Hall Family Donates $5.5 Million to Vandy United Campaign

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Pictured (L-R): Vanderbilt vice chancellor for athletics and university affairs and athletic director Candice Storey Lee; Chairman & CEO of Hall Capital Fred Hall; Vanderbilt University Chancellor Daniel Diermeier.

Fred and Karen Hall, along with their daughter Allie Hall have made a massive donation of $5.5 million to the Vandy United campaign to help support the success of the Commodores baseball program.

The Hall family’s gift will go towards improvements in both the student-athlete and fan experience at Hawkins Field. The donation will help fund the new lighting system for the playing field, as well as a new sound system, new seats and graphics for the facility.

Their past support helped build the indoor practice and multipurpose facility that has helped Vanderbilt student-athletes realize their potential for the past decade.

“We are grateful to the Hall family for this generous gift and their steadfast support through the years,” says Candice Lee, vice chancellor for athletics and university affairs and athletic director. “Vandy United is our vision for the future of Vanderbilt Athletics. We want student-athletes to grow into champions. We know our blueprint works because we watched the VandyBoys make Hawkins Field the center of the college baseball world across two national championships and five College World Series appearances in 10 seasons. With their gift, the Halls ensure that the VandyBoys and our fans continue to enjoy college baseball’s best home-field advantage.”

An ardent VandyBoys fan who travels the country with former classmates and fraternity brothers to support the team, Hall is a member of the Campaign Cabinet for Athletics. The Halls, for whom the David Williams II Recreation and Wellness Center video board is named, are longstanding donors to the Gridiron Club and Champions’ Circle.

“I just want to help both Vanderbilt and Tim Corbin achieve. With that winning tradition, it made it easy,” says Hall, BA’74, chairman and CEO of Hall Capital.

Ranked as one of the 15 best college baseball stadiums by StadiumJourney.com in 2019, Hawkins Field recently benefited from the addition of new premium seating options for the 2022 season.

“Fred Hall and his family have been tremendous supporters of our program for a long time,” says baseball head coach Tim Corbin. “His friendship and emotion for our players, staff and VandyBoys program are at the very top. We are all very grateful for the Halls’ generosity and Fred’s affinity for our university and baseball program.”

Vanderbilt is 523-177-1 at Hawkins Field since the facility opened in 2002. A home base for two national championships and five College World Series appearances, the Commodores have won 67 of 82 three-game series at The Hawk since 2011.

“The Vandy United campaign reimagines and refocuses our university community’s core commitment to help student-athletes grow and achieve at the highest levels,” says Chancellor Daniel Diermeier. “Coach Tim Corbin and the VandyBoys exemplify what it is possible to achieve when we strive for unequaled excellence, and this wonderful gift by the Hall Family serves as further proof that our alumni and devoted donors share our bold vision for the future.”

Steven Boero
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