As the Bloomington Herald-Times and the Indianapolis Star have reported earlier today, Indiana University will name its new baseball stadium after former IU baseball student-athlete Bart Kaufman, who made a generous gift to IU Athletics.
"Indiana University is deeply grateful to alumnus Bart Kaufman for his generosity toward the development of a new baseball facility and his support of our mission to provide IU's student-athletes with the resources they need to compete at the highest level," IU President Michael McRobbie said in the news release. "The new Bart Kaufman Field promises to significantly strengthen our baseball program at it seeks to build upon strong recent performances, while also greatly enhancing the fan experience at the ballpark."
Construction is set to begin this spring, and scheduled to be completed in time for the Hoosiers to open the 2013 season there.
Games that need to be postponed because the 54-year-old Sembower Field does not have lights will become a thing of the past.
The fields - there will be a new softball field as well - will be located on the north edge of the IUB athletics campus near the 45/46 Bypass.
"With the advent of vastly improved high school baseball programs and significantly improved summer baseball programs for youngsters, there are more students who can be competitive in college baseball," Kaufman said. "With coach (Tracy) Smith and his staff, IU is now in a position with improved facilities to be a factor in college baseball."
Kaufman, currently the chairman and CEO of Indianapolis-area Kaufman Financial Group, will be honored tonight at halftime of the Indiana men's basketball game against Northwestern.
Related:
Caitlin Ursini wrote a column about the new fields.
Artist renderings of the facilities are available here.
Here is the full story from the IU Varsity Club's Twitter page.
