The Burton Family Football Complex

The Burton family was honored at the UConn vs. West Virginia football game on Friday, October 20, 2006, at Rentschler Field. The honor marked the opening of The Burton Family Football Complex on the Storrs campus -- which is the nation's finest on-campus football facility.

The Burton family members on hand for the game were: 1999 UConn football captain Mike Burton and his wife Tiffany; Joe Burton; Stacy with her husband Rob Burton; and Paula and Bob Burton.

UConn Director of Athletics Jeff Hathaway and the Burton family watch a video about the Burton Family Football Complex on the video board at Rentschler Field.

UConn Director of Athletics Jeff Hathaway presents roses to Stacy Burton.

UConn Director of Athletics Jeff Hathaway presents a ceremonial pair of scissors to Bob Burton to mark the opening of the Burton Family Football Complex.

The University of Connecticut football team now enjoys the finest on-campus football facilities in the country - thanks in large part to the building of The Burton Family Football Complex.

The Burton Family Football Complex serves as the on-campus home of UConn football and complements Rentschler Field in East Hartford. The lead gift for the facility is a $2.5 million contribution by Robert G. Burton. Burton's tremendously successful business career has included leadership in the printing and publishing industry, and his current role as Chairman and CEO of Cenveo, the third largest publicly traded printing company in the world which is headquartered in Stamford, Conn.

Burton's son, Michael, was the captain of the 1999 Husky football team. Burton has also donated in excess of $1 million to establish two endowed scholarships for UConn student-athletes.

Construction on the facility began in the fall of 2004 and the building opened in the summer of 2006.

"The Burton Family Football Complex plays a crucial role as our program continues to make national strides and enters the BIG EAST Conference," says UConn head football coach Randy Edsall. "Our entire football program is thankful to Bob Burton and his family for assisting us in our continuing journey for excellence."

"The Burton Family Football Complex is a key part of our continuing rise to national prominence in football," says UConn Director of Athletics Jeff Hathaway. "All of us at UConn are very grateful to Bob and Paula Burton, along with the entire Burton family, for their generosity to our school."

The Burton Football Family Complex houses coaches' offices and includes an academic resource center, team meeting rooms, a team locker room, a state-of-the-art sports medicine area, video facilities, a team dining hall, a student-athlete lounge and an equipment room.

The University contracted with the Hartford-based firm of Jeter, Cook and Jepson and with HOK Sport + Venue + Event, an internationally-renowned architectural firm based in Kansas City, to provide architectural and engineering services for the building of The Burton Family Football Complex.

The Burton Family Football Complex is the University's first project certified as meeting the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards for "green" buildings. LEED designation is a process certifying that a building project meets a wide range of environmentally friendly criteria. This new construction marks the first college or university athletic project in the nation to earn the designation.

"Coach Edsall, his coaching staff and student-athletes have all done a wonderful job in establishing UConn football as an outstanding Division I-A program," says Burton "It is my hope that this facility will serve as a catalyst for UConn to enjoy even more success for many years to come."

Founded in 1983, HOK created the first practice devoted to the design of sports facilities and is now recognized as a world leader in the field. Its client list includes 75 colleges and universities, 24 Major League Baseball franchises and 30 National Football League franchises. The company has been involved with over 600 sports projects, including on-campus football facilities for several major universities, along with professional stadiums such as Gillette Stadium (New England Patriots), Reliant Stadium (Houston Texans) and SBC Park (San Francisco Giants).

ARCHIVE: Ceremonial Ground Breaking Held For The Burton Family Football Complex