$1M Gift Helps Upgrade Rider University Alumni Gym

LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ — A $1 million gift from a Princeton couple will help enhance the game-day experience for Rider University basketball fans, the university announced on Thursday.

Chuck and Isabel Baker made the donation to help renovate Rider University's Alumni Gym, according to the university.

The donation will be used to replace and expand chair-back seating to one entire side of the court. On the opposite side, new bleachers and a row of court side seats will be installed.

In addition, walkway tunnels will be added behind both seating sections to improve the flow into and out of the gym and create better sight lines for those already seated.

Work began at the end of April. It is the latest in a series of upgrades that has included the addition of a practice facility featuring the Jason Thompson Practice Court, new flooring, new lighting and sound system, a video board and upgraded locker rooms, team meeting and film rooms, and new coaches’ offices.

Rider is still raising money for other improvements to the facility. While past upgrades were necessary for the athletic programs that use the facility, the current renovations are deemed important for the fans.

“We look forward to the resumption of competition, and when that happens, we will be ready with these extraordinary new surroundings,” Rider President Gregory G. Dell’Omo said.

The basketball season concluded without a conference tournament or the annual NCAA tournament. The men were 18-12 overall and finished third in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference with a 12-8 conference record. The women were 26-4 overall and finished first in the conference with a record of 18-2.

The Bakers are long-time Rider men’s basketball season ticket holders and devoted supporters of the Basketball Booster Club. Chuck Baker has had a long and successful career in the pharmaceutical industry. Dr. Isabel Baker is a retired assistant professor of college reading at Rider and a reading strategist who now works as a tutor in the University’s Academic Student Success Center.

“We know that these improvements will make significant and positive changes to the inside of Alumni Gym,” Dr. Isabel Baker said. “We can’t wait until we can all be back together again to cheer on our student-athletes.”

Future plans for the arena call for a new and more spacious lobby, new ticketing and concession areas, additional bathrooms, an additional expanded seating section along the baseline and arena corners, an entertainment suite, and a center-hung scoreboard with digital display giving the facility an arena setting.

Also planned are the expansion of the sports medicine area and the addition of a new strength and conditioning center located behind the practice facility.

Those who wish to support the renovation of Alumni Gym or other athletics initiatives can contact Associate Director of Major Gifts Matt Mastrianni at 609-896-5291 or mmastrianni@rider.edu.