Photo Gallery

Dedication Comments

ELON, N.C. – The severe weather did not stop a large group of trustees, alumni, donors, fans and administrators from gathering to dedicate Elon University’s new Alumni Field House on Saturday, April 16. The 30,000-square foot facility, which opened in January, is located in the north end zone of Rhodes Stadium and serves as the home to Elon athletics administrators and coaches in the football, baseball, softball, soccer, cross country and track and field programs.

“I can’t tell you how long I have been waiting for this day,” said Elon Director of Athletics Dave Blank after he had welcomed the group. “Many of you have been involved in this building and not just monetarily. There are so many donors in this room, but there are many other constituents that are here today who have given support in making this building a reality.

“This is a facility that will touch all of our student-athletes for a very long time,” Blank continued. “Alumni Field House is a vehicle for us to get to where we want to be in Division I athletics.”

Alumni Field House is already impacting current student-athletes on a daily basis with its state-of-the-art athletic training room, a large strength and conditioning room and additional spaces for student-athletes to gather and study. The football program benefits from the Hendrickson Football Center, named in recognition of a gift from alumni Jay ’71 and Amy ’69 Hendrickson of Raleigh, N.C. who made a $1 million gift in honor of Jay’s father, Horace J. Hendrickson, one of Elon’s all-time great coaches.

“It is fun to walk through this building and look at the faces throughout this building,” Jay Hendrickson said. “There is so much energy and you can tell they are just excited. You can see the light in the eyes of the athletes.”

Hendrickson said he felt so fortunate to have the opportunity to honor both his father and mother. Horace Hendrickson was a football coach, basketball coach and baseball coach at Elon and his mother, Gene Hendrickson, handled all the athletic programs for the women at Elon.

The facility also contains the Walker Room and Terrace in recognition of a gift from alumnus and trustee Zac Walker ’60 and his wife, Dot, of Raleigh, N.C. The couple’s gift of $500,000 was made in honor of Zac’s father, Zachary T. Walker Jr., a member of Elon’s Sports Hall of Fame, and Zac’s uncle, D.C. “Peahead” Walker, another of Elon’s all-time great coaches.

“This feels like a family affair,” noted President Leo M. Lambert during the dedication. “What is amazing are the generations represented from various families. That’s what is special about this building. It was constructed by families who have loved this place for a very long time.”  

The Ward family – mother Cynthia, son Hunt ‘82 and his wife Julia – gave $100,000 in memory of C. Max Ward ’49.   Rear Admiral Edward “Ted” Walker, a member of the Board of Visitors, contributed $100,000. Walker named the head football coach’s office in honor Elon’s two-time national championship football coach Jerry Tolley. There were many other contributions to the project, including gifts by several former football players in honor of their coaches.