Hillsdale College Dedicates Jim and Sallie McGinnis Track and Field Facility
The facility will expand opportunities for the program’s growth and prestige and enable Hillsdale to host a greater number of events throughout the season.
HILLSDALE, Mich. — Hillsdale College held a dedication and ribbon cutting on April 17 for the Jim and Sallie McGinnis Track and Field Facility. The facility will expand opportunities for the track and field program’s growth and prestige and enable Hillsdale to host a greater number of events throughout the season.
“Gifts like this are vital; that just means you can’t live without them,” said Hillsdale College President Larry P. Arnn. “They’re best when they come from people who understand, who love the same things we love, who see that we love them, and who join us in that love. Sally and the other McGinnises are unsurpassed in that quality, and we could not be more grateful to them.”
“Gifts like this are vital.”
The facility is named in honor of Sallie A. McGinnis, who provided a leadership gift for the facility, and her late husband, Professor James W. McGinnis.
“I’m really thrilled to be here for this dedication — this beautiful, beautiful facility here,” McGinnis said. “Hillsdale, really, I think of as a ship sailing in some very choppy waters and really with an undercurrent of the conflict here in our country and abroad in the world, but strong — a very strong ship, under the indefatigable leadership of Dr. Arnn.”
The facility, located in Hillsdale’s Hayden Park, features a press box, a grandstand, and a nine-lane Mondo-surface track identical to those used in recent Olympic games, as well as top-notch facilities for all collegiate-contested field events, including a double-sided long jump pit, dual runways for pole vault, two sectors for shot put, and an adjacent long throws area.
“The lessons of grit, dedication, facing adversity, and striving for excellence will be developed right here on this track.”
“I could not imagine a better day to dedicate this track, while hosting our historic track meet, the Gina Relays,” said John Tharp, director of athletics. “In the next three weeks alone, we will have over 1,700 student athletes from across the country having a chance to compete at one of the finest track venues in the United States. Sallie, I promise at Hillsdale College, we will honor your family by developing the minds and hearts of our students. We know how important teaching was to your husband, and the lessons of grit, dedication, facing adversity, and striving for excellence will be developed right here on this track.”
The Hillsdale College men’s and women’s track and field teams compete in NCAA Division II as a member of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC). Under head coach Jessica Bridenthal, the Chargers success in the sport has continued this season with multi-time national champion thrower Ben Haas, two-time national champion Allison Kuzma, and four other All-American finishers. From April 29 through May 1, Hillsdale hosted the G-MAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships at the newly dedicated Jim and Sallie McGinnis Track and Field Facility, with Hillsdale’s women’s team capturing its first outdoor team conference championship since 2022.