BOT Approves Naming of Softball Stadium

Illinois State University's Board of Trustees approved the naming of the softball stadium as the Marian Kneer Softball Stadium in recognition of her contribution and commitment to the University through her support of the intercollegiate softball program.

"We are forever grateful for Dr. Kneer's generosity toward Illinois State University and its Department of Athletics," said Sheahon Zenger, director of Intercollegiate Athletics.  "We value her loyalty to our athletics program and to the sport of softball, and we are pleased to have a lasting legacy in her honor on our campus."

Kneer earned her bachelor's and master's degrees from Illinois State.  In the 1970s, she pioneered the inclusion of women's sports in the Illinois High School Association, two years prior to the passage of the Title IX Education Amendment.  Kneer was selected as an ISU Athletics Hall of Fame member in 1976 and a member of the College of Education Hall of Fame in 2004.  Kneer is the co-author of "Softball, Fast & Slow Pitch," a publication now in its sixth edition and part of the curricula in many softball classes since 1967.

Kneer was born in Peoria, Ill., and graduated from Woodruff High School.  She went on to earn her doctorate in physical education from the University of Michigan and was termed "the world's greatest softball catcher" in the late 1950s.  Kneer taught at East Peoria High School and is a Professor Emeritus at the University of Illinois-Chicago.  She is a member of the Illinois Softball Hall of Fame and the Illinois Coaches Association for Girls and Women Hall of Fame.  In addition to softball for the Caterpillar Dieselettes and Gipps Brewery teams, Kneer also played basketball and field hockey and coached girl's basketball as well as served in every elected position for the Illinois Association for Health, Physical Education and Recreation and served with the National Association for Sport and Physical Education.