Hall of Champions’ Namesake Honors Coaches Scheve, Ramseyer and Lewis
Wilmington College will break ground for the construction of the Scheve Athletic Center during a ceremony included in Homecoming festivities on Sept. 27. The public event will start at 11 a.m. near the front entrance to Hermann Court off Elm Street. The Center is part of Jerry Scheve’s record $23 million gift to the College, the bulk of which he designated under the umbrella of fostering athletic excellence.
Scheve was a highly respected accounting professor and championship women’s basketball coach at WC who passed away in May. He coached the Lady Quakers for 30 years before retiring in 2021. His 2004 team won the NCAA Division III national championship, the apex of his 518 career victories at WC. He is a member of the Cincinnati and Ohio Basketball Halls of Fame.
The Scheve Athletic Center (SAC) and Jenna Parlette Running Center are the jewels in the crown of Scheve’s multi-faceted gift designations. The SAC will encompass the Scheve-Ramseyer-Lewis Hall of Champions and the existing athletics facility known as the Quaker Recreation Center (QRC), the latter of which features a gymnasium, weight training area, fitness center, Spinning room, wrestling room, locker rooms and other amenities. Many of these areas are included in an ongoing renovation funded through Scheve’s gift.
New construction associated with the Scheve Athletic Center features a grand entrance off Elm Street, located in the space between Hermann Court and the QRC, the Hall of Champions and a new façade on the street-facing side of the QRC. Scheve wished to build the Hall of Champions as a means of recognizing the College’s significant success in its athletic programs throughout its history. Its namesakes are Scheve and, per his wishes, two other legendary WC coaches, Bill Ramseyer and Bud Lewis, both of whom are enshrined in WC’s Athletic Hall of Fame.
Pictured from the left are Jerry Scheve, Bill Ramseyer and Bud Lewis, the namesakes of the Hall of Champions.
Ramseyer coached WC’s football team from 1972 to 1990, a tenure that included an NAIA runner-up season and multiple championships. He also served as director of athletics from 1974 to 1989. Ramseyer, who died in 2021, is WC's longest-serving football coach at 19 years and has the most wins with 144, and the highest winning percentage in the institution's 150 years. He is a member of seven halls of fame, including the NAIA
Lewis coached the men’s soccer team for 43 years, from 1975 through 2017. His coaching resume features 506 wins, a national final-four season, several NAIA top-10 finishes and 20 conference and district championships. He is a recipient of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America’s prestigious Bill Jeffrey Award (2004) and a member of several halls of fame, including the Ohio Soccer Association.
The Center’s construction is anticipated to commence in the weeks following the groundbreaking, while the groundbreaking for the Jenna Parlette Running Center is anticipated during spring 2026. Scheve was intentional in focusing his gift on the areas of athletic excellence, peace and conflict resolution programming, and international affairs. Recently, the College announced the reinstatement of men’s and women’s tennis and golf as varsity sports, which is also funded through Scheve’s Cornerstone gift.
