Hope
College athletes compete at a well maintained outdoor complex approximately
three blocks east of the campus. In the foreground to the right is the
city-owned Holland Municipal Stadium where Hope plays its home football
games. The college-owned Ekdal J. Buys athletic complex encompasses
the rest of the property. Pictured from left to right are two full soccer
fields, the DeWitt Tennis Center, the softball field, a 400-meter, eight
lane track named in honor of longtime Hope physical educator and coach
Gordon Brewer and the baseball field.
Coach
Brewer was a member
of Hope's
physical education (now kinesiology)
faculty from 1956
to 1988, when he retired.
He joined the faculty as an assistant professor, was promoted to
associate professor in 1973 and was promoted to full professor in
1983. He chaired the department from 1980 to 1985.
For a 20-year period, from 1960 to 1980, he was Hope's athletic director,
directing all facets of Hope sports. His leadership spanned the
planning and construction of the Dow Health and Physical
Education Center, which opened in 1978.
Brewer coached the
men's track team throughout his
years on the faculty, finishing in the top half of the MIAA
in all but three seasons and winning the league championship six
times. He was also assistant football and basketball coach at Hope.
He
has published two books chronicling the history of Hope
College athletics, " ...But
How You Played the Game! A History of Intercollegiate Athletics at
Hope College " and "Journey of Hope: Names and Games Remembered".
In 2001 he was presented
the Hope for Humanity Award by the Alumni H-Club.
He also received a "Meritorious Service Award" from the
Hope College Alumni Association in 1996. The track was named
in his his honor in 1991.
Coach Brewer is
a 1948 Hope graduate, and also holds a master's degree from the University
of Michigan. He served with the Eighth Air Force in
the European Theatre of Operations during World War
II, and taught
in the Byron Center Public Schools and the Kelloggsville
Public Schools before joining the Hope faculty.
Brewer and
his wife Lorraine reside in Holland. They have four
children: Robert, Lawrence, Daniel and Susan.
New Baseball/Softball
Stadiums Made Debuts in '08
Visit the special Boeve Stadium website
Visit the special Wolters Stadium website
Renovations of the baseball and softball fields at the Buys Athletics Complex on the campus of Hope College were completed in 2008.
The project included the installation of permanent stands for fans, a new press box and dugouts. Fans have an unobstructed view of the playing field.
The seating accommodates approximately 300 fans. The area has a patio suitable for tailgating.
The baseball field is named in honor of Ronald Boeve, Hope College class of 1953 and an assistant baseball coach for nearly a quarter of century, and his wife Sonya (Sunny). Read press release
The softball field is named in honor of Karla Hoesch Wolters, longtime Hope softball coach,
and her husband Tom. Both are graduates of the Hope College class of 1973. Read press
release
New Soccer Stadium Will Open in 2009
Van Andel Soccer Stadium Website
Construction has begun on a new stadium to serve the Hope College soccer program and Holland-area sports and recreation community. Construction of the soccer has been made possible by a gift from from the David & Carol Van Andel Foundation. The Van Andel Soccer Stadium, will be located on the site of the college's existing soccer fields along Fairbanks Ave. near 11th Street.
The stadium will accommodate an estimated 1,400 fans in stadium-style and bleacher seating. There will be accompanying terrace areas for picnicking and tailgating. There will be a concession stand, public restrooms, a first aid/training room, two full locker rooms for Hope's teams, a meeting room for visiting teams, a ticket booth and a press box. The field surface will be of artificial turf and there will be stadium lighting for night contests.
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