MU Gets $8.3 Million in Upgrades

The University of Missouri Athletics Department is getting $8.3 million in upgrades.The gift was announced Tuesday for renovations to Memorial Stadium and a clubhouse for the golf program. The new facilities at The Club at Old Hawthorne include coaches’ offices, locker rooms, heated hitting bays and new swing technology.The donation follows a $30 million gift from the Kansas City Sports Trust in June and a $6.4 million anonymous contribution in December.The Walsworth gift will go toward previously announced Memorial Stadium improvements. The school plans to add 6,000 seats to the stadium, which now holds 71,004 fans.”I can’t emphasize enough how much this means for our golf program,” said men’s golf coach Mark Leroux. “The new facility will be an integral part of training our student-athletes and helping them improve their skills, but it also will greatly benefit our recruiting process as well.”Don and Audrey Walsworth are from Marceline and both University of Missouri alumni. Don is the CEO of Walsworth Publishing and former chairman of the UM Board of Curators. Audrey is also a graduate of the journalism school.Their son, Ed, and daughter, Lynn, played on the Mizzou golf teams, and their son Don Jr. won the Pac-10 championship his senior year at Stanford University. Overall, the family has given nearly $14 million to the college.