Covelli Donates $1 Million to Youngstown State University

A Gift to ‘Maintain’ Hope for the Future

 On a beautiful Saturday in fall, Youngstown State University football fans turned their gaze to the 20-yard line at the south end of Beede Field in Stambaugh Stadium for a special presentation. Sam and Caryn Covelli, lifelong Mahoning Valley residents and Penguins fans, presented a gift to YSU Athletics in the amount of $1 million, a gift meant to enhance the neighborhood surrounding campus and continue the university’s tradition of excellence on and off the field, but one that, for the Youngstown community, means so much more.

YSU Penguins have long been recognized for their success on the field and in the arena. They have notable wins historically in almost every sport including four national football titles and a trip to last year’s NCAA FCS Championship and two recent women’s triple crown wins in 2013-14 and 2014-15 for cross country, indoor track and field, and outdoor track and field to name just a few. YSU’s enrollment and academics are in an upward swing as well with larger freshmen classes boasting increasingly higher standardized test scores and high school grade point averages starting each new school year for the past several years according to a 2016 news release on the university’s website.

In short, there is a lot to be proud of about Youngstown State. And yet, if you ask someone from the Valley to describe exactly what makes YSU so special, it’s likely to be hard for them to put into words. The university means so much more than athletic and academic accolades. It means hope for the future.

“YSU is woven so deeply into the fabric of our community. From the opportunities it creates for its students and graduates, to the community-binding sporting events it provides for spectators and fans, to the thousands of students who we have employed as part of our company, this institution is invaluable to our Valley,” said Sam Covelli, CEO of Covelli Enterprises. “For this reason, we are grateful to be in a position to help support the student-athletes, the university, and the campus-area as a whole.”

The $1 million gift will be used to enhance and maintain the athletics facilities across from Stambaugh Stadium on the west side of campus currently made up of Farmers National Bank Field and YSU Softball Field and will serve to drastically improve the Fifth Avenue gateway to the university. For many years, this end of campus was marked by empty, dilapidated houses and vacant lots, but is now and will be the beautified home of the soccer and track-and-field facilities, as well as the softball field and a proposed tennis center.

In other words, the gift will be used to bolster the powerful transformation the university has already brought about in the areas surrounding campus and continue to provide invaluable experiences for student-athletes and their Penguin fanatics alike for years to come.

“Under the leadership of President Tressel and Executive Director of Athletics Ron Strollo, I have no doubt that YSU’s best days are ahead of it both academically and athletically,” said Covelli, who received an honorary degree at YSU’s Fall Commencement in December 2016.

“Here in the Valley, we’re all Penguins,” he added.

In recognition of the gift, the sports fields affected will be named Covelli Sports Complex. The gift will help maintain the facilities, and perhaps more importantly, a sense of hope for the future of the area.

For more information on this gift, visit our news room.