Following on the heels of a fantastic season and the honoring of Bob Whalen as New England Coach of the Year, Dartmouth’s baseball program accepted a $5.2 million gift from Mike and Cindy Biondi to support major renovations to Red Rolfe Field and a new ballpark.

Mike Biondi, a former baseball student-athlete who graduated from Darmouth in 1979, died late last year. He was the co-chair of the Dartmouth College Fund Committee with his wife, who graduated from Dartmouth in 1980.

Included in the renovations will be the installation of FieldTurf, stadium-style seating, a new outfield wall and construction of new dugouts, bullpens and scoreboard. It should be ready for practice in the fall.

The concepts for the new ballpark were finalized just before Biondi died last fall.

"This gift has special meaning for all of us who have had the privilege to work closely with Cindy and Mike Biondi," said Dartmouth President James Wright. "Always concerned with the welfare of current students, always ready to lend their time and expertise, they have led by example. There was no bigger Dartmouth baseball fan-and, of course, Mets fan-than Mike. We're grateful that this gift will have a lasting impact on our student-athletes, the game of baseball at Dartmouth, and the wider community."