CAMPUS LIFE

Field of Dreams

Famous pitcher helping UMHB once again

Pictured, Baseball Hall-of-Famer Nolan Ryan, far left, stands on the location of the upgraded intramural fields, along with UMHB President Randy O'Rear; Ryan's grandson and UMHB senior, Jackson Ryan; and Ryan's son, Reid Ryan.

One of baseball's most famous pitchers, Nolan Ryan, is once again helping make sports on campus a dream come true.

Ryan, who played with Major League Baseball teams for 27 years, and his son, Reid Ryan, who is a former president of the Houston Astros, are the owners of RS3 Turf—the company that was awarded the bid for the artificial turf that is soon to cover 2.6 acres of the intramural fields.

In the 1990s, Nolan helped UMHB raise money through several golf tournaments to build a new baseball field named Red Murff Field, which was originally located in the exact spot of the intramural fields.

“Red Murff was the professional baseball scout who signed Nolan to his first contract,” explained Dr. Randy O’Rear, UMHB president. “Red helped UMHB start our baseball program when he and his wife lived on campus when she worked as a dorm director.”

At that time, O’Rear was working to raise money for the university, and at the request of then-president Dr. Bobby Parker and president-elect Dr. Jerry Bawcom, coordinated with Murff, who asked Ryan to sponsor three golf tournaments in the early ‘90s. This was during the peek of Ryan’s superstardom with the Texas Rangers, and interest was so great, the tournaments helped raise more than $150,000 to build the new Red Murff Field, which has since been relocated to the SportsPlex.

“I think it’s really cool that our association with Nolan Ryan began when he helped us raise money for Red Murff Field, and now he is helping us once again through his turf company,” said O’Rear. “At the time, he and Michael Jordan were the most famous sports celebrities, and in spite of Nolan’s fame, he has always been the kindest and most gracious man.”

Ryan’s grandson, Jackson Ryan, a senior at UMHB, is thrilled to see the improvements to the intramural fields, which he often enjoys playing on with his friends.

“It’s great that it will be flat and people don’t have to worry about divots and getting sprained ankles, and if it’s raining, we can still come out and play,” said Jackson, who was a pitcher on the UMHB baseball team his freshman year.

Paul “Crunch” and Carol McClinton of Waco committed a $1 million gift toward upgrading the intramural fields from natural grass to artificial turf and making other improvements, including field lighting, a pavilion, and permanent striping for the recreational sports played on the fields.

Work on the fields is expected to be complete in October, and a dedication is planned for Oct. 22.

Welcome Week 2021

Students learn about UMHB through a successful week of events

Welcome Week is the first major event that rings in the start of a new semester. Nonstop singing, dancing, and roaring cheers are what students look forward to when attending this event.

This year, more than 750 students signed up and attended Welcome Week 2021. An additional 285 students, faculty, and staff helped move new students into their residence halls on Move-In Day with big, bright smiles and energetic cheers.

There were many events to look forward to during the week, including the Dawson Hollow concert, Spirit and Traditions night, Big Fair, Rec Fest, Love CTX, and most importantly the Dubbing Ceremony.

When asked about her favorite event, Katy Hartt '10, the assistant director of student organizations, said it’s hard to pick a favorite; however, Spirit and Tradition is probably at the top of her list.

“It was so much fun to see everyone getting excited about being at UMHB and learning about our traditions,” Hartt said. “Getting to see Cheer, SaderBells, and the band there performing, made everyone excited to be a Crusader!”

“The returning students, faculty, and staff made the first-year students feel like we were at home,” said Freshman Victoria Kuntz, who witnessed Move-In Day firsthand. “Students participating in Welcome Week 2021 enjoyed the events they attended and made new lifelong friends.”

“Students were eager to get plugged in and involved on campus,” said Hartt. “It was so nice to have Welcome Week back to normal this year so that students could connect more than they could last year without the restrictions.”

More than 285 students, faculty, and staff volunteered to help move in freshmen during the annual "Move In Day" Aug. 4.

Virtual Missions

Students find creative ways to share

the Gospel during pandemic

Even though most of the UMHB mission trips had to be canceled over the last year, the Global Outreach Program didn’t sit idle waiting for the pandemic to pass. Instead, they put their thinking caps on and brainstormed ways to continue to advance the Kingdom from afar through “virtual” missions.

“Some of our teams that were scheduled to go out physically around the world changed their ministry to create video content for their hosts to use,” said Tiffany Horton, director of global outreach.

For the first time in many years, the long-standing mission trip to the United Kingdom was canceled due to COVID-19. The team of mission students that was supposed to travel to Europe instead created a video introducing UK students to Texas culture. They also shared their testimonies. From showing local barbecue and longhorn cattle to creating two-step dance tutorials, the team created a video that is now being shared in the different schools in the UK to help enhance the ministry of its global partner. Other mission groups were asked to come up with content for vacation Bible school materials. Other hosts were willing to set up English camps and pair locals with a UMHB student to practice language skills.

“One of the positives of COVID is that it really let us creatively problemsolve,” Horton said.

When it came time for Mission Emphasis Week, an annual event held each October that aims to promote global awareness, relationships, opportunities, and service among UMHB students, Horton had to once again think outside the box.

“Because we could not have visitors last year on campus, we made our Missions Emphasis Week virtual, too,” Horton said.

Working with career services, Horton used their job fair software to invite students and missionaries to connect virtually.

“We were able to have missionaries who were still in their countries Zoom in virtually for Mission Emphasis Week,” she said. “In the past, we haven’t included missionaries unless they were stateside, so I think now we want to add a virtual component to future events.”

The missionaries who participated were asked to develop skills the Global Outreach Program can use to help train students now for future mission trips and sharing the Gospel.

Later in the year, as regulations began to loosen in the US, several mission teams were able to plan two domestic trips during the winter break and two this summer. For the winter trips, students were able to work with Samaritan’s Purse to help with disaster relief in La Grange, Tex., and North Carolina. For the summer, students served in Alaska with GraceWorks Alaska doing backyard Bible camps.

Even though all international mission trips were canceled last year, due to COVID-19, students Zoe Resser and Hannah Glass were able to go to North Carolina to help with a disaster relief building project with Samaritan's Purse.