UConn receives historic donation to renovate Greer Field House
The UConn athletic department announced Friday that Dr. Trish M. Bailey, a 1999 graduate and member of the cross country and track and field teams, has made a lead gift toward the renovation and expansion of the Hugh S. Greer Field House.
The gift, according to a UConn release is the largest cash contribution ever received from a UConn alumnus and the largest gift dedicated specially to UConn athletics. The Board of Trustees will vote on Oct. 26 to named the facility the Bailey Student Athlete Success Center.
The total amount of the donation not released, as requested by Bailey.
“Trisha Bailey is an American success story that has its roots in the classroom and in competition at UConn,” athletic director David Benedict said in the release. “She is the ideal model for our student-athletes to aspire to become champions in all they pursue well after their playing days are over.”
The 80,000-square foot facility will house an academic center, clinical space for sports medicine and mental health services, kinesiology teaching space, a rowing practice tank, strength and conditioning apparatus, a communal kitchen and nutrition area, and a multipurpose training and meeting spaces.
New locker rooms and team offices will be constructed for field hockey, rowing, swimming, tennis, and both men’s and women’s track & field. Other improvements include a new entry pavilion and reception area, and a landscaped pedestrian way between the facility and the adjacent George J. Sherman Sports Complex.
Bailey was born in Jamaica, raised in East Hartford, and now resides in Orlando, Fla., where he she has become a multi-million entrepreneur. She has founded several companies, including Bailey’s Pharmacy, Bailey’s Medical Equipment and Supplies, Bailey’s Scrubs, Bailey’s Real Estate, Bailey’s Ideal Choice Homes International Real Estate Division, Bailey Charitable Foundation, and Serenity Ranch.
“It’s not so much the journey that I found to be most important,” said Bailey. “It’s the way I treated those along the way that mattered the most, and when I look at the beginning of it all, UConn was right there.”