A Press Release from Hartwick College contributed to this report.
Hartwick College, an NCAA Division III program in Oneonta, New York, has established a new endowment for its swimming & diving fund via a $100,000 gift from former assistant coach Paul Windrath and his wife Mary Beth. The fund will provide long-term support for the program, with potential uses including funding the team’s annual training trip, purchasing new equipment, and making improvements to facilities.
Windrath served as Hartwick’s assistant swimming and diving coach for six years beginning in 2007 and later continued, in a limited capacity, for two more years. He recalled his time at the College as being full of wonderful memories of administrators, educators and coaches working together to provide the best possible experience for students. “Hartwick was good to me and I always felt at home,” he said. “The Swimming & Diving Fund honors the past, present and future of the program and provides a meaningful way for past and future alums to support the program that significantly impacted their Hartwick College experience.”
Executive Director of Athletics Paul Vecchio expressed gratitude for the Windraths’ commitment and highlighted how the fund will shape the future of the program, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. “For decades, Hartwick swimming and diving has built memories that last a lifetime,” he said. “This new fund will ensure that future student-athletes share in those same opportunities, carrying forward a tradition that connects past, present and future Hawks.”
The announcement was made right before Hartwick welcomed alumni, families and friends back to campus for True Blue Weekend. The timing highlighted the significance of honoring the program’s past while investing in its future, which is why the Windraths chose to accelerate their plans in keeping with their philosophy of “Giving while Living.”
With that mindset, they established the fund in large part to honor this year’s Hall of Fame inductees, including Head Men’s and Women’s Swim and Dive Coach Dale Rothenberger, the 1991–92 men’s swim and dive team, and diving alumni Lindsay Bowker ’14 and Mark Phillips ’06.
“This is a legacy gift, but also a call to action,” said Rothenberger. “Paul and Mary Beth have created a foundation for others to join them in supporting swimming and diving, ensuring our program continues to thrive for generations.”
Alumni, families, and friends are invited to contribute to the Swimming & Diving Fund and help carry forward the team’s proud tradition. Gifts can be made to the Hartwick College Swimming & Diving Fund at https://securelb.imodules.com/
s/158/lg20/form.aspx?sid=158& gid=1&pgid=3435&cid=6067.
Windrath is now retired and living across the country in Beaverton, Oregon.
The Hartwick women’s swim team is 2-2 in dual meets so far this season, while the men are 1-2.
The Hawks men and women both finished 2nd out of 5 teams at last year’s Empire 8 Conference Championship meet behind the dominant SUNY Geneseo program, Hartwick’s rivals.
22 women and 27 men have earned All-America or Honorable Mention All-America honors for Hartwick over the last 45 years.
All assistant coaches, former and present, should get off their duffs, dig deep and support their schools! AMAZING GIFT from Paul and Mary Beth!!!
Paul and Mary Beth – thank you for again providing a selfless example of service to the sport.
Not exactly sure what they were doing the other 51 weeks of the year (aside from Masters training and Officiating, I believe), but for decades the Windraths were servants to the USA Aquatic Sports world in making sure that the organizational needs of “the Convention” were met in annually running the copy room, producing and distributing hundreds of thousands, and over time certainly millions, of reproductions to facilitate communication of the needs of the various aquatic groups participating. I’m not sure I ever knew their positions on various contentious issues coming before the bodies attending, just that they were dependable servants to… Read more »
Paul; As always, a class act from age group through this generous donation.
I believe this is the same Mary Beth Windrath who is very active in USMS.
She is in the MN masters hall of fame.
Paul and Mary Beth are quite the generous people and very involved in the swimming world.
It’s great they give back to the sport!