Greetings, Comet Nation!
Today’s Comet Throwback Thursday post is about the Fieldhouse’s namesake, legendary Comet Coach, Lewy Lee.
Born on April 30, 1905, Lewy Lee was a Valley City, ND native and attended UND, where his athletic accomplishments were attaining 4 letters in Football, Basketball and Track. He was nominated as one of the “Greatest Nodak Athletes of All Time” back in 1933 at UND.
Lewy Lee’s tenure at Mayville State began in 1930. He literally WAS the athletic department and physical education department back in his day. He was a coach for every sport until 1946, transitioning to only Football and Track until 1956. His main titles on campus were Athletic Director and Dean of Men, while serving in multiple offices for the ND Conference of Colleges.
If you were to look back at this time period in the yearbooks and College Exponents of the time, you would see just how well respected Lewy Lee was as a coach and teacher. His ‘coaching tree’ has grown tremendously from this time period. Lewy Lee was the coach of then-student Al Meyer in the 1940’s, who went on to become a long-standing coach of multiple sports here at Mayville State through the early 1980’s. Current Head Baseball Coach Scott Berry had Al Meyer as a coach and mentor as well, so the “Lewy Lee Tree” still keeps growing at Mayville State. Think of the many coaches and teachers who have been taught by those three alone (Lee, Meyer, Berry)! Talk about a true “Legacy of Leadership” here at our institution!
(You can check out the “Legacy of Leadership” Turf Campaign here.)
Lewy passed away on May 4, 1956.
The current Lewy Lee Fieldhouse was dedicated in his name in 1961. Fittingly, the Comets had their first game in the fieldhouse versus long-standing rival Valley City State for the conference championship honors.
As you can see, the place was packed for the big-time game. An estimated 3000 were in attendance for the huge landmark event for the college and community.
The Comets were also victorious in the battle and were crowned conference champs! A great way to ‘break in’ the new gymnasium.
Since then, the Comets have filled the Lewy Lee Fieldhouse with thrilling basketball games and championship teams, volleyball games, special events, graduations, and numerous tournaments throughout the decades. It has gone through renovations in the mid 1970’s, and mid 2000’s with the conversion to a tartan flooring in the 70’s to the wood floor we have today. Other additions to meet our growing demands of education in HPE and our Athletics programs were the wellness center and new athletic training room, plus new classrooms and a new performance center and lab completed in 2016.
As stated on his Hall of Fame plaque in the fieldhouse, “Lewy was in every sense of the word an All American among men.”
Lewy Lee certainly started the a defining legacy that continues to grow to this day.
Hail To Our Comets!
#HTOC
Captain Comet
Is Mayville State Right For You?
Yes. U!
Apply today at http://mayvillestate.edu
Captain Comet's Blog 