Three leadership gifts add momentum to Legacy Project at Hayden Park
A rendering of the locker room from the Legacy Project
By Vince Frieden, associate director, development communications
Major gifts from The Brenner Foundation, Thomas (Miami '77) and Jan Hassfurther (Miami '77), and Peter (Miami '85) and Betsy Mogk (Miami '85) have added to the impressive success of the fundraising effort supporting the Miami University Baseball Legacy Project at Hayden Park.
The Legacy Project at Hayden Park, expected to be completed in spring 2015, will be located along the left-field line of McKie Field at Hayden Park and will include new locker room facilities, coaches offices and training and equipment rooms. Keying the fundraising effort was a $1 million matching gift from the family of Joseph P. Hayden (Jr. and III). More than 70 donors, including alumni, parents and friends of Miami Baseball, have contributed $3 million to the effort. The groundbreaking event takes place 2 p.m., Saturday, April 26—ahead of Miami Baseball’s Mid-American Conference game versus the University of Toledo.
“The success of this effort makes a powerful statement about the commitment of the Miami Baseball family,” David Sayler, Miami Director of Intercollegiate Athletics, said. “This facility will have an immediate impact on the program’s competitive success and overall student-athlete experience. We are grateful for the leadership of the Hayden, Brenner, Hassfurther and Mogk families and the dozens of other loyal supporters whose leadership has made this much-anticipated facility a reality.”
The three recently announced major gifts each support an important project element. The gift of The Brenner Family Foundation named the locker room and training room within the project. The support of the Hassfurthers named the players lounge and administrative area while the Mogks named the head coach’s office.
Ryan Brenner ’13, who played at Miami from 2009-2012, ranks among Miami’s all-time career leaders in stolen bases (72) and holds the program’s single-season record with 39 steals during 2011.
“The Brenner Foundation is pleased to support Miami Baseball through the Legacy Project at Hayden Park,” Ryan Brenner said. “My years playing baseball at Miami were some of my greatest experiences and helped shape my future. I am proud to be a Miami RedHawk.”
Peter Mogk was a Miami Baseball student-athlete in the early 1980s, including as part of the 1983 MAC Tournament champions.
“I am very proud to have been a baseball student-athlete at Miami and to have been part of a championship team. That experience taught me how to be competitive, deal with adversity and become successful in life,” Peter Mogk said. “This project will help make Miami Baseball a preeminent baseball program within the Mid-American Conference while raising our success and visibility on the regional and national levels.”
Tom and Jan Hassfurther are long-time supporters of Miami Athletics and the Farmer School of Business and believers in the value of the Miami student-athlete experience.
“Jan and I are proud to support numerous initiatives at Miami—both academic and athletic,” Tom Hassfurther said. “We are supporting this project because we believe in the values and lessons that athletics instills—trust, teamwork, commitment and loyalty. We also believe strong, nationally competitive athletic programs bolster the University’s overall value. This is our way of strengthening Miami’s athletic venues and enhancing the university’s ability to recruit high-caliber student-athletes who mirror the rest of our outstanding student body."
The ongoing private support of alumni, parents, friends and others is building on the momentum gained from the recently completed $535 million Miami University Campaign For Love and Honor.
