This morning, I was leafing through some old(er) emails and found this Fairfield University press release sent to me about 2 years ago. I am not entirely sure why I did not post or share it, but I say better late than never. Actually, I was just driving up near Fairfield University (Fairfield, CT) on a recent trip up north to see family and friends for Christmas. My apologies to the Fairfield Sports Information staff who sent this to me and I apologize for not doing my part to promote this field renaming event. So, without any more delay or excuse, here is an email, photo, and press release I received from Fairfield University’s Susan Cipollaro, Associate Director, Media Relations & Content Marketing:

Fairfield’s Baseball Alumni Diamond has been renamed the Don ’63 and Chris ’88 Cook Field in honor of former Athletics Director C. Donald Cook ‘63 for his contribution to Stags baseball and his efforts to help propel the program as a national force. Don Cook was a standout with the Fairfield baseball team where he served as co-captain in 1963. He became head coach in 1966, and directed the Stags for 19 seasons, transforming the program into a respected Division I entity. 

In 1971, Cook was appointed director of athletics, a position he held until 1986, where he supervised the building of the Recreation Complex, the expansion of Alumni Hall, and a renovation of Alumni Field. He was a co-founder and the first president of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) and was inducted into the Fairfield Athletic Hall of Fame in 1984.

The field’s new name also honors the memory of Cook’s son, Christopher Lance Cook ’88, who died in 2014 after a long illness. Christopher earned a bachelor’s degree in finance in 1988 from Fairfield’s Charles F. Dolan School of Business, rising to the position of vice president and general manager of indirect equipment finance at Hitachi Capital America Corp. A scholar athlete, Christopher played baseball throughout his college career at Fairfield (1985-88), and ranked among the Stags’ batting leaders, following in his father’s footsteps.

Here is the official press release regarding the field renaming:

By the way, the Fairfield University Stags Baseball season begins just about a month or so from today. Here is the Stags official baseball page with roster, schedules, and so much more – Fairfield University Stags Baseball. And once more, my sincere apologies for overlooking this very important story in Fairfield University Baseball history.