Major Gifts To OU Tennis Programs Support New Facility

June 22, 2001

NORMAN, Okla. - Four major gifts to the University of Oklahoma's tennis program will significantly assist OU in building a new tennis complex for men's and women's tennis teams, which currently must rent facilities in Oklahoma City and Norman for competitions and practice on OU's intramural courts or City of Norman public courts.

Tim Headington of Dallas, an OU history graduate and a tennis letterwinner, is contributing $350,000 for the new tennis facility. OU business alumnus Stephen Allen and his wife, Gayle, of Tulsa are making a $250,000 gift. Additionally, Scott Martin of Tulsa and the Robert Braver family of Edmond are making $50,000 gifts to the project. Both Martin and Braver earned BBA degrees from OU and also were tennis letterwinners.

"We are especially grateful for this significant support for the OU Tennis Program and our student-athletes," said OU Athletic Director Joe Castiglione "These important gifts are all the more meaningful because they come from alumni and former student-athletes who are giving back to the promising young OU tennis players who are following in their footsteps."

"I am proud and honored to be able to support the OU tennis program in this way," Headington said. "I believe this gift is an investment in the bright future of OU tennis and in the continued development of successful student-athletes."

The gifts are part of OU's Great Expectations: The Campaign for Sooner Sports, a $100 million fund-raising effort to benefit all of the university's sports and student-athletes. Major donors to the Tennis Facility will have their gifts acknowledged through the naming of the new tennis courts. Fund raising is continuing for the new complex, with seven courts remaining to be named.

OU's current tennis facility situation precludes the men's and women's teams from hosting Big 12 play or televised events on campus. The new facility will offer improved conditions for recruiting, training, and competition by giving student-athletes more opportunities to build on their successes, athletic officials say.

The new OU Tennis Complex, which is slated for completion this August, is being built directly south of the OU Soccer Complex on Chautauqua Ave. In addition to the 12 new courts, the tennis facility's first phase includes permanent seating for 800 spectators and NCAA Championship quality lights. The OU Athletic Department envisions a second phase that will add a team facility with locker rooms and restrooms for the players.

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For additional information or to make a gift to tennis, people can contact Kirby Hocutt, Assistant Athletic Director for the OU Athletic Department, at (405) 325-8000.

"I am extremely happy for our current and future players," said OU women's head coach Mark Johnson. "This is going to be an excellent facility. We will really enjoy it. Thanks to some very special Sooner donors, the complex is becoming a reality and OU tennis will once again have a home."

"I'm proud to see the progress that's being made with the tennis facility," said Paul Lockwood, OU men's tennis coach and former OU letterwinner. "It means a lot to me and the tennis community to see that former OU tennis letterwinners are giving back to the sport that supported them. We're looking forward to bring our home tennis matches back to campus this fall."

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Major Gifts To OU Tennis Programs Support New Facility

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