July 9,
2007
Athletics: Watsons, Tressels donate
$1M to YSU Campaign for WATTS Center
Youngstown State University announced today that Frank and
Norma Watson and Jim and Ellen
Tressel have donated a combined $1
million to YSU’s Centennial Capital
Campaign to help fund a new indoor
athletics practice facility.
“We are appreciative to the Watsons and Tressels for their
continued generosity and support of
Youngstown State University and its
students,” YSU President David C.
Sweet said. “This gift reflects
their strong commitment to the
future of YSU, the city of
Youngstown and the entire Mahoning
Valley.”
“YSU will always hold a special place in my heart,” said Jim
Tressel, who spent 15 successful
seasons as head coach of the YSU
Penguins football team before taking
the helm of the Ohio State Buckeyes
in 2001. “We believe in paying
forward, and it is our pleasure to
be able to give back to a university
that has meant so much to us and to
help a project that will serve
students for years to come.”
The Penguins open the 2007 season against the Buckeyes at
Ohio Stadium on Sept. 1.
The gift from the Watsons and Tressels will be used to help
fund a new $3 million indoor
practice facility for YSU’s
Intercollegiate Athletics,
particularly the baseball and
football squads, soccer and softball
teams, and the men and women’s track
programs.
Because of Youngstown’s northern location, YSU teams are at a
competitive disadvantage over
universities in warmer climates or
universities with indoor practice
facilities, said Paul McFadden, YSU
chief development officer.
The indoor facility will also serve as a university and
community resource, providing a
large, climate-protected venue for
events and a training facility for
local youth organizations and high
schools.
In recognition of the gift, the facility will be called the
WATTS Center (Watson And Tressel
Training Site). YSU has yet to
identify a location for the
facility.
“This complex is critical for the growth of our football
program as we continue to raise our
level of competitiveness and ability
to recruit successful
student-athletes,” said Ron Strollo,
executive director of
intercollegiate athletics.
“This university, and in particular the athletic department,
are indebted to the time, effort and
sacrifices of both the Watsons and
the Tressels. It is only fitting
that this facility will bear their
names.”
The gift is part of YSU’s $43 million Centennial Capital
Campaign. The five-year campaign,
tied to YSU’s centennial in 2008, is
the largest in the university’s
history and is a partnership between
YSU and the YSU Foundation. In
addition to the practice facility,
funds raised in the campaign will be
used to help construct a new
building for the Williamson College
of Business Administration, to
improve science and engineering
laboratories, and to increase
endowments to support student
scholarships, faculty chairs and
professorships, the nursing program
and the Rich Center for Autism.
The gift from the Watsons and Tressels brings the total
raised so far to $32 million.
This is the second time the Watsons and Tressels have teamed
up to make a major donation to YSU.
In 2003, they gave a combined
$250,000 to the campaign to build
the Andrews Student Recreation and
Wellness Center, which opened in
2005.
At YSU, Jim Tressel compiled a record of 135-57-2, led the
Penguins to four Division I-AA
championships and was a four-time
pick as the Division I-AA National
Coach of the Year. In seven seasons
at Ohio State, he has guided the
Buckeyes to six bowl appearances,
three Big Ten titles and one
national championship.
Ellen Tressel, the daughter of Frank and Norma Watson, is a
graduate of YSU and the former vice
president of trading for Butler Wick
and Co.
Frank Watson, former president of Youngstown Welding and
Engineering Co., is a 1949
mechanical engineering graduate of
Youngstown College, a former member
of the YSU Board of Trustees and one
of the original members of the YSU
Foundation Board. He led the
campaign to raise $16 million to
build Stambaugh Stadium. He received
the YSU Distinguished Citizen Award
and an honorary doctor degree from
YSU in 2003.
Norma Watson has served as a volunteer for many area
organizations, including the
Federated Women’s Club, Mahoning
County Residential Financial Cancer
Campaign Chair, Fellows Riverside
Gardens and the Youngstown
Playhouse. She is also an active
member of the Canfield Republican
Women’s Club and has served as
president of Canfield United
Methodist Women.
The Watsons, who live in Canfield, have supported YSU for
more than 30 years, including the
YSU All-Sports Complex campaign, the
Watson Sports Media Center, the
Scholarship Loge program and the YSU
Foundation. This spring, they
received YSU’s Friend of the
University award. |
