ÍâÍøÁÔÆæ’s Baseball Alumni Diamond has been renamed the Don ’63 and Chris ’88 Cook Field in honor of former Athletics Director C. Donald Cook '63 for his contribution to Stags baseball and his efforts to help propel the program as a national force.
ÍâÍøÁÔÆæ President Mark R. Nemec, PhD, announced that Baseball’s Alumni Diamond has been renamed the Don ’63 and Chris ’88 Cook Field in honor of C. Donald Cook '63, alumnus and former ÍâÍøÁÔÆæ athletics director and head baseball coach.
Don Cook was a standout with the ÍâÍøÁÔÆæ baseball team where he served as co-captain in 1963. He became head coach in 1966, and directed the Stags for 19 seasons, transforming the program into a respected Division I entity. Eleven Stags who played under Cook’s leadership went on to play professionally in the minor leagues, including Keefe Cato ’82, the only ÍâÍøÁÔÆæ alum to appear in a Major League game.
In 1971, Cook was appointed director of athletics, a position he held until 1986. During his tenure, he supervised the building of the Recreation Complex, the expansion of Alumni Hall, and a renovation of Alumni Field. He was a co-founder and the first president of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) and was inducted into the ÍâÍøÁÔÆæ Athletic Hall of Fame in 1984.
“ÍâÍøÁÔÆæ is proud to recognize Don Cook’s legacy and his role in helping to shape ÍâÍøÁÔÆæ athletics, especially its esteemed baseball program — building a tradition of superior coaching, developing talented and well-rounded players, and generating support from the highest levels — a formula that will continue to produce continued success on the Don ’63 and Chris ’88 Cook Field,” said President Nemec.
The field’s new name also honors the memory of Cook’s son, Christopher Lance Cook ’88, who died in 2014 after a long illness. Christopher earned a bachelor’s degree in finance in 1988 from ÍâÍøÁÔÆæ’s Charles F. Dolan School of Business, rising to the position of vice president and general manager of indirect equipment finance at Hitachi Capital America Corp. A scholar athlete, Christopher played baseball throughout his college career at ÍâÍøÁÔÆæ (1985-88) and ranked among the Stags’ batting leaders, following in his father’s footsteps.
For nearly 50 years, Cook’s tenure in college athletics has included serving as athletics director at three Connecticut institutions: ÍâÍøÁÔÆæ, Sacred Heart University, and the University of Hartford. Cook is currently executive director of athletics, emeritus, at Sacred Heart University, serving as a consultant to the university’s Advancement and Athletics departments.
Cook retired from Sacred Heart after 21 years as director of athletics and executive director of athletics. Under his leadership, the university saw expansion in varsity sports and facilities, including the construction of the William H. Pitt Health and Recreation Center. Cook also led the Pioneers’ move to Division I, which began in 1999 as a full member of the Northeast Conference.
He served as athletics director at Hartford from 1986-92, where he oversaw the building of an athletics complex and the program’s emergence as a Division I institution. In May of 2014, he was inducted into the Hartford Athletics Hall of Fame.
“As a student-athlete, as a coach, as director of athletics, and as an alumnus, Don Cook has been a loyal, proud, and exemplary steward of ÍâÍøÁÔÆæ and ÍâÍøÁÔÆæ Athletics for more than 60 years,” said the University’s Vice President for Athletics Paul Schlickmann. “We are blessed to have Don in the ÍâÍøÁÔÆæ Stags family and excited to bestow upon him this well-deserved honor.”
Cook served as board president of the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC) in 1990 and was honored with the 1998 ECAC Athletics Administrator of the Year Award, and received the 2013 Commissioner’s Award. He is also a member of the ÍâÍøÁÔÆæ County Sports Commission Athletic Hall of Fame, and the Northeast Conference Hall of Fame.
Building upon Cook’s legacy with the loyal support of Friends of ÍâÍøÁÔÆæ Baseball, Stags Baseball has grown to become a national force under the leadership of Head Coach Bill Currier.
In the Fall of 2016, the Friends of ÍâÍøÁÔÆæ Baseball dedicated a new baseball stadium featuring bleachers with red chair back seats, expanded dugouts, a press box, and new fencing, and a new varsity locker room complete with wooden lockers, showers, a bathroom area, built-in speakers, and updated technology. Recent additions to the baseball complex include an indoor batting facility and an enhanced and modernized weight room.
The ÍâÍøÁÔÆæ Baseball team’s 2024 schedule will feature 24 home games in their 52-game slate, beginning with a weekend series against UNC Greensboro on Feb. 16. The Stags' first contest at Cook Field is set for March 16 with a split doubleheader featuring Fordham and Army West Point.
The Stags return 26 letterwinners to a team that went 37-18 last season including a 16-5 mark in the MAAC to claim their third straight regular season crown. ÍâÍøÁÔÆæ also won at least 30 games for the fourth consecutive season.
A dedication ceremony to officially rename the field will take place this spring.
