Wesleyan University

Wesleyan University formally renamed its 34-year old ice hockey rink, known previously as Wesleyan Arena, for the founder of Wesleyan's club ice hockey program in the 1950s, William Spurrier, and its long-time varsity men's ice hockey coach, David "Duke" Snyder, during a ceremony Saturday, November 20, 2004. The facility is now known as the Spurrier-Snyder Rink.

The ceremony, which was attended by Dave Snyder, who retired in 2003 after 32 varsity seasons behind the bench for Wesleyan men's ice hockey, and members of the family of Bill Spurrier, who passed away in 1999, was held in the Freeman Athletic Center. It was preceded by an alumni ice hockey contest and followed by Wesleyan's second regular-season men's ice hockey game of the 2004-05 season against the University of Southern Maine.

Bill Spurrier joined the Wesleyan faculty as a instructor in religion in 1946 and became a full professor at the University in 1957. He remained on the faculty until his retirement in 1981, giving him 36 years at the Middletown campus. He was a 1939 graduate of Williams College and was an instructor at Amherst College during 1942-43 before joining the army for three years. He attained the rank of captain and was awarded a bronze star during his enlisted days. In 1955, Spurrier was coaxed by a Wesleyan student who had attended Choate Rosemary Hall to begin a club program and use the rink at his alma mater. Spurrier, who had been a semi-pro hockey player during the 1930s, started the team and coached it for 17 years.

In 1970, Wesleyan completed construction of its own ice hockey facility and played its final year as a club in Wesleyan Arena during the 1970-71 season. That spring, Dave Snyder had been hired as an assistant coach to Bill Spurrier, as well as to assist with a spring sport and teach physical education classes. Snyder, a 1966 graduate of St. Lawrence University where he was a standout player in ice hockey and baseball, was also given the task of generating a program to fully utilize the rink. As rink manager, Snyder helped develop the very popular Middlesex youth hockey program as well as provide for Middletown community and Wesleyan community activities in the rink. He continued to coach the men's ice hockey team throughout his 33-year tenure, 32 as the team's only varsity ice hockey coach until his retirement in 2003. Current head coach Chris Potter succeeded him in 2003-04 and is now in his second year.

In addition to men's ice hockey, Snyder had stints of coaching the Wesleyan softball team for six seasons and the golf team for seven years while also assisting with the sub-varsity baseball team for a number of years prior to 1990.

"To name the recently renovated rink as a tribute to these two great men who served as teachers, coaches and mentors to hundreds of Wesleyan students is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate Wesleyan athletics at its best," said Wesleyan athletics director John Biddiscombe.

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