$500,000 gift will support the center’s construction and endow intramural sports

Missouri State University students will have more to look forward to when the Bill R. Foster and Family Recreation Center opens thanks to a significant gift from Bobby Allison. The $500,000 gift will support the construction of the center and endow a portion of the intramural sports program.

In recognition of the gift, the basketball courts inside the Foster Recreation Center will be named the Betty and Bobby Allison Courts and the intramural field at Cherry and National will be named the Betty and Bobby Allison Intramural Fields. The endowment will be used to assist with the costs of the intramural program.

Betty Allison is the late mother of Bobby Allison.

“We very much appreciate Mr. Allison’s generous gift to benefit our students,” said Missouri State Interim President Clifton M. Smart III. “As state funding shrinks, private contributions such as these are key to the university continuing to advance. Mr. Allison’s gift adds yet more opportunities for our students and, thus, adds to the value Missouri State provides for its students.”

Bobby Allison has made several gifts to youth-related sporting programs, including the Betty Allison Junior Golf Course at Rivercut in Springfield, the Par 3 Golf Course at Glenstone and I-44 in Springfield, the Betty and Bobby Allison Miracle Baseball Field in Springfield, and the  golf range and kids golf course currently under-development at Twin Oaks Country Club in Springfield.

“I am so pleased to assist the university in their efforts to help with student projects,” said Bobby Allison. “The youth of today are so important to our future and I am pleased to do my part in help making a great educational college experience.”

The recreation center is a 100,000-square-foot, $30 million facility. The project was initiated in 2006 by student leaders, designed with the help of students, and is being funded through a dedicated student fee and private contributions. The center will contain three gyms, a climbing wall, an aquatics area, an indoor track, a cardio-fitness center, locker rooms and multi-purpose rooms for fitness assessment, dance and other related activities. With a modern LEED certified design, the center will meet and exceed the recreation, wellness and social needs of students for generations.

More information about Our Promise: The Campaign for Missouri State University is available on the university website at www.ourpromise.missouristate.edu. Anyone wanting to give to the campaign can do so online.