Challenge Grant Honors Butch Newman

By Mary Denny

January 2011 — When Butch Newman ’65 met Al Hill Jr. ’67 at age 13, little did he know it was the beginning of a life-long relationship of mutual respect and friendship. Now Hill has honored his good friend and former teammate with a  $1. 3 million challenge grant to renovate both the varsity and Delavan tennis courts.

A rendering shows the renovated tennis courts on the Trinity campus. (Source: RVK, Inc.)

Contingent on meeting the challenge, work is slated to begin this summer on the estimated  $2 plus million project. Improvements will include repositioning the courts   to provide more space between them, fencing between every two courts, shaded spectator seating, additional lighting, and new landscaping.   The former Delavan courts, adjacent to the Bell Center, will become the Butch Newman Tennis Center and the former varsity courts will become the Al Hill Jr. Tennis Stadium.

Deeply honored by the “reality that I have such a friend in Al,” Newman, long time Trinity tennis coach and director of the tennis program, says,  “We’ve played and won many doubles tournaments together in our lifetime. And now the fact that this dual naming has us united as partners again brings a feeling inside of me that is beyond what words can ever describe.

Thank you, Al, and thank you to all my friends. You have enriched my life!”

Expressing his vision for the future of Trinity tennis, Newman adds, “May this tennis center and tennis stadium always be a place where healthy competition occurs that promotes community, team, and self growth, and a place where similar lifelong friendships can be forged.”

For more information or to participate, contact Rick Roberts at  rroberts@trinity.edu or 210-999-7431.

© 2011 Trinity University