President Philomena V. Mantella, Director of Athletics Keri Becker,
Athletics Department administrators, John and Diane Harris and members
of their family dedicated the latest addition to the Grand Valley
athletic campus on September 13.
A generous $3 million gift to honor Jack and Dorcas Harris was given
by their son, John H. Harris III ’77, his wife, Diane Harris ’76, and
their adult children, John H. Harris IV, and Meredith Harris, along
with Jack and Dorcas’ son, Thomas L. Harris ’80, and his wife, Tammi
Harris. The gift provided substantial financial support in the
development of the Harris Family Athletic Complex, which will be the
new home of Laker wrestling teams.
“I’m so excited about what men’s and women’s wrestling are going to
do for Grand Valley and what they will bring to our athletic
department and our institution,” Becker said. “You’re sitting in this
new space that’s been made possible by all of you here.”
In its 26-season span, the program achieved national recognition
competing in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics
(NAIA) then at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)
Division II level.
Grand Valley won the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
(GLIAC) championship five times and finished runner-up 10 times. On
the national level, the Lakers finished runner-up twice and in fourth
place three times at the NAIA national tournament
More than 50 Laker wrestlers were named All-Americans, including
Harris, who was a two-time NAIA All-American and a 1988 inductee into
the Lakers Hall of Fame.
“The Harris family began this journey about 30 years ago,” said John Harris.
“We lost wrestling, and it was a grave disappointment to us, and we
said, ‘We’ve got to bring it back,’ and we vowed to do it. Now that
I’m back here in this space, I have to say it’s quite overwhelming. I
want to thank President Mantella. She has a great family pedigree of
wrestling, and she understands the value of what the sport brings.”
Joey Simcoe was hired as men’s head wrestling coach in May after 11
seasons as the head coach at Tiffin University in Ohio. In mid-August,
Jake Short was introduced as the women’s head wrestling coach.
“Thank you to President Mantella and the Harris family,” Simcoe said.
“Without your vision, this wouldn’t be possible. Thank you to everyone
in this room for making this possible.
“Grand Valley is the pinnacle of Division II athletics and will
continue to be, and we look forward to being a piece to add to that legacy.”
