A standing-room only crowd welcomed news Wednesday of a $1 million donation from First Basin Credit Union to Phase II of the James Segrest Stadium.
The announcement, attended by OC staff and officials and First Basin Credit Union executives and staff, was made in the foyer of the Saulsbury Campus Center. Vice President of Advancement Jacqui Gore said the track is expected to open in spring 2024.
Officials said it also signals the return of the OC track program.
Gore said ground was broken for the track Sept. 30, 2021.
“We launched our capital campaign last October and we completed the new turf field in blue track in early 2022. So I know all of you have driven by and see how great that looks. We have continued to work on the fundraising efforts to start phase two of the project, which includes a ticket office, stands on both sides of the field, fencing around the stadium, pavilions and seating for the athletes and an outdoor fitness facility,” Gore said.
The fitness facility will be open to the public, she added.
JSA Architects has been working on details for the stadium and been waiting for word on when to get started.
“Thanks to a very generous contribution, we can now move forward with Phase II of this project …,” Gore said.
Gore said OC will acknowledge the contribution by including the First Basin Credit Union logo as the exclusive financial institution in the James Segrest Stadium.
“The First Basin Credit Union logo and branding will be included on the to-be-constructed scoreboard, east and west side stands and the new outdoor fitness facility,” Gore said.
She added that First Basin is a strong community partner and OC is excited to work with them on “this important project.”
First Basin Credit Union President and CEO Shem Culpepper said they are a staunch supporter of Odessa College, and they are very proud of that.
He added that the project is important to the growth and visibility of the college.
“An athletic program is important to the growth and visibility of a college and with the lack of the track and field program we felt there was great opportunity to jump in and provide the resources to give a kind of jumpstart and get this program off the ground,” Culpepper said.
He noted that First Basin is “pretty selective” on who it partners with. First Basin, he said, shares a lot of the same values with Odessa College.
“The benefit is that it enables us to reach the community and show our support for the entire community. Odessa College is such an important part of the community. It seems natural that our association with them will satisfy both of those goals,” Culpepper said.
Culpepper added that OC has touched the lives of countless people. First Basin has a program that encourages employees to earn associate degrees.
Culpepper said he has four children, all of whom took advantage of OC’s dual credit program.
“OC’s dual credit program is absolutely a godsend for many, many, many families in the Permian Basin. My family is one of those,” Culpepper said.
He added that three of his four children went on to earn their undergraduate and graduate degrees at Texas Tech University. The fourth one is in her final year of her undergraduate program.
“So to say that the dual credit program at OC is a success is a huge understatement and so I thank you guys,” Culpepper said.
He added that First Basin has been successful in the past and has articles and posters to prove it. But they also look to the future.
Culpepper said First Basin wants to share in the vision of OC, continue to expand and be an integral part of the Permian Basin.
First Basin Chief Marketing Officer Tim O’Reilly said this has been in the works for about six months.
O’Reilly said this agreement represents two great organizations are coming together.
Gore said not only will First Basin’s donation help build James Segrest Stadium, but it will help bring track and field back to Odessa College.
Athletic Director Wayne Baker said he first became acquainted with Segrest and Odessa College in the 1980s.
“At that time, they were in a historic run. We have over 60 national championships at Odessa College historically and 11 of them came in track and field. The most impressive thing about Coach Segrest, besides the fact that he’s a wonderful person and a wonderful gentleman, is the fact that he won 11 national championships …,” Baker said.
He added that there are indoor and outdoor national championships which allowed Segrest to win multiple championships in the same year.
Baker added that OC was very dominant in all sports in the 1970’s and 80’s.
“They had a little financial disaster in the ’90s that it won’t bring up again and it caused some programs to be dropped. That was before most of (our times). I can’t really address that other than knowing that that occurred. What we’re doing right now is to not only restore that program to national prominence in track and field, but also to use a very, very fine gentleman’s name in the process. I do know James personally and I know now that he is very proud of it …,” Baker said.
OC President Gregory Williams said the stadium is going to be elegant, impactful and “it’s going to be a part of saving lives like everything else that we do.”
Gore said the capital campaign is still in full force.
“We’re working to raise another $2 million to complete the James Segrest Stadium,” she added.
