Knox College held a groundbreaking ceremony on Thursday, March 13, to officially start renovation of the Knox Bowl, which will be renamed the Knosher Bowl in honor of retired athletic director Harley Knosher. The ceremony included remarks from Knox College President Roger Taylor, Athletic Director Chad Eisele, Head Football Coach Andy Gibbons, and Knosher.

The $1.8 million project will include an artificial turf surface, new fencing, gates and entry area; lowering of the north berm to open the Bowl to the campus; addition of handicap parking; new goal posts; and enlarged areas for team benches and athletic training staff and equipment.

At the conclusion of the project, scheduled for August, 2008, the field will be renamed the Harley Knosher Bowl, in honor of the long-time Knox coach and athletic director. Knosher coached and taught from 1960 until his retirement in 2000, and served as athletic director from 1964 to 2000.

With the artificial turf, the Prairie Fire football team will be able to practice in the Knosher Bowl throughout the season and free up Trevor Field for Knox soccer practices.

A second phase of the Knosher Bowl, which will include new public restrooms, a concession stand, a covered viewing deck, and more spectator seating, is currently in the fund-raising stages.

Renovation and dedication of the Harley Knosher Bowl, and the renovation of Memorial Gymnasium that is currently underway, are both components of Knox's Fitness and Athletics Initiatives, an expansion and enhancement of campus fitness and athletics facilities.

Among the Fitness and Athletics Initiatives already completed are the $2.4 million E. and L. Andrew Fitness Center, installation of a sprinkler system in T. Fleming Fieldhouse, renovation of the outdoor track and field complex at Trevor Field, renovation of weight room and wrestling facilities, and renovation and dedication of Jorge Prats Soccer Field.

Roger Taylor '63
President
"Thanks to the generosity of 130 donors who have contributed $1.8 million to Knox, today we check off another capital project and focus our fund-raising priorities on two - faculty salaries and Alumni Hall. Today, we begin the work to finish the Knox Bowl and name it for the individual who conceived of it in the first place, Harley Knosher.

"Now there is no better place in America to watch a Division III football game than the Knox Bowl. But when we finish the work that we start this morning, the Knosher Bowl will be even better. It will be accessible to individuals with disabilities. It will be a place where the Prairie Fire football team, rather than just playing five home games a year, will be able to practice every practice, giving Prairie Fire football a true home-team advantage.

"Because the football team will be able to practice on the Knosher Bowl, the men's soccer team can move their practices from the women's softball field to Trevor Field. Because the Bowl will have field turf which drains quickly and is a good inclement weather venue, during inclement weather, softball, baseball, men's and women's soccer will be able to practice in the Bowl. Club sports will be able to play in the Bowl. Community sporting events, who knows, the sky's the limit on what kind of events we'll be able to hold in the Knosher Bowl.

"During his active service at Knox College, Harley Knosher was a looming figure on campus. He coached; he recruited students, not just student-athletes, he recruited students; he directed athletics; he served as a counselor; and he was a valued faculty colleague.

"A senior member of the Knox faculty confided in me once that the thing she most admired about Harley Knosher was that he had an open mind. She said, 'You know the rest of us come to faculty meetings with our mind made up and no matter what anyone says, we won't change it. Harley in contrast,' she said, 'would come to faculty meetings, listen to the arguments, weigh the arguments, and make a decision that he thought was best for Knox College.'

"It is my privilege on behalf of Knox College, to publicly thank Harley Knosher for allowing us to name this wonderful venue for him as a token of the College's appreciation for his service, which continues to this day, to generations of Knox students. Thank you, Harley."

Chad Eisele '93
Athletic Director
"Before I talk about the Bowl, there are people I want to thank. I know I'm going to leave people out because there are so many people who have helped with the project over the few years I have been here at Knox College. First and foremost, I would like to thank Roger and Anne Taylor for all they do for this college, and not just for athletics. With their leadership and their support, I couldn't do what I do without them so thank you very much.

"Tom Axtell and Scott Maust for all they have done to make this day a reality. Believe me, there were one or two days where we didn't know this would be a reality. The help they have given us has been tremendous, so thank you very much.

"Bev Holmes and the Advancement Office for all they have done and continue to do to help this project come to fruition. The Fitness Initiative Task Force, with some of the members here today, thank you very much for all you've done to make this possible. And last, but certainly not least, it needs to be said that on this project, 73 percent of the funds have come from the Board of Trustees, which shows the respect and the love they have for not only Knox College, but of course for Coach Knosher.

"Today we break ground on a project that is near and dear to my heart for two reasons. First as a former football player at Knox, the Bowl holds many fond memories. There is no other field like it anywhere. As a player, you realize it is a special place to play.

"The second reason is about the man we are honoring with these renovations. Coach Knosher has touched the lives of many people, not just Knox athletes, but Knox students and staff, as well as many others who may have no ties to Knox College. I am here today because Harley Knosher showed me, as a young basketball camper, what a wonderful place Knox is and how it would make a difference in my life. Coach Knosher knows if we can get people to visit Knox, see our campus, meet our people, they will have a chance to see for themselves what a great place we have here.

"Now the Knosher Bowl, with its field turf artificial surface, will allow us to bring more people on our campus, from JFL games to high school games to high school playoff games. This renovation I hope will also excite the people of Galesburg to see a game, maybe for the first time. This place will do what Coach Knosher has done and continues to do to this day, make people feel good about Knox College. Coach Knosher, thank you very much."

Andy Gibbons
Head Football Coach
"On behalf of our football team here today and our football staff, I would first like to thank Roger Taylor for his determination in getting this project done right now, and of course for his vision in all of our athletic facilities. I believe the Knosher Bowl is the final piece of our puzzle in our athletic facilities. I think we will have the best facilities anywhere.

"I want to follow up Chad and thank some people as well. I want to thank the Board of Trustees for everything they did. And I want to thank everybody who donated to the Bowl, big or small, it doesn't matter, I want to thank you. I want to thank Tom Axtell and Scott Maust as well, and I want to thank Beverly Holmes and Bob King and the entire Alumni Office. I also want to thank Chad for his diligence and effort every day to try to get this thing done.

"There is no doubt that the new Knosher Bowl is going to have a huge impact on our football program at Knox. That is going to be felt when we play games, when we practice, big time in recruiting, and just in the general atmosphere surrounding our program. I know our team and our coaches feel honored and excited to be the first team to play in the new Knosher Bowl next year, and we cannot wait.

"The thing I would also like to say, from 1960 until today, Harley Knosher has been having a huge impact on so many people's lives. Knowing him since 1991, he is our biggest fan, he's up on this field every game, he is living and dying with every single play, and he is so positive through the good times and the bad times, and I can't think of a better way to honor somebody who meant so much to so many of us, than by putting his name on the place he loves, the Knox Bowl, which is now going to be the new Knosher Bowl.

"Congratulations, coach. Congratulations to all of us. I'll bring him up right now. Harley Knosher."

Harley Knosher
Former Athletic Director
"There are a couple of guys who came in 1960, the same year that Peg and I did, and graduated in 1964, who always say to me, 'Why in the world did it take you 10 times as long as it took us to graduate.' And there is a very simple reason for that. Although they loved it and had a great four years, they couldn't possibly love the place and love the people more than I did, and that's why 40 came pretty easy.

"I would have said on November 6, 1976, that I could never feel better in the Bowl than I felt that day. Some few people here will realize that on November 6, 1976, the then-Siwash, who turned into the Prairie Fire, knocked Monmouth off 32-28 and won the only football championship we have been able to put together in many years. That was quite a feat. I have to say in all honesty, that this is better. To pretend anything else would be unthinkable.

"Let me interject for a moment here, a lot of my family is here and I want to recognize them. There is my wife, Peggy. There is one of my two girls, Laurie Simkins. And there is our beloved granddaughter, a sophomore at Knox, Colleen Harden. Having them here adds tremendous meaning to this.

"When I retired from Knox in 2000, some wonderful things happened. Some beautiful things were said and some decisions made that I treasured in my heart since and always will. One great decision that was made at that time, was the College hired Dan Calandro to take my place. Danny fits into a category that I have argued for many years and is at the essence of what makes Knox great, and that category is people who went here and either stayed or came back.

"If each you will, from your own experience, think about the people you have worked with, either on the faculty, the staff, or the administrative offices who are Knox graduates. If you'll just take a minute and think about it, and what that cadre of people over the years has meant to this institution, you'll find that it's almost unbelievable the impact that our own people have had on their own school. You really don't have to go very far today, do we, to think of a couple who have done pretty well. Roger and Anne Taylor seemed to have made some sort of an impact over these last several years. Interestingly enough, they made a heck of an impact even before they came back to run it.

"As I was saying, when the College brought Danny here to take my place, it was a very comforting and very appreciated thing because I knew certain aspects of the progam that I felt should never change, would not change with his leadership. He exemplified what so many other Knox graduates have done by really coming through and upgrading and improving what he came and found as athletic director.

"Interestingly enough, in my view, as good a job as Danny did, we now have, in my opinion, the best athletic director Knox College has had in a long, long time in Chad Eisele. Chad brought his love for Knox and that is at the heart of it, but he also brought a perspective that came from a nice range of experiences and a different set of circumstances that have put him in a position to do the kind of job of leadership here that I never could have done and frankly Danny never could have done, and interestingly enough, the only other athletic director in the history of Knox College could not have done, Dean S. Trevor. It is worth reporting, I think, that if we take the four that have existed, three of the four are Knox grads. That underscores again the point I was trying to make.

"Lots of thank yous have been given. I am going to say thanks to all of you here today. I want to say thanks to these guys (acknowledging Knox football team) because I appreciate football boys about as much as anybody, especially Knox football boys. And Andy is right, I'm always here, it always matters, and I'll tell you the truth here, when this place is dedicated next fall, the one thing I hope happens most of all is that you knock somebody right on their back down there.

"To all of the people who have made donations, to all of the Knox personnel who have really worked hard to make this happen, and to everyone who will be involved in bringing to fruition this most ultimate joy, I express the deepest gratitude possible. Most of all, what I have to say, is that this is just more proof of what I know is true - this is the finest college in the world."

RELATED LINKS
Knox Bowl Renovation
Knox College Fitness & Athletics Initiatives
Memorial Gym Renovations