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Couple's love of hockey expressed by memorial gift to Student Village
By Brian Fitzgerald
Saul Weiss had two loves in his life. The first was his wife, Donna.
"The second was Boston University hockey," she says, recalling
the former Terrier goaltender. In memory of her late husband, Donna Weiss
recently pledged $250,000 to the 10-acre Student Village project on the
old Armory site.
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| Hockey goaltender Saul Weiss (CAS'71). Photo by BU Photo Services | |
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In recognition of her gift, the BU players' locker room in the future
sports arena will be named in honor of Saul Weiss (CAS'71). "This
is the largest gift so far from members of the BU hockey community for
this project," says Michael Lynch, assistant vice president for recreation
and athletics development. "She's a longtime season ticket holder,
and it's a nice gesture on her part to think of us."
The arena, which will seat 6,200 people, is part of a $385 million multistage
project that includes a track and field and tennis center, currently being
built on the corner of Ashford and Malvern streets, a student fitness
and recreation center, and three residence halls. One of the residence
halls, the 817-bed building at 10 Buick St., opened last fall.
Saul Weiss was also a catcher on the BU baseball team, but hockey was
his real passion. "When I think of Saul, I think of BU hockey,"
says Donna Weiss. Her husband, who joined the team as a walk-on player,
was a goaltender on the 1967-68 and 1968-69 Terriers. In the 1969-70 and
1970-71 seasons, he was the team manager. The 1970-71 squad was Boston
University's first national championship team. "He played during
his freshman and sophomore years," she says. "But the team had
a great goaltender -- Dan Brady. He was definitely a star. It became clear
to Saul that he wouldn't see that much playing time, so he stepped back.
He had a knack for figures and he loved statistics, so he became team
manager." Brady (CAS'72) was MVP of the 1971 NCAA tournament.
Saul Weiss, who majored in economics, worked at Weiss Farm -- a business
that the Weiss family has run since 1910 -- in his hometown of Stoneham,
Mass. Saul and Donna, who graduated from Salem State College, remained
loyal to BU hockey after college, attending every home game from 1974
until Saul's death of a heart attack last year. "We never missed
a game, even when there was a blizzard," says Donna.
"Donna Weiss is a great supporter and friend of BU hockey,"
says former Terrier forward Mike Eruzione (SED'77), director of athletics
development at Boston University.
Donna says that she was ecstatic when she learned of plans for a new BU
hockey arena. "It seems like so many college hockey teams are playing
in new facilities," she says, citing the University of New Hampshire's
Whitmore Center, which opened in 1995, the Tsongas Arena, home of UMass-Lowell,
which opened in 1998, and the recently revamped Volpe Complex, where Merrimack
College plays. "I felt that this was a wonderful opportunity, and
I wanted Saul's name to be a part of it," she says. "When I
go to hockey games now, I feel he's still there somehow." And his
presence will be felt in the new arena in the form of a plaque outside
the BU players' locker room.
9
November 2001
Boston University
Office of University Relations