Nazareth to Refurbish Locker Rooms with Assist from Van Gundy
Thanks in large part to a generous gift from alumnus Jeff Van Gundy, Nazareth’s men’s and women’s basketball locker rooms will be getting a facelift this summer.
The old metal lockers will be replaced by more modern wooden ones and the men’s locker room will be named in honor of Van Gundy’s coaches when he played at Nazareth – Bill Nelson, Jim Emery and Bob Ward.
The women’s locker room will be named in honor of Van Gundy’s roommate at Nazareth, Farrell Lynch, who was among the thousands who perished in the World Trade Center attack on Sept. 11, 2001.
The locker rooms will be ready for use for the fall of 2012. They will be dedicated during a ceremony Sept. 22, prior to Nazareth’s annual Sports Hall of Fame dinner.
“This is obviously a great thing for us,” said Nazareth Athletic Director Pete Bothner. “It’s nice that someone with the profile Jeff has is able to remember his roots by supporting a cause that is near and dear to him.”
Van Gundy played basketball at Nazareth from 1983-85 and was inducted into the Golden Flyers’ Sports Hall of Fame in 1996. He has coached the New York Knicks and Houston Rockets in the NBA and currently serves as a television analyst for the NBA on ABC and ESPN.
"This is a nice way to preserve the legacy of the coaches who were inspirational to me when I was at Nazareth," Van Gundy said. "I'm happy that the student-athletes at Nazareth will be the beneficiaries."
Van Gundy '85 is a basketball analyst for ESPN and ABC.