Last modified: Tuesday, December 11, 2012
IU trustees approve naming IU softball stadium Andy Mohr Field in honor of gift to IU Athletics
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Dec. 11, 2012
NOTE: A photo gallery of construction of the new field is available.
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Indiana University Athletics announced that it will officially name its new softball facility Andy Mohr Field in honor of a major gift from Mohr, CEO of Plainfield-based Andy Mohr Automotive Group. The IU Board of Trustees officially approved the name of the stadium when it met Dec. 7.
"Andy Mohr has been a longtime supporter of the IU Varsity Club," said Fred Glass, IU vice president and director of intercollegiate athletics. "This new and significant gift, combined with Andy's ongoing Varsity Club support, speaks volumes about his commitment to the success of IU Athletics. We are incredibly grateful to Andy and his wife, Lorna, for helping us provide IU student-athletes with world-class resources and facilities. We could not be more thrilled to dedicate the new stadium this spring and formally name it in Andy's honor."
"Intercollegiate athletics are an integral part of the Indiana University experience, and the generosity of alumni such as Andy Mohr play a critical role in allowing our student-athletes to compete and train in some of the finest facilities in the country," IU President Michael A. McRobbie said. "We are especially pleased and grateful that Mr. Mohr has chosen to support women's athletics at IU through his naming gift for our new softball field, which will be a state-of-the-art facility when it opens next spring."
A first-generation automobile dealer, Mohr founded his company in 1993 in Greencastle, Ind. Since its founding, Andy Mohr Automotive Group has grown to become one of the largest auto groups in the state of Indiana, representing 11 vehicle brands at nine locations in Indianapolis, Fishers, Plainfield and Avon. Today, it employs over 700 people in Central Indiana.
Having grown up in Indianapolis and Brownsburg, Mohr earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the IU School of Public and Environmental Affairs. He resides in Indianapolis with his wife, Lorna, a fellow IU graduate, and their two children.
"Lorna and I could not be more excited about this gift to Indiana University, and we are truly humbled by the naming of the new stadium," Mohr said. "We look at this as an opportunity to give back to our alma mater and to see generations of student-athletes benefit. With 25 NCAA Championships and countless academic All-Americans, IU stands for excellence on and off the field, and we value this opportunity to be a contributor to its continual level of success."
"We are so incredibly grateful to Mr. and Mrs. Mohr for their commitment to our student-athletes," head softball coach Michelle Gardner said.
"Andy Mohr Field is the culmination of tireless dedication by administrators, former players, coaches and staff to bring IU a state-of-the-art facility for Big Ten softball," Gardner added. "I know I speak for all of our athletes when I say how excited we are to play in this new stadium this spring."
Over her first four seasons as the head coach, Gardner has had 10 players receive All-Big Ten honors. The IU softball team completed the 2012 season with a 30-25 overall record and 14-10 mark in Big Ten play. The Hoosiers finished the season on a six-game winning streak after three-game sweeps of Nebraska and Michigan State. Coupled with the 37 wins in 2011, the 30 wins in 2012 marks the first time since 1989 and 1990 that the Hoosiers posted back-to-back 30-win seasons.
In August 2011, the IU Board of Trustees approved construction of a new softball and baseball complex on the north edge of the IU Bloomington athletics campus near the State Road 45/46 Bypass. Browning Day Mullins Dierdorf Architects of Indianapolis has designed the complex. Construction is being done by Gilbane Construction.
Highlights of the new stadiums include new locker rooms and team rooms, dugouts, indoor/outdoor hitting cages, press boxes, scoreboards, lighting and sound system, and hospitality suites. The complex will also feature ample parking, an entry plaza, a picnic area, concessions and restrooms for fans.
The complex is being funded through private donations and athletic department funds. Ground was broken on May 7. Construction is scheduled for completion in time for the 2013 softball and baseball seasons. The new $19.8 million complex will replace Sembower Field and the IU Softball Field, which are on Fee Lane adjacent to Foster Residence Center.
The IU Foundation will administer and invest Andy Mohr's gift. Mohr will be honored for his generous support at halftime during the IU men's basketball game vs. Michigan State on Jan. 27; tip-off is at 1 p.m.
In February 2012, IU Athletics also announced that the new baseball stadium will be officially named Bart Kaufman Field in honor of a major gift from Kaufman, a former IU baseball student-athlete and chairman and CEO of Indianapolis-area Kaufman Financial Corp.
Major naming and gift opportunities are still available as part of the overall baseball and softball complex. To learn how to support these facilities, please contact the IU Varsity Club at 812-855-0866 or varsity@indiana.edu.
