The Grand Valley State University Football Program welcomed back former head coach Brian Kelly Wednesday to witness the official dedication of the school’s newly renovated and expanded Jamie Hosford Football Center, a new state-of-the art, 22,000 square-foot facility that the athletic department hopes will help recruit more talent to the school.
Kelly, now the head coach at the University of Notre Dame, told members of the media that the new football center speaks to the incredible growth that Grand Valley has undergone over the past decade.
“You can see, what it (the Jamie Hosford Football Center) is going to do for this (football) program,” Kelly said. “It’s a great advantage for athletics, but I think (more so,) it's in line with everything that is happening at the university.”
Funding for the new facility came from hundreds of donors, one of them being former Laker Brandon Carr, who currently plays defense back for the Baltimore Ravens in the National Football League. Carr, who has earned over $65 million so far in his career according to Spotrac.com, was in attendance Wednesday to see the new facility’s dedication.
“This is a special day,” Carr said. “To get to come back and reflect on the four years that were an incredible time in my life. But to also come back, and see what Grand Valley State has evolved and changed into."
The new facility is named after Jamie Hosford, a former student athlete. According to the university, while at Grand Valley, he earned 12 varsity letters and All-American honors in football and wrestling. He was inducted into the GVSU Athletic Hall of Fame in 1987 and the Grand Rapids Sports Hall of Fame in 2011.
Hosford died of cancer in 2014.
