The grand opening for the $1 million Red Hill Athletic Center at Abraham Baldwin College, honoring retired ABAC tennis coach Norman "Red" Hill, will be held Aug. 27 at 3 p.m. The public is invited to attend.
During Hill's 34 years as head coach, the Golden Stallions captured two national championships, one in 1984 and the other in his final match in 1999. He was named National Coach of the Year on three occasions.
ABAC President Mike Vollmer said the ABAC Foundation, through gifts from individuals and corporate donors, provided all of the funding for the 6,000 square foot Center, which was designed by architects McCall and Associates of Valdosta and built by Barber Contracting of Moultrie. The Center will provide first class locker rooms and a training room for ABAC's men's and women's tennis teams as well as for the baseball and softball squads. Offices for the coaches and dressing facilities for umpires are also located in the Center.
State Representative Newt Hudson and other local elected officials helped spearhead the effort to secure state funding for the lighting of Stallion Field and Fillie Field to complement the new building. Future phases of the Athletic Complex plan include a 400-seat grandstand, a concession area, a press box for Stallion Field, a 64-space paved and landscaped parking lot, and an indoor practice area.
The air-conditioned lobby will contain displays of the two men's tennis national championship trophies, as well as those from 37 consecutive trips to the national tennis tournament, baseball state championships dating back to World War II, and three national softball titles.
ABAC Athletics Director Alan Kramer said the ABAC Athletics Program is one of the most successful intercollegiate programs in the state.
"The Athletic Complex will provide ABAC athletes with a facility that will rank second to none among two-year colleges in Georgia," Kramer said.
ABAC Foundation President Melvin Merrill said the facility will greatly benefit the athletics program at ABAC and serve as a recruiting opportunity for students who visit the campus. The facility will also be used by students participating in sports day camps held on campus.
"The Red Hill Athletic Center is the first building that the ABAC Foundation has financed since the Chapel of All Faiths in the early 1970s," Merrill said. "The planning and fund-raising for the complex extended over a five-year period and was made possible through contributions from alumni, friends, and area businesses. I'd like to personally recognize the steering committee for the project, which was chaired by local businessmen Gary Simmons, Butch Davis, Alex Kemp, and Skip Hill. These individuals were responsible for all aspects of planning and fund-raising for the Center. The lead gift was made by ABAC alumnus and businessman Skip Hill, who recognized the need for such a facility for student athletes, having played tennis for his father's team while attending ABAC."
Other individuals who have played major roles in the project include landscape architect and ABAC alumnus Stephen Rakestraw; Roger Dill and Reeves Construction Company, who continue to work on the parking lot, including drainage, site work, and paving; and Andy Ellis of Rehabilitation Services of Tifton, who donated new equipment for the training room.
Hill retired from ABAC in 1999 after 34 years of service to the college. At one time the winningest active men's college tennis coach in the United States, Hill earned a national collegiate record 849 tennis victories. Hill's teams qualified for the NJCAA national tournament in all 34 years he coached. He was the fourth person ever inducted into the NJCAA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame in 1993 and received the Achievement in Sports Award from the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame. Hill attended Georgia Southwestern from 1956- 57 where he was an all-state baseball and tennis player. He was recently inducted into the Georgia Southwestern (GSW) Hall of Fame.
During Hill's career, only 16 of his players did not receive four-year degrees. Sixty-nine of his players were selected for All-America status. Seventeen of his players have earned doctoral degrees.
Hill said it is an overwhelming honor for the ABAC faculty and staff to name the facility for him.
"I will always love ABAC and take pride in the accomplishments of our athletes," Hill said. "A very special thanks goes to the innumerable financial contributors who helped make this dream a reality. It is truly an indication of the kind of support the community has always given. I am also very pleased to see all of the great things that President Vollmer is doing for ABAC. I wish that I could have had the opportunity to work for him."
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