Since Riggins assumed the role as Director of Athletics in 1999, the Mars Hill athletic complex has seen a face lift. Meares Stadium saw the installation of synthetic turf and the W. Scott Merrill Press Box along with refurbished seating for the home grandstand and improved visitor seating. Upon completion, the complex assumed the name of Ammons Family Athletic Center and Meares Stadium. It now serves as the home for the football, men’s and women’s lacrosse, and men’s and women’s soccer teams. In addition, a new softball facility was completed on Ponder Field along with the construction of two football practice fields. Belk Field saw the addition of a new practice facility which houses men’s and women’s soccer and men’s and women’s lacrosse. That facility was upgraded
with a new irrigation system and installation of natural turf. In spring of 2013 the Lions baseball team moved into the new Henderson Field. The 2012-13 year also saw the addition of a new 2,100-square foot weight room in Chambers Gym. This fall, the Lions will move into the new Jo Ellen Ammons Field House which will be home for football, women’s soccer, tennis, and golf. Coach Riggins played basketball in college at Francis Marion University before receiving both his bachelor’s degree (1974) and master’s degree (1980) from the University of South Carolina. He and his wife, Rita, reside in Weaverville. They have two grown sons, Chase and Kyle; and three grandsons: Ryles, Brooks, and Davis.
Stanford Arena Floor Renamed for David Riggins SAC Names the David Riggins Service Award
Becky and David Costner. (Photo credit: Photographs with Julie O’Kelly)
David Costner Receives Baptist Heritage Award from Mars Hill University
Mars Hill University coaches gather with President Tony Floyd during a ceremony celebrating the renaming of the David Riggins Court in December 2018.
Mars Hill University has renamed the playing surface in Stanford Arena in honor of retiring Athletic Director David Riggins. Riggins Court is home to the university’s Mountain Lions basketball and volleyball teams. At a retirement celebration on December 4, 2018, university trustees chair Wayne Higgins announced that the trustee board had voted to name the playing court in honor of Riggins. The board passed a resolution citing Riggins’ “distinction, honor, and integrity,” calling him a role model and “a
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credit to his profession and to Mars Hill University.” The resolution described him as “beloved by his university and those whose lives he has touched as coaches, players, students, and colleagues.” At that same ceremony, the commissioner of the South Atlantic Conference, of which Mars Hill is a member, announced a new award called the SAC David Riggins Service Award. It will be awarded each year to an administrator for outstanding service to the conference.
Mars Hill University presented its 2018 Baptist Heritage Award to David Costner of Leicester, North Carolina. Each year at the Baptist Heritage Awards Banquet, North Carolina Baptist entities honor people who have contributed to the individual organizations in unique ways. The 2018 banquet was held April 10, at the Joseph S. Koury Convention Center in Greensboro. The event was co-sponsored by the Baptist State Convention of N.C. and the N.C. Baptist Foundation. Costner is a graduate of Mars Hill, class of 1970. The Costner family has a long history with the institution: both of Coster’s parents attended the school, as did his sisters and the woman who ultimately became his wife. He met Becky on the
first day of classes in 1966. Following graduation, he taught and coached in Buncombe County while also serving in the U.S. Army Reserves, then in 1975 began a career in the transportation industry. He retired in 2013 as director of national account sales at Continental Freight Company. Following retirement, David and Becky Costner returned to western North Carolina. He served on the Mars Hill University board of advisors and in 2014 joined the board of trustees. “What a joy it is to serve God and this great university,” Costner said. “ I am honored to give back just a portion of my time for the many opportunities MHU has given to me.”
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