Oct. 22, 2020

Media Contact:
Libby Siebens, community relations executive director, 509-682-6436 (Mon.-Thurs.)

The Wenatchee Valley College Board of Trustees announced the naming of the Cooprider Sport Fields Complex. The complex, named after long-time coach and athletic director Sandy Cooprider, includes the Paul Thomas Sr. Baseball Stadium, North Rotary Fastpitch Field, Mike Hollis Soccer Field and the multipurpose field.

Cooprider retired from WVC in 2015 after 44 years. He taught, coached and served as the athletic director. He is a member of the WVC Sports Hall of Fame and received a Distinguished Alumni Award. He led the WVC football team on to win the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges championship in 1983. He was a driving force in the development of the stadium and fields during his time at WVC.

“WVC changed my whole life from my time as a student to becoming an instructor, coach, intramural director and athletic director. I haven’t seen a community as supportive as Wenatchee,” Cooprider said at the October board meeting. “Hundreds of people contributed to the building of the fields and complex. I had a vision. If I had an opportunity, I knew I wanted to make the dream of having a high-quality complex come true, because when you build it, they will come.”

Steve Zimmerman, WVC Board of Trustees member, played baseball in Wenatchee growing up.

“I played youth baseball on the rudimentary fields,” he said. “It’s been a pleasure to watch it grow and change into a complex that WVC can be proud of.”

Cooprider originally came to WVC as a student after high school and played football. A first-generation college student, he went on to get his bachelor’s degree from Montana State University, and his master’s from Whitworth University.

There will be a naming ceremony when gatherings are safely allowed. The complex will feature a plaque honoring Cooprider and detailing his WVC legacy.

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Wenatchee Valley College enriches North Central Washington by serving educational and cultural needs of communities and residents throughout the service area. The college provides high-quality transfer, liberal arts, professional/technical, basic skills and continuing education for students of diverse ethnic and economic backgrounds. Visit our website, wvc.edu.

Wenatchee Valley College is committed to a policy of equal opportunity in employment and student enrollment. All programs are free from discrimination and harassment against any person because of race, creed, color, national or ethnic origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, the presence of any sensory, mental, or physical disability, or the use of a service animal by a person with a disability, age, parental status or families with children, marital status, religion, genetic information, honorably discharged veteran or military status or any other prohibited basis per RCW 49.60.030, 040 and other federal and state laws and regulations, or participation in the complaint process. The following persons have been designated to handle inquiries regarding the non-discrimination policies and Title IX compliance for both the Wenatchee and Omak campuses:

• To report discrimination or harassment: Title IX Coordinator, Wenatchi Hall 2322M, (509) 682-6445, title9@wvc.edu.
• To request disability accommodations: Director of Student Access, Wenatchi Hall 2133, (509) 682-6854, TTY/TTD: dial 711, sas@wvc.edu.