Mike Peterson signs donation check to Northwest Missouri State

Alan Peterson signs donation check to Northwest Missouri State

The Peterson Family presenting the donation check. Pictured from left: Diana Peterson, Alan Peterson, Erin Peterson holding Brinley Peterson, Mike Peterson, Northwest Athletic Director Mel Tjeerdsma, Andrea Peterson Elba, and Mike Johnson Northwest Missouri State University Vice President of University Advancement.

Atlantic natives and Northwest Missouri State University alumni, Alan and Mike Peterson presented a donation of $100,000 today (Friday), to Northwest Director of Athletics Mel Tjeerdsma and Vice President of University Advancement Mike Johnson. The donation is in support of the Hughes Fieldhouse, which is under construction on the Northwest campus in Maryville, MO. (More information about the project can be found at www.nwmissouri.edu/HughesFieldhouse/ )

Mike Peterson is a former Bearcat football player and member of Northwest’s M-Club Hall of Fame. The family made the gift, in part, as a way to show their gratitude for Northwest and Tjeerdsma, who led the Bearcat football program for 17 years and coached Peterson.

Alan Peterson said “It’s an honor for our family to present this donation. It’s a great honor to honor the past and future champions on the field and in the classroom. We’ve had a lot of fun at Maryville and we’ll continue to have a lot of fun in Maryville.”

The Hughes Fieldhouse is a 21 million dollar project for Northwest Missouri State. Peterson said “This new Fieldhouse is going to be a great addition to the campus because of the things it will do for the community, the college, and the whole Northwest region and even into Southwest Iowa. It’s one of the premier projects in the school’s history. We just felt like we wanted to give back.”

Northwest Missouri State Vice President of University Advancement Mike Johnson said a donation like this “Means everything. We call ourselves a Bearcat family and when you play it out in the way the Petersons have, we benefit because of the love of family. Bearcats can’t do things like the largest public-private partnership project of 21 million dollars without pulling on all the great things of its people.”

The Hughes Fieldhouse is 138,000 square feet and will have a 100 yard turf field and a 6-lane 300 meter track. Athletics Director Mel Tjeerdsma said all sports on campus will benefit from the facility, along with every Northwest student, and the community. He said 14 million dollars of the project has come from private funding. The facility is scheduled to be completed in mid-August and will be dedicated during Northwest’s Homecoming week.