Baylor Announces Lead Gift for Carlile Equestrian Building

November 22, 2011

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New facility will provide locker room, coaches offices and meeting space at the Willis Family Equestrian Center

Baylor University has announced a significant naming gift from Baylor Regent Dr. Kenneth Q. Carlile and his wife, Celia, of Marshall, Texas, for the Carlile Equestrian Building. The new facility will strengthen Baylor Athletics' nationally recognized Equestrian program by providing a locker room, coaches offices and meeting space at the Willis Family Equestrian Center.

"The Carlile Equestrian Building is yet another example of faithful Baylor alumni rising up for our University and our exceptional athletic programs," said Baylor President Ken Starr. "Ken and Celia often have stepped in to meet the needs of our dedicated students and student-athletes, and their generosity to this and many other special projects is a blessing to the Baylor community."

Currently, the Willis Family Equestrian Center, named for the family of fellow Baylor Regent Richard Willis, is one of the nation's finest collegiate equestrian facilities. Through the addition of the Carlile Equestrian Building, the team will benefit from a place of preparation and bonding, and coaches will have the advantage of space to plan and strategize. Fully equipped with versatile meeting spaces, a training and treatment room, a locker room for student-athletes and administrative offices for coaches, the Carlile Equestrian Building will meet current needs of the team and further enable the program to train exceptional student-athletes.

"Through the generosity of Ken and Celia Carlile, Baylor Equestrian will be equipped to build upon its early accomplishments and reach even greater success," said Ian McCaw, Baylor's director of athletics. "We are grateful that the Carliles not only saw an opportunity, but chose to invest in the future of this impressive program."

The Carlile's contribution, given "For the Girls," honors Celia; their daughters-in-law, Regan and Leslie; their granddaughter, Virginia; and Baylor Equestrian's student-athletes who dedicate hours of preparation in order to compete with excellence.

Baylor Equestrian has made significant strides each passing season since the program's inception in 2005. Under Head Coach Ellen White's leadership, Baylor Equestrian celebrated a 2010 Big 12 Championship and earned third place in the Hunter Seat Division at the 2011 Varsity Equestrian National Championship--a program best. The Carlile Equestrian Building will expand the current facilities, better equipping the program for continued success.

"We are thrilled to have a place where we can prepare for competition and get together as a team," White said. "It will give the team a 'locker room' bonding experience, which we've never had the opportunity to benefit from outside of the arena. Downtime in a locker room will be great for them to relax and enjoy being together.

"We also are excited to have offices close to the arena," the coach added.

Beyond Ken and Celia Carlile's gift for this new facility, their strong leadership and support of Baylor is evident across the University. The generosity of the Carlile family has extended to the Carlile Geology Research Building, the Packard Lecture Hall in Physics, the Carlile Geology Renovation, the Beaver/Brown Petroleum Studies Laboratory, the Student Life Center, the Goforth Paleomagnetism Laboratory and the Law School Capital Endowed Campaign. The Carliles also have established an endowed scholarship to empower Baylor students and have championed The President's Scholarship Initiative by serving on the Initiative Steering Committee.

The Carliles were honored at a Baylor Equestrian team dinner Nov. 18, following a rousing 12-11 victory over rival and second-ranked Texas A&M.

Through the Carlile's consistent vision, leadership and generosity, students and student-athletes - now and into the future - will benefit from the life-changing Baylor experience. To learn more about opportunities to support the Carlile Equestrian Building and Baylor Equestrian student-athletes, contact Rick Darnell, executive director of athletic fundraising; Rob Kennedy, director of development for Baylor Athletics; or Doug Smith, executive associate athletic director for development at (254) 710-2561, or visit www.baylor.edu/give.

ABOUT BAYLOR

Baylor University is a private Christian university and a nationally ranked research institution, characterized as having "high research activity" by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The university provides a vibrant campus community for approximately 15,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating university in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 80 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 11 nationally recognized academic divisions.
Media contact: Lori Fogleman, director of media communications, (254) 710-6275