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Miami celebrates Dauch Indoor Sports Center dedication

ICA announces new fundraising campaign

The David and Anita Dauch Indoor Sports Center

Dedication of the new Dauch Indoor Sports Center. (Photo courtesy of Miami athletics.)

By Miami University athletics

Miami University Director of Athletics David Sayler announces the Graduating Champions Campaign, an $80 million capital campaign focused on improving Miami intercollegiate athletics’ facilities and increasing private support for scholarships.

“Miami is nationally recognized for excellence in teaching, academics and a top-rated undergraduate experience. Likewise, our athletic programs can and should be nationally respected for their ability to win championships and graduate scholars and leaders,” Sayler said. “The Graduating Champions Campaign is bringing alumni and friends together to provide the facilities and resources needed to meet those goals.”

Sayler stated during the announcement, made (April 25) at the ribbon cutting ceremony for the new David and Anita Dauch Indoor Sports Center, that the campaign already has raised $49 million and resulted in the completion of several facility projects.

In addition to the David and Anita Dauch Indoor Sports Center, Miami has added a weight and conditioning room to the Goggin Ice Center and completed an initial round of renovations to Millett Hall within the past year. A new facility, the Legacy Project at Hayden Park, will open this fall and adds a locker room, coaches’ offices and equipment and training rooms for Miami’s baseball program.

The Gunlock Family Athletic Performance Center, which will serve as the home of Miami’s football program while hosting a state-of-the-art sports medicine and rehabilitation center serving all Miami’s student-athletes, is expected to break ground within the year. Other goals include a locker room addition and further renovations to Millett Hall, a soccer stadium complex, an indoor tennis facility and major renovations to the Yager Stadium press box.

Another focus is a significant increase in scholarship support, which will strengthen Miami’s ability to recruit top students and athletes and reduce scholarship demands on the overall athletic department budget. This aligns with a larger university objective via the ongoing Miami Promise Scholarship Campaign.

“Miami offers an ideal environment for our student-athletes to pursue excellence as both students and athletes,” Miami President David Hodge said. “Our student-athletes are wonderful ambassadors who add to the quality and diversity of our overall student body while bringing pride to the university. We are grateful for the progress already made and the continued investment in their success.”

Sayler also announced the Graduating Champions Campaign Steering Committee. It is chaired by Jay Hayden, Miami ’74, and includes a number of notable Miami alumni and friends: Randy Ayers ’78 (men’s basketball), Dr. Richard Chaifetz, David Dauch ’86 (football), Wayne Embry ’58 (men’s basketball), Randy Gunlock ’77 (football), John Harbaugh ’84 (football), Andrea Parker Simpson ’82 (field hockey) and Colleen Jones Underhill ’77 (women’s tennis).

“My dad (Joe Hayden) always said you can spend your money on a lot of different things but spending money on our young people is the most important investment you can make,” Hayden said. “Sports are of tremendous value as a teacher to our student-athletes and as a statement about our university. I’m excited about the commitment to this vision by our university and athletic department leadership and by my fellow alumni, and I look forward to the positive changes the Graduating Champions Campaign will create at Miami.”

The Graduating Champions Campaign seeks to engage Miami alumni and friends at all giving levels, from annual support of Miami’s Red & White Club to endowed funds. To learn more about the Campaign, visit MiamiOH.edu/Graduating Champions.

What they’re saying

“I believe strongly in what Miami gave me as a young man, and in the value it still offers to young men and women today. It is exciting to see the commitment by Miami’s leadership to the Graduating Champions Campaign and to experience the energy within Miami Athletics today—from the administration and coaches to the support staff and the student-athletes. This is a very important time for the future of Miami Athletics, and I’m honored to be a part of it.”
John Harbaugh ’84
Head Coach, Baltimore Ravens

“Our student-athletes are visible at the highest levels of intercollegiate competition and provide a powerful statement about Miami and what we are about. The success of athletics at Miami has a broad and significant impact on our alumni and friends. Additionally, many of the athletic facilities on Miami’s campus, including the Corwin M. Nixon Aquatic Center, the Goggin Ice Center and the new David and Anita Dauch Indoor Sports Center, provide excellent opportunities to the broader student body and community to participate in club, intramural and recreational sport activities.”
David Budig ’84
Chair, Miami Board of Trustees

“The commitment and investment of our alumni and friends have had a direct impact on the national success Miami Ice Hockey has enjoyed over the past 12 years. It’s one thing to get to that level. In today’s competitive environment, it’s harder to stay there. We are excited about the University’s commitment to the Graduating Champions Campaign and what it will mean not only to the future of Miami Ice Hockey but to all of Miami’s varsity sports.”
Enrico Blasi ’94
Head Coach, Miami Ice Hockey

“A lot of schools wanted me as a football player. Miami wanted me as a student and athlete. The support provided to me to succeed on the field and in the classroom has been tremendous. The Graduating Champions Campaign is another statement of that support and Miami’s commitment to us as student-athletes. We all respect the tradition at Miami and want to do our part to add something to it.”
Heath Harding
Sophomore, Miami Football
Englewood, Ohio

“All of Miami’s student-athletes are driven by the desire to fulfill our greatest potential, and that requires opportunities for continued growth and progress. New facilities like the David and Anita Dauch Indoor Sports Center help us get to that next level. I’ve always felt fortunate to play the sport I love at the collegiate level, and the Graduating Champions Campaign is showing just how invested our alumni and friends are in our success.”
Haley Walter
Junior, Miami Soccer
Cincinnati