September 30, 2009

FARMVILLE, Va. -- Longwood University will dedicate its baseball facility, formerly known as Lancer Stadium, as “Charles Buddy Bolding Stadium” this Saturday, October 3, in recognition of the veteran mentor now in his 32nd year with the team.  The dedication ceremony is scheduled to take place at the stadium beginning at 4 p.m., and followed shortly thereafter by the program's annual Old-Timers Game.  Coach Bolding has an outstanding overall record of 844-457-4 since taking over in the sports second year of existence during the fall of 1978, including 28 winning seasons as head coach of the tradition-rich program.

Longwood finished 2009 with a final record of 26-22, additionally marking its 28th overall 20-win campaign and 21st season with at least 25 wins in the program's 32-year history.  Bolding's tenure is highlighted by six appearances in the NCAA Division II Tournament, and two trips to the Division II College World Series.  His 1982 team was the first team to reach the national championship with a 31-10-1 record while more recently, the 1991 squad completed a school-record 41-8 campaign while advancing to the final four of the national championship.

The Hardy, Virginia native has built the program at Longwood by recruiting mostly in-state players.  An estimated 30-plus former Lancer baseball players are now involved in coaching on the high school or college level, the majority in Virginia.  Bolding served as a U.S. Army medic in Vietnam, then received his B.S. in health, physical education and recreation from Milligan (Tenn.) College in 1973, and his M.S. from the University of Tennessee in 1974.  He and his wife, Andrea, have three children: Lauren, Suzanne, and Brad -- all of whom attended and two who graduated -- from Longwood (Brad also played as a Lancer before graduating from Old Dominion University).