(Story taken from the Trinity University website)
SAN ANTONIO, Texas – Trinity
University has announced a renovation plan at the stadium for the
Tiger men’s and women’s soccer teams.
Construction will begin in May on the Timothy “Tito” Isom Memorial Media Center, to be located at Trinity’s soccer field. The facility will include a press box, restrooms for teams and officials, and permanent team dugouts on the south side of the field.
The facility is expected to be completed this summer, in time for the Trinity men’s and women’s soccer seasons. It is named for the late “Tito” Isom, a Tiger men’s soccer standout from 1994-1998. He died in September 2000 while working in Chicago.
Further renovations include increased permanent seating for fans and spectators on the north side of the field, and improvements to Meadows Pavilion that will include additional restroom facilities.
In addition, a Phase II plan is in the works for the Paul McGinlay Soccer Complex. This structure will include four locker rooms, an auxiliary training room, and a team meeting room.
In order to complete this renovation plan that will help make the soccer complex one of the best in the country, The Chapman Trusts, major donors to Trinity for many years, are offering to match gifts and pledges to the soccer renovations at a rate of four to one up to $800,000.
“Thanks to the generosity of the Chapman Trust’s four-to-one challenge grant, Trinity is able to move forward with a soccer facility to equal the quality of play by both the men’s and women’s team,” said President Dennis Ahlburg. “Developing these enhanced facilities gives us the opportunity to honor our long-time soccer coach Paul McGinlay who has built a national championship program.”
It will be named for current Trinity men’s coach Paul McGinlay, who has guided the Tigers for 19 years. Coach McGinlay, with a record of 318-57-22 (.829) ranks No. 2 in winning percentage among active NCAA Division III coaches. In 2003, the Tigers captured the NCAA Division III national championship.
Trinity women’s soccer coach Lance Key was a four-time All-American for the Tigers from 1996-99, and was a player for Major League Soccer’s Colorado Rapids. Key led the Tiger women to the NCAA Quarterfinals last fall, and will open his seventh season with the team in the fall of 2010.
“These new improvements to the soccer field will bring our venue up to the high standards set by our men’s and women’s soccer programs, under the leadership of coach McGinlay and coach Key,” explained Director of Athletics Bob King. “This will also enhance our ability to host championships and other quality events at our facility.”
Trinity’s men’s and women’s soccer teams are perennial playoff participants, and have frequently been ranked in the top five nationally under coach McGinlay and coach Key.
“We see this as the beginning of renovations and support of all athletics facilities,” continued King. “Improvements such as this will not only help augment the student-athlete experience at Trinity, but also will improve the atmosphere for Tiger fans.”
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