The Board of Regents unveiled the name of the Hilltopper Field House in honor of Tim and Sarah Ford. 

The Board of Regents meeting took place via video call on Thursday morning to approve the philanthropic naming of the Hilltopper Field House as the Tim and Sarah Ford Field House. The Fords made a $3 million leadership gift to support the facility’s construction. 

Amanda Trabue, vice president for Philanthropy and Alumni Engagement, provided an overview of the Ford contributions and history to WKU. Tim Ford graduated from WKU in 1982 with a degree in geology. During his time at WKU, he was a standout football player on the team from 1979 to 1982, earning numerous accolades, including CoSIDA Academic All-American First Team honors in 1981. 

Ford and his wife, Sarah, established academic scholarships, supported the geology program, and remained committed to WKU’s athletic programs. 

Tim has been active in mentoring students, including creating the “Suits for Seniors” program to help football players prepare for their post-college careers. 

The couple’s ongoing financial contributions led to the Fords being named WKU Philanthropists of the Year in 2020.

“The Fords are exemplary people,” WKU Director of Athletics Todd Stewart said. “They’ve been enormously supportive of everything that we do, and not just financially, but also with their time. They truly invest in our student-athletes.”  

During the meeting, Timothy Caboni recounted the origins of the field house project, highlighting a trip to Dallas where he and Ford visited Southern Methodist University’s field house. On the bus ride, they discussed ideas for the project, with Ford expressing a strong desire for WKU’s field house to resemble the one they had visited. 

“There is no better couple to honor with their names on this facility than Tim and Sarah Ford,” WKU President Timothy Caboni said at the meeting.