By snoadmin
A $1.25 million donation was given for the construction of a new tennis facility as well for the establishment of a scholarship fund for tennis players from Terry Rhodes, a CSULB alumnus.
A $250,000 donation will be given to the CSULB tennis department to update its facilities, and $1 million will go towards an endowed scholarship fund.
Niall Adler, the Long Beach State sports information director, said that the old courts deconstruction started taking place about two weeks ago.
Rhodes played tennis when he attended CSULB and later graduated in 1962 with a business degree. Now, he credits the sport to his success as a real estate transactional lawyer, which has been his profession for 33 years.
“We are certainly very grateful to Terry Rhodes for this generous gift in support of our tennis program and our students,” said CSULB President F. King Alexander in a press release. “Our tennis facilities are outdated and in need of substantial renovation which will begin this spring, thanks to Terry’s wonderful generosity. This gift that will not only benefit our very high-achieving student-athletes, but thousands of other students, faculty, staff and alumni.”
Alexander further stated via press release that, “This is an example of how our university has made an impact on a single individual and how he is unselfishly giving back not just because of his love of tennis but because of his appreciation to California and Cal State Long Beach for making available a high quality university education at a critical time in his life.”
Rhodes, a Rolling Hills Estate resident (located on the Palos Verdes Peninsula), started off his studies at UCLA but then came to CSULB to graduate with his degree.
“Tennis has been very good to me and gave me opportunities for employment,” Rhodes said in the press release. “I ran a tennis program for the city for Santa Ana recreation department while in high school, and in college, I taught tennis lessons and ran the tennis program for the City of Long Beach recreation department.”
After eight years of playing tennis, Rhodes, 67, quit playing competively after competing in the Australian Tennis Veterans Championships. He then directed his focus toward marathon running, which he started in 1995.
“The recreational and social contacts I made through tennis benefited me my entire life,” Rhodes said in a press release. “I hold a major appreciation for what the State of California has given me and this is one way to give something back. I told my children I was going to do something for education, but I didn’t know when or how. Then, I received one of those proverbial letters and I responded.”
Susan Knopick, CSULB director of estate and planned giving, allowed Rhodes to donate the money giving him the opportunity to support public education as well as give back to one of his favorite sports.
Adler said that they hope to have the reconstruction finished by the tennis summer camps or at least by fall so the women’s tennis team can come back to the courts.
