By Sean McDevitt
FightingIllini.com

Susie Atkins grew up with baseball. Listening to games on the radio with her family and helping her father when he coached Little League teams instilled in her the importance of teamwork, the guiding principle of good sportsmanship, and a sense of fair play.

These ideals have stayed with her over the years and are now embodied in a $3 million donation to the University of Illinois baseball program to create the Susan and Clint Atkins Baseball Training Center.

The new facility will be approximately 26,000 square feet and will include a large training space and recruiting lounge. The training space encompasses an entire baseball infield with ceiling-mounted nets for hitting and pitching practice. The complex will be adorned with a new grand entrance for Fighting Illini Baseball. The $8 million facility will connect to the current clubhouse and locker rooms and should be completed by 2021.

"The generous contribution by Susie as the lead gift to push forward the Susan and Clint Atkins Baseball Training Center, will position Illinois baseball with one of the premier indoor baseball training facilities in college baseball," said Illinois Baseball head coach Dan Hartleb. "Our program has always taken pride in the development of our student athletes. This facility will give us an up-to-date around-the-clock training center that will allow our young athletes to excel at the highest level on the playing field. I am confident that this facility will help us to recruit many more top athletes and will help us to push forward with our goal of competing at the national level every year and to win a national championship."

SOMETHING TO BE SO PROUD OF
Atkins grew up in Tolono, a small community just south of Champaign-Urbana. Her roots run long in Champaign County. Her great grandson is the ninth generation to be born in the county.

When the men returned from World War II, her father among them, a majority of them found work at the University. It was a huge sense of pride.

"Growing up in Tolono and getting to look to the north, that's where the University of Illinois was, and it was always something to be so proud of in our little small community," said Atkins.

Additionally, baseball was an especially important part her life.

"When we were little, growing up, we'd all get together," said Atkins. "My father, my grandfather, my grandfather's seven brothers... there'd always be at least three or four radios going on at the same time and we'd be listening to the baseball games."

In addition to following the Major League teams, the Atkins family helped bring baseball to their community.   

"My father became a Little League coach," said Atkins. "When he first started in the mid-'50s, there was only the traveling team, and all those little boys had to be sent home because they didn't belong to a team. But Daddy, he made sure within one year after he started coaching that every little guy that tried out for Little League was on the team, and he built the park up to hold four diamonds and then the traveling team diamond. He did all that himself."

Competition and good sportsmanship was instilled in Atkins by her father.

"Win or lose, you always won the game," said Atkins. "That was part of it. If you sign up for doing something, you don't back out. You follow through. I'm not an athlete, but it sure is fun and so enjoyable to see others who know how to get themselves going in the right direction and be a winner, and there's lots of ways to win. You also win when you know how to handle losing. It's just how you play the game."

WORK AS A TEAM
Illinois athletics has been something the Atkins family has been involved with for a long time.

"The athletic program gave you something to be proud of--where you were and where you lived," said Atkins. "I've always thought that Illinois had good sportsmanship and they did things right. It showed us in our community how we should be, too, and how to support a team. We all work on teams in our everyday lives, but I think Illinois athletics has showed us how to work as a team."

In the early '90s, Susie Atkins and her late husband Clint were instrumental in creating one of the top ten college tennis facilities in the country.

The $5.3 million Atkins Tennis Center opened in 1991 and was originally comprised of eight outdoor and six indoor courts. The indoor courts reside inside a 58,000 square foot building which also includes a pro shop, locker rooms and offices. The facility was made possible thanks to the $2.5 million donation from Clint and Susie Atkins.

Atkins recalls the most important aspect of the Tennis Center was not about it being the best for the student-athletes, but for everyone.

"It had to be for the community," said Atkins. "We needed to share with both athletics and with the community, and I think it has really benefited them greatly. And the caliber of young people that come and play tennis, too, they're so bright. It's so international."

The new facility changed the face of the tennis program practically overnight. It would not be unheard of to see the Illinois Baseball program reap a similar reward with the completion of the Training Center.

"I will make sure that during my tenure, every Illinois player that walks through the doors of the Susan and Clint Atkins Baseball Training Center will understand the excellence represented by the name on the building," said Coach Hartleb. "Speaking for our entire Illini baseball family of past, present and future, we all thank Susie for her commitment to excellence and her philanthropic gift to position our program for future stability and excellence."

ALL THE REALLY GOOD QUALITIES
Few sports embody the spirit of America like baseball. However, Atkins was taught to love all sports.

"I learned to love football because of all the excitement," said Atkins. "You could hear the crowd at Memorial Stadium when the touchdowns were made. Then, basketball was so exciting in the mid-'50s and early '60s and sitting right next to my father watching, and him telling me about the team members, how you play, using good sportsmanship, and when you start something to finish it. As far as I'm concerned, all the really good qualities of what you're supposed to be in life comes from sports."

The Atkins family has been a driving force in the Champaign-Urbana community both in commercial real estate and with Illinois athletics.

"It is hard to put into words what the Atkins family has meant to our entire community," said Hartleb. "The family's work ethic and community leadership is amazing. During my 29 years in Champaign and working for the athletic department, I have admired both Susie and the late Clint as well as Suzette, Todd, Spencer and their families. The Atkins have given much more than anyone truly realizes to make Champaign-Urbana a thriving community and to position University of Illinois for long-term success."

Atkins feels honored to have done so much for others and thrilled to directly be a part of the new Baseball Training Center.

"I am so proud that I can give, and I'm a female," said Atkins. "It shows me that I can do something personally. It doesn't always have to be the male figure. I can do it, too."