June 7, 2007

Fort Wayne, IN - Local neurosurgeon Rudy Kachmann has agreed to donate $125,000 to renovate the IPFW Tennis Facility and provide scholarships to IPFW Tennis student-athletes. The gift was announced today by IPFW Director of Athletics Mark Pope.

Dr. Kachmann will donate $45,000 to improve spectator seating, including bleachers and a paved walkway. In addition, a wireless scoreboard will be constructed within the facility. Dr. Kachmann will also provide an annual Tennis Scholarship of $10,000 for eight years. In return, IPFW Athletics has agreed to name the facility as The Dr. Rudy Kachmann Tennis Center.

"For many years, Rudy Kachmann has been a fixture in the Fort Wayne tennis community, and we are proud to develop this continuing relationship with him," said IPFW Tennis Head Coach Eric Burns. "With these significant improvements, our facility will become one of the best in Indiana, and the additional scholarship funds will help us attract the best tennis student-athletes to compete at IPFW."

"Over the last several years, I have come to believe in Dr. Kachmann's commitment to advance positive character principles and proper health choices," said IPFW Director of Athletics Mark Pope. "There is no better way to advance these causes than through intercollegiate athletics. On behalf of IPFW Athletics, we thank Dr. Kachmann for his generosity and pledge to support his cause each time that our teams compete."

Dr. Rudy Kachmann is a neurosurgeon who has practiced medicine for nearly four decades. A long-time resident of Fort Wayne, he remains an active member in the community, including the Day Break Children's Shelter, the Boys & Girls Club, the founder of the Kachmann Behavioral Foundation, co-founder of the Kachmann Mind Body Institute and a member of the Tennis Hall of Fame. Dr. Kachmann is also the author of Twenty Prescriptions for Living the Good Life.

                                                    ~Dons~