Lohmans Make Major Donation
To improve basketball facility
As a Texas A&M student in the 1930s, the late Carroll Swearingen earned extra money by planting trees near the Administration Building for 25 cents an hour. Some 70 years later, Swearingen’s offspring continues the legacy of establishing roots for future hardwood growth.
Swearingen’s daughter and son-in-law, Carolyn and Tommie Lohman, are not planting shade trees, but their contributions could help the Aggies cast an imposing shadow on the landscape of Big 12 basketball for generations to come.
The Lohmans recently made a major financial donation to the 12th Man Foundation in support of a proposed 40,000-square-foot basketball facility that will connect to Reed Arena and provide both the men’s and women’s basketball programs with state-of-the-art locker rooms, practice gyms, player lounges, meeting rooms and coaches offices.
The proposed facility, which would be located on the southeast side of Reed Arena, would also include equipment, treatment, rehabilitation, cardiovascular and weight rooms that will be shared by both men’s and women’s teams, as well as an impressive donor hospitality center and “greats hall” that would add to the basketball ambience of Reed Arena.
The Lohmans’ gift is rooted in their respect for head women’s coach Gary Blair and head men’s coach Billy Gillispie. Both head coaches guided their teams to the NCAA Tournament this year, making Texas A&M the only school in the Lone Star State to achieve such a feat in 2006.
But their decision to make a significant financial contribution to the basketball programs involves much more than winning games, the Lohmans said. The Lohmans have been particularly impressed by the emphasis both coaches place on producing outstanding students, as well as athletes.
