MORGANTOWN, WV (LOOTPRESS) – Longtime West Virginia University supporter David K. Hendrickson has donated $50,000 to help fund a new practice facility for the Mountaineer Marching Band, commonly known as the “Pride of West Virginia.”
According to Hendrickson, there’s only one team at WVU that never disappoints: the band.
“Through the years, win, lose or draw, the band is always fantastic,” Hendrickson said. “They’ve never missed a pass. They’ve never missed a field goal. They’ve never missed a free throw or thrown a ball away to the third baseman. They’re our heroes.”
Hendrickson’s gift was part of WVU’s Day of Giving and came with a challenge for others to match his donation. In total, the campaign raised more than $150,000 for the Pride Practice Field and Facility project.
A Charleston native and former student body president at WVU, Hendrickson said he was excited to help create a dedicated, weather-protected rehearsal space for future generations of band members.
“If you watch the band and think about how intricate their moves are on our football field and realize that all starts in the middle of summer in a parking lot over by the Coliseum, how they take that and translate that over to the football field flawlessly every weekend is beyond my imagination,” he said.
“I can’t imagine what it’s going to be like for them to have their new practice field and facility. I’m so tickled to be able to help them with that project.”
Phase one of the new facility is already under construction at the Med Fields near the Health Sciences area of campus.
It will include an artificial turf football field named Don Wilcox Field and a relocated band tower. Construction is expected to wrap up this summer, just in time for fall band camp.
Future phases will add a storage building and a covered pavilion. The field will also be used for intramural sports when not in use by the band.
“David is a longtime friend and supporter of the band, and we’re so grateful for his passion for ‘The Pride,’” said Keith Jackson, dean of the WVU College of Creative Arts and Media.
“This dedicated practice field and facility has been a long time coming. It’s thrilling to see excavators at work and progress being made, and we can attribute that progress to our loyal friends and alumni who have stuck with us through and through. Their dedication is unwavering and awe-inspiring.”
Hendrickson graduated from WVU in 1979 with a bachelor’s degree in history and earned his law degree in 1982.
He is a founding partner of Hendrickson & Long, PLLC, and has remained active with the WVU Alumni Association, serving as president of its Board of Directors. He was named Outstanding Alumnus in 2004.
His support for the university spans many areas, including Athletics, the College of Law, and the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences.
His love for the band grew during his time as a student, influenced by then-Foundation director Lysander Dudley, and it continues today as a boxholder at Milan Puskar Stadium.
“The band is the ambassador for the school,” Hendrickson said. “Everywhere you go, people know the band. If you go on the road with our team anywhere at all, you hear people comment from other schools, ‘Man, that band is pretty good.’ Everybody loves the band.”
Those interested in contributing to the Pride Practice Field and Facility project can make donations through the WVU Foundation, the nonprofit organization managing private gifts to the university.
