Comments from the Tim Heimann Court unveiling on Saturday, April 26, 2008.

Roger Taylor '63
President

“In 1951, Knox College completed the construction of the new Memorial Gymnasium at a cost of $850,000. When we were students here, Anne and I attended basketball games in the new gym. Over the decades, Memorial Gymnasium has served as the venue for men’s basketball and intramural sports. When Harley Knosher introduced women’s intercollegiate athletics to Knox, Memorial Gymnasium became the venue for volleyball and women’s basketball. During the 1960-61 men’s basketball season, Memorial Gymnasium was the site of the first date I ever had with Anne – a painful story I can tell you later.

“Memorial Gymnasium has served the College well, but over the years, the bleachers got a little rattley, the paint scheme got a little tired, the public address system never worked worth a darn, and the floor needed refurbishing. So the Board of Trustees of Knox College put the renovation of Memorial Gymnasium on the Fitness & Athletics Initiative list, with a price tag of $500,000.

“Major capital projects at Knox, such as renovation of facilities, depend upon the generosity of the College’s benefactors. Knox’s principal benefactors are the trustees. Trustee Duke Petrovich and his wife, Nancy – Duke is the class of 1974, a much younger man than I – Duke and Nancy stepped forward and contributed $250,000. Please join me in recognizing them.

“With that major contribution came the privilege of naming the basketball court.

“Then Sue Anderson, class of 1971, and her husband, Tom, class of 1966, also a trustee, contributed $100,000.

“With $350,000 of the $500,000 in hand, it was simple to raise the rest. And although the renovation is not quite complete, we thought that it would be appropriate today to unveil what has been accomplished so far so that we can get a glimpse of the venue that the Prairie Fire volleyball, Prairie Fire women’s basketball, Prairie Fire men’s basketball, and intramurals will have.

“And I would like to ask Trustee Duke Petrovich to lead us into the gymnasium for the next step of this unveiling ceremony.”

Duke Petrovich '74

“So what gave us this great idea it’s sort of like our remodeling at home. Nancy says, ‘Let’s just buy a new couch,’ and all of a sudden there’s new carpeting, new drapes, new paint. When I saw the Fitness Center and I saw the Fleming Fieldhouse, this didn’t look too good. At first, I thought it was a statement from the Art Department because with all different color paint, I thought it was maybe an expression of a liberal arts education, but Roger told me, ‘No, we didn’t have enough of the same color paint to paint the place.’

“This is such a great gym and I have a lot of memories here too. It’s not playing basketball but I was mentioning to someone earlier that I saw Alice Cooper here when he brought out his new song ‘Eighteen’ and I was actually 18 at the time. I saw the production of ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ here. The Harlem Globetrotters.

“I actually never played basketball. I came from Chicago, the inner city, and my first organized basketball game was here, and instantly, in intramurals, I thought I was really a star because I scored in double digits my first game. Then I recall, because when you’re 54, your memory is a little short, I recall there were only four players on the other team. They actually told me to go down to the other basket, stay out of the three-second area, and just wait for the ball. I hate to say my shooting percentage was only about 20 percent, but I did score about 12 or 14 points.

“Our purpose was first to finish off all these great athletic settings because as trustees, I feel very privileged to be part of the group. They’re very generous. I know we just broke ground on the Knosher Bowl. We’ve done things for the track and field, tennis courts, soccer field. And I really believe that once completed, the trustees and alums can turn their attention on other worthwhile initiatives like faculty endowment and Alumni Hall, something that’s dear to me.

“It really just finishes off the school. I’m very proud of that. It just, to me, dresses up and when visitors come here, it coincides with the reputation of Knox. I’m very pleased we’re at this point.

“So with our contribution, we also acquired the opportunity to name this basketball court. I have a philosophy that being a graduate of Knox in 1974, that if I were ever to name something after myself, people should say, ‘Yeah, I understand that because that’s how we remember Duke from 1970 to 1974. And Roger told me, ‘There’s no way we will change the name of Seymour Library.’ He also said that the Downtown Lounge is not under his control. So I was in a bit of a dilemma.

"I had already ruled myself out here so I had a quick huddle with Nancy, our son Steve, who graduated in 2006, and our daughter Lisa. It became very clear that if we name this court, it should really represent Knox College, so when fans and players come here, when they see a name there, it should exemplify the values of the College. It should stand for our tradition. And I mention to Roger a lot of times, I’m humbled by people who appreciate the contributions, but I really believe that without Knox College, I wouldn’t be able to make this contribution.

“It became automatic to us what type of person would really exemplify those values. It became very easy for us. Our Memorial Gym, our buildings, our library, I’ve referred to as the body of the College, and the faculty and staff as the heart and soul. So it’s appropriate for me to recognize that.

“Our criteria was someone who has given their career to Knox, has lived the values, and is also a good decision maker because their best decision in their life was who they selected as their wife, who he believed has given as much as this person to Knox College.

“The second best decision this individual made was to make a career at Knox College. Because if wealth was defined as the people you’ve touched, this person would be in the category of Warren Buffett.

“It’s really indeed an honor and a privilege for all of us, and I know I have the conference from Tom and Sue Anderson, wholeheartedly, Roger and his staff, to unveil and dedicate this court today and forever as Tim Heimann Court.”

Illinois State Representative Don Moffitt

“Thank you, Roger, for the invitation. I have just proven that I can keep a secret because you cannot let Cathy or Tim know about this. Not a word. So I showed up today on time, and this wasn’t even on my schedule.

“Tim, obviously, congratulations. You know, you think about how buildings and facilities get named after people. Often times they’re memorial, and then you’re not here to enjoy it. And then there are naming rights, and I don’t believe you wrote the check. All you did was devote 25, 30 years of your life, so you used the third option. But what an honor and a tribute it is to do that and I congratulate you for that.

“What better time to make reference to something Lincoln said. Of course, Lincoln’s connection to Knox goes way back. But one of his expressions reminds me of today. Lincoln said, ‘I never had a prophecy except simply to do what was best each day as each day came.’ I think that represents your life of doing what you thought was best every day - best for the College, best for the players. That was your objective. And also bring the best out in everybody’s lives you touched.

“So congratulations for being the best and bringing out the best. What an honor for we’re all very thrilled to share this with you. Thank you and congratulations.”

Tim Heimann '70

“I will try to be brief. I’ve prided myself for years in terms of finding out things that are going on around this campus. It’s hard to keep secrets from me. I had no idea.

“I think, having no preparation, there are some things I’d like to say.”

Looking at Harley Knosher:

“It is only because of the Bowl and a failed swimming pool because all I’ve tried to do is what I was taught from the guy I first met here.

“Every bit of this floor has the same blood and sweat and care for young kids from that guy and more so than me. So thank you.”

Looking at Duke Petrovich:

“I remember the day you came back. It’s the only time you’ve come back to Knox College, right? You brought your wife, who had never seen campus, and two kids, who had never seen the campus. That was a fun day. As I look back at it, I wouldn’t be too surprised if your daughter had more fun that day but we don’t want to know too much about whatever she was doing that day. That was a heck of a time.

“But sitting out with your favorite professor at the country club. Seems to me now that might be a bill I have to submit in an expense account.

“I think it made me feel awfully good because you felt so good about your two kids and Nancy seeing this place and feeling a little bit about it. I think you had some apprehension about what it was going to be like 25 years later, or whatever it was."

...

“Different from President Taylor, I was smart enough to fall in love with my wife and have my first date before we ever got to Knox College. She wasted a lot of time watching me sit over there for long periods of time. It sounds cliché but to have made it, doing what I did married would have been impossible I think without her.

“I don’t like secrets so that will be the last one. Thank you very much.”

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Pictured below are Tim Heimann, Rob Purlee and Harley Knosher. Knosher was the Knox head men's basketball coach for 24 years before handing over the program to Heimann. Heimann was the head coach of the program from 1984 to 2008. Purlee will take the reins beginning with the 2008-09 season.