Athletic Department Receives Largest Private Donation in History of University
 |  Pete Wittmann contributed a $4.5 million gift, the largest in the University's history, to athletics. |
April 29, 2003
CARBONDALE, Ill. -
By Paula M. Davenport
Media & Communication Resources
Thomas P. "Pete" Wittmann admits he wasn't a star athlete during his days as a Southern Illinois University Carbondale student. But the experience taught him the importance of perseverance and teamwork, qualities he hopes to help instill in future student-athletes.
Wittmann, a native of Town and Country, Mo., today (April 29) announced that he is contributing a $4.5 million gift - the largest private donation in the University's history - during a news conference at the SIUC Student Center. The gift will pay for the creation of a spacious new high-tech training facility for intercollegiate student athletes.
"This marks the first time a new facility on our campus will be constructed entirely with private funds from a single donor," SIUC Chancellor Walter V. Wendler said. "The University relies on tuition, state dollars, grants and contracts, and private contributions like this one to build on our long-standing tradition of commitment to excellence. This very generous gift is a significant investment in our students."
Plans call for a two-story, 10,000-square-foot addition to the north wing of Lingle Hall, which adjoins the SIU Arena. Doors should open in about two years. The project requires approval from the SIU Board of Trustees.
The building will bear the names of Wittmann, who insists on giving himself second billing, and his best friend from college, Kenny Troutt. The two met on McAndrew Stadium's football field and belonged to the Salukis' team in the late '60s. They went on to become roommates, fraternity brothers, incredibly successful business partners - and remain best friends today in Dallas.
"Kenny Troutt is the brother I never had," Wittmann said. "Aside from my wife and my father, he's been the most influential person in my life - spiritually, morally and financially. I thought this gesture would be a good way to recognize him. He's not the type of guy to draw attention to himself."
Wittmann, 54, admits he personally lacked the prowess to become a Saluki standout.
But he said participating in college sports sparked a doggedness that has spurred his success - first as crew chief for Troutt's basement waterproofing business, later overseeing massive tile installations in such places as St. Louis Centre and Barnes Hospital and finally as an early investor in a Troutt-founded telephone company, which mushroomed to become the nation's fifth largest by 1997.
"Athletics has always been to me a very important part of life," Wittmann said. "And in sports, of course, you always want to win. But when you don't, athletics teaches you to strive to get better and better."
Wittmann said he hopes the new center will inspire a new crop of young men and women to set high standards and to develop the perseverance and grit necessary to attain them.
"I wasn't a great athlete," Wittmann said, "in fact, I warmed the bench most of the time. But belonging to the team gave me the drive and the desire to get better. I aim for that in all my work.
"I learned if you just keep on trying and keep on trying - you're going to come out OK," he said.
Rickey N. McCurry, a vice chancellor in charge of SIUC's fund-raising activities, praises Wittmann's example and generosity.
"This is a pivotal event for our University," McCurry said. "Mr. Wittmann's gift demonstrates how private contributions can have a positive, long-lasting influence on generations of collegians yet to come."
The Troutt-Wittmann Athletic and Training Center will feature a first-floor fitness center nearly three times larger than the one now available to intercollegiate athletes. The larger facility will be able to accommodate more athletes at once and allow concurrent use by several teams.
A variety of high- and low-tech equipment will fill the fitness center to enhance training, conditioning, treatment of injuries and physical rehabilitation.
On the second floor, athletes will find a mix of quiet areas in which to study or be tutored, along with high-speed Internet hook-ups and a combination of traditional and modern educational resources, from books to study guides and computer labs.
"This gift will help make SIUC more attractive in the recruitment of student athletes and coaches as we seek to implement the Southern at 150 plan, a blueprint for our University's future. This strategic plan sets forth guideposts to help us become one of the country's top 75 research institutions," said Dr. Marsha Ryan, president of the SIU Foundation's board of directors.
"If you look at the institutes we desire to be among, like LSU and the University of Kentucky, you will see they all have recognizable intercollegiate athletic programs. Your gift, Pete, will help SIUC grow in that direction."
SIUC Athletics Director Paul Kowalczyk echoed her sentiment.
"The future of Saluki Athletics just got considerably brighter, thanks to the generosity of Pete and Elaine Wittmann. Their gift will improve our ability to nurture and enhance both the academic and athletic abilities of our student athletes. Its impact will be immediate, substantial and further our efforts to recruit the very best collegiate athletes to Carbondale."
Wittmann is the son of William G. and the late Edna Mae (Sanders) Wittmann. His mother grew up in West Frankfort. His father calls Lake of the Ozarks home.
Wittmann and his wife have two small children of their own and he is the father of four children from a first marriage.