Boyers donate $30,000 to WIU baseball
By Doug Endres
Tuesday, March 4, 2008 4:40 PM CST
Western Illinois alumni and hall of famer Al Boyer and wife, Andrea, donated an additional $30,000 to the Western Illinois baseball program for the 2008 season.
The Boyers were in attendance at the 2008 Fourth Annual Meet the Leathernecks Media Day. The couple served as keynote speakers as a part of the media day events.
“We want to see the Western Illinois baseball program compete as a first-rate Division I program,” said Boyer. “We asked Stan (Hyman) and Tim (Van Alstine) about ways we can help the overall program. The budget, the stadium, and scholarships are our main focus. Relationships are really what builds the donations at Western.”
Western Illinois head baseball coach Stan Hyman thanked the Boyers at the media day, held at the Forum, and expressed gratitude on behalf of the baseball program to the largest crowd of any baseball media day of over 160 people in attendance.
“I can't begin to thank Andrea and Al for their friendship, support and confidence in our team,” said Hyman. “Their extraordinary monetary donations pale in comparison to their devotion to the baseball team and the university as a whole.”
In addition to a day of thanks, the media day served as a day of recognition for the Leathernecks, who received the Kathy Orban community service award and the highest GPA award for the fall 2007 semester.
“We don't just recruit players at Western, we recruit families,” said Hyman. “The chemistry and closeness of this ball club exceeds any other team we've had. We've done it the right way and continue to graduate players at the high rate of 93 percent.”
The day also introduced the players and the coaches for the upcoming 2008 season in The Summit League.
“I am very excited about the upcoming season because we have a great group of very talented guys,” said Hyman. “Oral Roberts may have dominated the Mid-Con, but we are ready to win the first Summit League Championship. We have a very tough schedule this season. Twenty-eight conference games and four-game series will really test our ball club, and we will meet that challenge.”
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