In early January, construction began on the “Norm Sundstrom Walk of Fame” in the Wise Center, in honor of Allegheny College athletics and former Athletic Director Norm Sundstrom.
“My vision was to put our excellence on display and reiterate that it is not only the past, but the current, and hopefully the future,” said current Athletic Director Bill Ross. “My goal was for that space to be aspirational.”
The newly installed Walk of Fame consists of eight pillars with three display cases to each pillar, allowing for every Allegheny team to be recognized. The display cases include team memorabilia and championship trophies. To the right of the displays is a kiosk with information on all athletes in the Hall of Fame.
The Allegheny Hall of Fame inducts new members every year, a process that was started by Sundstrom himself.
The idea for the project originally came from Ross, along with Vice President for Institutional Advancement Matt Stinson. While Ross managed the coaches and memorabilia for the cases, Stinson handled connections with the alumni donors. The installation of the Walk of Fame was entirely funded by Allegheny College alumni.
The project originally gained momentum following the renovation of the baseball field in honor of former head coach Robert Garbark, ’32 Stinson said. The late Frank Fuhrer, ’48, namesake of Allegheny’s football stadium, had been involved with the renovation of the baseball field and said the next person who needed to be honored was Sundstrom.
Ross credits many advancements to athletics thanks to Sundstrom. “He put us on the map, athletically speaking,” Ross said.
Ross said Sundstrom was meant to be honored for also being a beloved coach to athletes.
“I don’t know that we would have been able to receive the donations as quickly as we did had we not had that in honor of Norm Sundstrom,” said Ross. “He was just one of those memorable people that touched so many lives, whether they were on his teams or not.”
While the Walk of Fame serves in part to honor Sundstrom, it largely exists to inspire current and future athletes.
“I’ve always had this vision that our Hall of Fame information needs to be a lot more out front so people can get a sense of the rich tradition we have within Allegheny athletics,” said Ross. “To celebrate those who came before us, maybe motivate our current athletes to want to try and achieve the same things of those who came before them…that was what I wanted to do.”
With funding from the alumni, Ross was finally able to see his wish for athletics come to fruition.
The project was largely collaborative, with teams from Marketing and Communications, Athletics, Physical Plant and Institutional Advancement working together to make it happen.
Penny Drexel, the project manager from the Marketing and Communications department, largely oversaw the construction.
“It’s quite the project, the biggest one I’ve been involved in since I’ve worked here, but it’s been really neat to see it come together,” said Drexel.
Drexel was also the one who found the construction company, Method One, to create the vision. The construction began in early January so as not to disturb students on campus.
Before moving to the lobby, the Hall of Fame plaques had overlooked the basketball courts.
Ross felt like this was not enough to honor the history of athletics, and Stinson was inclined to agree.
Allegheny has a strong history of athletics with many proud alumni from the 1980s and 1990s, Stinson said. Now, the college has a space to bolster that legacy.
“When you walk into the Wise Center now, it has a totally different feel,” Stinson said. “There’s a ‘wow’ factor. And that’s what we need to show the student athletes that we’re totally committed to their experience here and it’s also what our coaches need as they’re recruiting potential students to come to Allegheny.”
The cases will not be static; coaches will be able to add trophies and other additions to the collection as each team continues to victory.
The Walk of Fame will be officially opened on Saturday, Feb. 10. President Ron Cole, ’87, as well as Ross, Stinson and Sundstrom himself, are all slated to speak.
“It will be an amazing day to celebrate all that Norm has done for athletics, along with the donors that made it happen, along with coaches and student athletes,” Stinson said.