Jerry and Linda Fields make record-setting $6 million gift to athletics

Posted by Jayme Blaschke
University News Service
September 5, 2009

Jerry and Linda Fields of Houston have made the largest gift in support of athletics ever at Texas State University-San Marcos with a $6 million donation.

The gift was announced Saturday, Sept. 5, by Texas State President Denise Trauth at Bobcat Stadium during the official opening of the new west-side expansion. The recently-completed football facility was named in the Fields' honor prior to the nationally-ranked Bobcats' 6 p.m. season opener against Angelo State.

"This is a stellar day in the proud history of Texas State athletics," Trauth said. "In appreciation of this gift, and because of their importance to the success of Bobcat athletics, we are naming this expansion the Jerry D. and Linda Gregg Fields Bobcat Stadium West Side Complex."

The west side expansion includes the addition of a suite level and club level with a total cost of $17 million. In addition to the donation by the Fields, the expansion project was funded in part by an increase in student fees that was approved in 2008 by the largest student voter turnout in Texas State history.

"Standing here, looking at what has been accomplished, is simply amazing," said Jerry Fields. "There's simply no comparison between the stadium we have for the first game of the 2009 season and the one the team played in during the final home game of 2008.

"It is impossible to get a sense of the true scope of this expansion from blueprints or concept art. In person, it's overwhelming," he said. "It is incredible. We're very proud to be a part of this."

The architect-engineering firm for the expansion is O'Connell Robertson and Associates, the contractor is Austin Commercial and the project manager is Broaddus and Associates.

The Legends Suite Level includes 15 suites. Each of the suites feature 12 permanent seats and four bar stools. Amenities include season tickets to home games, full kitchenettes, refrigerators and cabinets, a flat-screen television, operable windows that open and close for climate-controlled comfort, four VIP parking passes, and a suite attendant to ensure that Bobcat fans and their guests have the experience of a lifetime. Each suite also contains an elegant plaque that recognizes the contributions to the Bobcat football program.

The Champions Club Level features 450 club seats. The club level includes covered, outdoor seating and also an indoor banquet-style area with tables and additional seating. Packages include pre-game food and game tickets with pricing tied to seat location.

“This is a great gift and we are very appreciative of Jerry and Linda Fields,” said Texas State Athletic Director Larry Teis. “This will serve as a stepping stone for our continued expansion of the stadium.”

"At every step, the student body, faculty-staff, our alumni and the larger community have been with us," Trauth said. "With their continued support, we will reach our goal of taking our football program to the next level."

The Fields are among Texas State’s most generous benefactors. Their recent gift brings their total contributions to Texas State to approximately $9.1 million. They are co-chairs of Texas State’s Pride in Action fund-raising campaign. The campaign has five pillars: academic excellence, a new performing arts center, an alumni center, athletics and the university library.

In addition to the $6 million gift to Athletics, Jerry and Linda Fields' generosity has positively impacted all areas at Texas State – from the establishment of two chairs and two professorships in the McCoy College of Business to the Alumni Center.

Jerry Fields, a 1969 business graduate of Texas State, is founder, chairman and chief executive officer of J.D. Fields & Co., a worldwide supplier of steel products headquartered in Houston, with regional offices in Dallas, Tulsa, New Orleans, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles and Guadalajara, Mexico.

His wife, Linda Gregg Fields, is a 1966 graduate of Texas State and a native of San Marcos.

Jerry Fields was a vice president of L.B. Foster Co. before leaving in 1985 to establish his own business. He and his wife are well-known philanthropists and are involved in a number of charitable organizations, including the American Cancer Society and the Ronald McDonald House. He serves on the Board of Trustees of the Houston Museum of Natural Science. She is on the Ronald McDonald House Board of Directors.