the best in the Atlantic 10 Conference,” said Sudbrook. “Certainly it will have a very positive effect on our recruiting. The switch to a state-of-the-art artificial surface will enable us to get outside on the field much earlier than in years past. Also, it will dramatically reduce the number of rained-out games and freezing/thawing problems we experience.”
Other potential updates being considered are new, expanded dugouts and new backstop fencing behind home plate. Work on the project is tentatively scheduled to start in May 2006, following the completion of the Bonnies’ season.
“It is hard to put into words how grateful we are to Tom Marra and his family for this gift,” Sudbrook said. “While a project like this has always been on my mind, it was hard to believe that it would become a reality. Thanks to Tom, it will be a reality in the very near future.”
Under Sudbrook, the Bonnies have become established as one of the top baseball programs in the Atlantic 10. The Bonnies have won 20 games or more each of the past eight seasons and qualified for the A-10 Tournament three times in the last six years. In 2004, St. Bonaventure captured the Atlantic 10 championship and earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament, both firsts for the program.
The Bonnies averaged 225 fans per game at McGraw-Jennings Field, which has been home to the baseball team since the inception of the program.
09/14/2005
ST. BONAVENTURE — Thanks to a gift from a former student-athlete, St. Bonaventure University’s McGraw-Jennings baseball field will soon be renovated.
Thomas Marra, a 1980 alumnus who played baseball at Bona and is member of the University Board of...
ST. BONAVENTURE — Thanks to a gift from a former student-athlete, St. Bonaventure University’s McGraw-Jennings baseball field will soon be renovated.
Thomas Marra, a 1980 alumnus who played baseball at Bona and is member of the University Board of Trustees, has given back to athletics by earmarking a lead gift to the Anniversary Campaign for St. Bonaventure for the baseball program.
Marra’s gift is $900,000, all of which will go toward the renovation. St. Bonaventure Director of Athletics Ron Zwierlein said the focal point of the project will be a conversion of the field from natural grass to an artificial surface.
Larry Sudbrook, who has been St. Bonaventure’s baseball coach since 1986, said the change will help his program in multiple ways.
“In my mind, this renovation will make McGraw-Jennings Field the premier college baseball facility in our region and the best in the Atlantic 10 Conference,” said Sudbrook. “Certainly it will have a very positive effect on our recruiting. The switch to a state-of-the-art artificial surface will enable us to get outside on the field much earlier than in years past. Also, it will dramatically reduce the number of rained-out games and freezing/thawing problems we experience.”
Other potential updates being considered are new, expanded dugouts and new backstop fencing behind home plate. Work on the project is tentatively scheduled to start in May 2006, following the completion of the Bonnies’ season.
“It is hard to put into words how grateful we are to Tom Marra and his family for this gift,” Sudbrook said. “While a project like this has always been on my mind, it was hard to believe that it would become a reality. Thanks to Tom, it will be a reality in the very near future.”
Under Sudbrook, the Bonnies have become established as one of the top baseball programs in the Atlantic 10. The Bonnies have won 20 games or more each of the past eight seasons and qualified for the A-10 Tournament three times in the last six years. In 2004, St. Bonaventure captured the Atlantic 10 championship and earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament, both firsts for the program.
The Bonnies averaged 225 fans per game at McGraw-Jennings Field, which has been home to the baseball team since the inception of the program.
