TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- The Indiana State University Board of Trustees today (Feb. 27) unanimously approved the renaming of the new baseball stadium, Bob Warn Field at Sycamore Stadium. Warn spent 31 seasons as the head coach of the Sycamores, compiling 1,070 career victories and six Missouri Valley Conference Championships.
“I am pleased that the Indiana State University Board of Trustees accepted our recommendation and has unanimously approved the naming of our baseball playing surface Bob Warn Field,” Director of Athletics Ron Prettyman said. “Coach Warn spent most of his career at ISU building a quality baseball program and more importantly building young men and preparing them for life. His dedication and commitment to Sycamore Athletics is unquestioned. He believed in the true definition of the term ?Student-Athlete' and always stressed academics first.”
Coach Warn was obviously very pleased to receive this special honor.
“On behalf of all of the hundreds of players, coaches, support staff and fans, I want to humbly thank everyone, especially coach Meggs, who was involved with this honor,” Warn said. “It is a wonderful gesture to by the donors to make our teams of 31 years, my family and I part of the new physical changes about to take place to the baseball field. For the Athletic Department and the university administration to allow these improvements to take place is huge. Hopefully future teams will find this a big boost in recruiting and in all competitive aspects. We are overwhelmed with this honor.”
Current Sycamore head coach Lindsay Meggs likewise was thrilled with the news of renaming the field in honor of Bob Warn.
“Congratulations to coach Warn and Indiana State University,” Meggs said. “This is a well deserved tribute to the man who built the Sycamore baseball program. I am honored to be the coach who has the privilege to adding to his legacy.”
Warn's 31 years at ISU saw 91 of his players go to professional baseball ranks with 19 of those players advancing to the Major Leagues. Warn was honored three times as Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year and guided his 1986 club to the school's only appearance in the College World Series. That team was inducted into the ISU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2002.
On a personal level, Warn has been inducted into the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2003, the Iowa Western College Hall of Fame in 2000 and the Indiana Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 1990.
Warn retired from ISU in 2006 and currently resides in West Terre Haute, Ind., with his wife Bonnie. A formal dedication ceremony will take place prior to the first game of the 2010 season. Construction of Bob Warn Field at Sycamore Stadium will begin at the end of the 2009 baseball campaign.
