CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The University of Illinois Division of Intercollegiate Athletics announced today it will break ground on a new state-of-the-art indoor practice facility for the Fighting Illini softball program thanks to a $3 million lead naming gift from Rex Martin and his daughters, Ashley Martin and Alexis Martin-Klose. Their gift will honor their late wife and mother, Alice Martin. The facility, pending Board of Trustees approval, will be named the Rex and Alice A. Martin Softball Training Center.
The new $6 million Rex and Alice A. Martin Softball Training Center will provide a premier indoor performance and development facility for Fighting Illini softball student-athletes. The structure, measuring approximately 13,000 square feet, will be constructed as an addition to the existing softball clubhouse and will include a full infield as well as hitting and pitching cages. The center’s ability to host full infield practice will be rare among comparable softball training facilities. Other features include a new recruiting lobby and hall of fame, an expanded player lounge, increased storage, and improved parking. Project construction is expected to commence in late 2020 and will conclude in December 2021.
“The Rex and Alice A. Martin Foundation and the Martin family make this donation to the University of Illinois in honor of Alice A. Martin,” said Rex Martin. “Alice strongly believed that her University of Illinois MBA Degree changed her life for the better. She wanted to give back to the University in order to give others the same experience that she did. This new softball team indoor facility will give the young women on the team the ability to develop their leadership, teamwork and decision-making skills. These skills will allow them to be successful individuals and be strong contributors to society.”
This is the second major gift from the Rex and Alice A. Martin Foundation. The family donated $1 million in 2008 to complete additions to the softball complex, including, most notably, the softball clubhouse.
“I was ecstatic when I heard the news that the Martin family graciously decided to make the lead donation on our indoor facility,” head softball coach Tyra Perry said. “The Martins have always been a champion for Illini softball and the new gift will put us in position to attract top recruits to our program. Every present and future Illini softball student-athlete who walk through the doors of the new facility will benefit from the generosity of such a great family.”
Alice served as the President and Co-Founder of the Rex and Alice A. Martin Foundation for 16 years, a charitable foundation headquartered in Elkhart, Ind., that donates to major projects for children. Alice believed in women’s rights and created the Women’s Leadership Group at NIBCO, the company owned and operated by the Martin family. She served on advisory boards at both Indiana University and the University of Notre Dame. Her legacy is one that promotes leadership and an empowering spirit for women around the world. She also served on over 30 local, regional and state charitable boards of directors and was honored many times for her leadership and philanthropy.
Illinois softball’s annual team leadership award is named for Alice Martin.
“This gift is very meaningful to us on many levels. When you see a family coming together as the Martins are to honor the memory of a lost loved one, you feel tremendous responsibility to help celebrate that legacy,” Director of Athletics Josh Whitman said. “Alice and Rex were instrumental in the foundation of Illinois Softball, and having had the good fortune of knowing Alice myself, I believe there could be no better way for our university to carry her memory forward. She was a remarkable woman whose imprint on the coaches and young women involved in Fighting Illini Softball will never be forgotten. We are incredibly grateful to the Martin family and look forward to ensuring that the lessons Alice loved to teach — leadership, strength, empowerment — live on forever in our program.”
With this gift, the Illinois Office of Athletics Development has secured its fourth naming gift in the past two years. Other naming gifts have included funding and support for Demirjian Park for track and field and soccer, the Henry Dale and Betty Smith Football Center, and the Susan and Clint Atkins Baseball Training Center.
“The softball training facility will be designed to allow Illini student-athletes to train year-round in pursuit of excellence,” Senior Associate Athletics Director for Development Howard Milton said. “Anyone who ever spent time with Alice can tell you that she pursed excellence in all that she did therefore this facility is the perfect tribute to a woman who was committed to self-improvement, and who was, herself, an ultimate competitor.”
The gift counts toward the $300 million fundraising goal for the Division of Intercollegiate Athletics, which is part of "With Illinois," the $2.25 billion University-wide fundraising campaign.
The new $6 million Rex and Alice A. Martin Softball Training Center will provide a premier indoor performance and development facility for Fighting Illini softball student-athletes. The structure, measuring approximately 13,000 square feet, will be constructed as an addition to the existing softball clubhouse and will include a full infield as well as hitting and pitching cages. The center’s ability to host full infield practice will be rare among comparable softball training facilities. Other features include a new recruiting lobby and hall of fame, an expanded player lounge, increased storage, and improved parking. Project construction is expected to commence in late 2020 and will conclude in December 2021.
“The Rex and Alice A. Martin Foundation and the Martin family make this donation to the University of Illinois in honor of Alice A. Martin,” said Rex Martin. “Alice strongly believed that her University of Illinois MBA Degree changed her life for the better. She wanted to give back to the University in order to give others the same experience that she did. This new softball team indoor facility will give the young women on the team the ability to develop their leadership, teamwork and decision-making skills. These skills will allow them to be successful individuals and be strong contributors to society.”
This is the second major gift from the Rex and Alice A. Martin Foundation. The family donated $1 million in 2008 to complete additions to the softball complex, including, most notably, the softball clubhouse.
“I was ecstatic when I heard the news that the Martin family graciously decided to make the lead donation on our indoor facility,” head softball coach Tyra Perry said. “The Martins have always been a champion for Illini softball and the new gift will put us in position to attract top recruits to our program. Every present and future Illini softball student-athlete who walk through the doors of the new facility will benefit from the generosity of such a great family.”
Alice served as the President and Co-Founder of the Rex and Alice A. Martin Foundation for 16 years, a charitable foundation headquartered in Elkhart, Ind., that donates to major projects for children. Alice believed in women’s rights and created the Women’s Leadership Group at NIBCO, the company owned and operated by the Martin family. She served on advisory boards at both Indiana University and the University of Notre Dame. Her legacy is one that promotes leadership and an empowering spirit for women around the world. She also served on over 30 local, regional and state charitable boards of directors and was honored many times for her leadership and philanthropy.
Illinois softball’s annual team leadership award is named for Alice Martin.
“This gift is very meaningful to us on many levels. When you see a family coming together as the Martins are to honor the memory of a lost loved one, you feel tremendous responsibility to help celebrate that legacy,” Director of Athletics Josh Whitman said. “Alice and Rex were instrumental in the foundation of Illinois Softball, and having had the good fortune of knowing Alice myself, I believe there could be no better way for our university to carry her memory forward. She was a remarkable woman whose imprint on the coaches and young women involved in Fighting Illini Softball will never be forgotten. We are incredibly grateful to the Martin family and look forward to ensuring that the lessons Alice loved to teach — leadership, strength, empowerment — live on forever in our program.”
With this gift, the Illinois Office of Athletics Development has secured its fourth naming gift in the past two years. Other naming gifts have included funding and support for Demirjian Park for track and field and soccer, the Henry Dale and Betty Smith Football Center, and the Susan and Clint Atkins Baseball Training Center.
“The softball training facility will be designed to allow Illini student-athletes to train year-round in pursuit of excellence,” Senior Associate Athletics Director for Development Howard Milton said. “Anyone who ever spent time with Alice can tell you that she pursed excellence in all that she did therefore this facility is the perfect tribute to a woman who was committed to self-improvement, and who was, herself, an ultimate competitor.”
The gift counts toward the $300 million fundraising goal for the Division of Intercollegiate Athletics, which is part of "With Illinois," the $2.25 billion University-wide fundraising campaign.
