Ohio State Department of Athletics to Honor Donors Saturday

Charter members of Pay Forward Society to be recognized at halftime of football game vs. Northwestern

The Ohio State University Department of Athletics will recognize four donors at halftime of the football game Saturday vs. Northwestern. The donors will be honored as charter members of the "Pay Forward" Society, which has been created by the department to distinguish a special group of benefactors, whether individual or group, who have provided single gifts of $5 million or more to Ohio State athletics projects. The society's name is derived from the teachings of former Ohio State football head coach Woody Hayes.

Huntington National Bank, Mae and Bill McCorkle, Al and Martha Phipps, and the Jerome Schottenstein Family/ Value City Department Stores all have combined to give more than $50 million to the athletics department. Saturday, each donor's name will become a permanent fixture in Ohio Stadium below the main scoreboard in the south end of the stadium.

Tom Hof, associate athletics director for development and marketing at Ohio State, described the donations made by the original members of the "Pay Forward" Society as gifts that bring life to proposed athletics projects.

"We view these donations as transformational gifts, which is a gift at such a significant level that it literally transforms a program or project," Hof said. "These gifts enable us to begin new projects and/or enhance programs that would not be possible without them. These gifts help make dreams become a reality. They enable us to take a concept from the drawing board to actual implementation. Without them, the projects remain on paper as a desire versus a tangible object that will directly enhance the lives of the students who will benefit from them."

Donations from Huntington National Bank and the Schottenstein family enabled the construction of the Jerome Schottenstein Center and Value City Arena in 1998 and the renovation to Ohio Stadium in 2001.

Thanks to a gift from the late Al and Martha Phipps, the Ohio State varsity golf course now is under reconstruction and upon completion will be considered one of the premiere collegiate golf venues in the country. The renovated Scarlet Course is scheduled to play host to the 2006 NCAA Women's Golf Championships next June.

The Bill and Mae McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion played host to its initial intercollegiate meet last Friday when the Ohio State men's swimming team defeated Miami (Ohio). The world-class aquatic facility is a result of the generosity and selflessness displayed by Mae McCorkle and her late husband, Bill. The new McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion allows Ohio State to host regional and national events, as well as provide student-athletes with an outstanding facility to train and compete.

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