Trinity College

Hartford, Conn., January 26— Trinity College and the Southside Institutions Neighborhood Alliance (SINA) will be joined by distinguished guests, Willie O’Ree and Hartford Mayor Eddie Perez for a dedication ceremony for the new Koeppel Community Sports Center with Albert Creighton Williams ’64 Ice Rink as its centerpiece on Sunday, February 11 at 1:30 p.m. O’Ree, the National Hockey League’s (NHL) first black ice hockey player, played professional hockey for 22 years and rejoined the NHL as its director of youth development for NHL Diversity in 1998. Other highlights of the dedication festivities include Hartford Boys and Girls Club children skating with the Trinity men’s and women’s ice hockey teams, a Trinity men’s alumni game, and an open skate.

The Williams Rink in the Koeppel Cneter serves as the new home ice for the Trinity College men’s and women’s ice hockey teams and provides Hartford with a tremendous new venue for recreation. The Trinity College men’s and women’s ice hockey teams had been playing their home games at Kingswood-Oxford Rink in West Hartford. “We’ve been waiting patiently for this for a long time, and it is exciting, not just for our men’s and women’s hockey teams, but also for the campus community and adults and youth of the Hartford community,” says Trinity Athletic Director Richard Hazelton. About 600 students in the Hartford public schools from pre-K to eighth grade are currently using the skating rink as part of their physical education curriculum.

The men’s squad, coached by John Dunham (33rd season), is one of the most competitive programs in NCAA Division III despite the previous lack of an on-campus facility. Trinity has been to the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) finals in four of the the last five seasons, won the league title in 2003, and earned its first trip to the NCAA Division III Final Four in 2005. The Bantams, which are 5-7-4 overall, are fighting for a seventh straight bid to the NESCAC Tournament with a 3-5-3 league mark this season.

The Bantam women’s team, coached by Andrew McPhee (5th season), is in its ninth year as a varsity program this winter. Also competing in the NESCAC, Trinity qualified for the NESCAC Championship Tourney for the first time in 2005 and has a legitimate chance to do so again this February. The Bantam women are 6-8-1 overall and 2-6 in the league with several NESCAC contests left to play.

While visiting Hartford, O'Ree will visit the Trinity Boys and Girls Club and participate in the CSC’s Learn To Skate program on Saturday, February 10. In his position with the NHL Diversity Task Force, O'Ree visits over 60 elementary, middle and high schools each year, emphasizing the importance of education and goal setting. O'Ree's message to Hartford youth will be similar, he says. “I tell them to set goals, believe in yourself, and don't let anyone convince you that you can't do what you set out to.” He adds that he knows the truth of this statement first hand. Early in his career, O'Ree lost the vision in his right eye due to an errant hockey puck. “The doctor told me I'd never play hockey again,” notes O'Ree, “But I told myself that I could, and I did, for years.” But, he emphasizes, “I tell kids, even if you're really good at a sport, you can only play for a few years – then you're on to the second part of your life. And, for that, you need an education.”

An extension of the Learning Corridor, the Koeppel Center provides safe space for recreational opportunities and constructive programming for the community. Contributions to the project, for which fundraising is ongoing, includes leadership support from Trinity College alumni and parents, as well as local foundations and organizations, including the State of Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development and The Hartford Foundation for Public Giving.

Trinity College is an independent, nonsectarian liberal arts college founded in 1823 and home to the eighth-oldest chapter of Phi Beta Kappa in the country. The College’s 2,300 undergraduates are drawn from all parts of the U.S. and nearly 30 foreign countries. The faculty includes recipients of the Pulitzer Prize, the MacArthur award, Guggenheims, Rockefellers, and other national awards. With its long history of academic excellence, Trinity is consistently ranked among the country’s top liberal arts colleges.

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Media Contact:

Rama Sudhakar
860-297-2139
rama.sudhakar@trincoll.edu