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William Paterson University will name the baseball locker room in its athletics fieldhouse in honor of the late Alan J. Anderson ’81, a member of the William Paterson University Athletic Hall of Fame, in recognition of a $200,000 donation from the Alan J. Anderson Foundation to the Pioneering Champions Campaign.
The campaign seeks to raise $1.5 million in support of an addition and renovation of the athletics fieldhouse, an initiative designed to provide the institution’s student-athletes with the resources they need to compete and succeed at the highest level.
“We are honored that Alan's family would name the baseball locker room in the new fieldhouse after him, as he was passionate about and dedicated to WP athletics," says Pamela Ferguson, vice president for institutional advancement and president of the William Paterson University Foundation. “Thank you to the Alan J. Anderson Foundation, especially Lauren Anderson, Alan’s sister, for their generous support of our student athletes.”
Anderson, who was a standout athlete at New Milford High School in baseball and basketball, enrolled at William Paterson in 1978, where he excelled in the classroom and on the baseball field. He served as co-captain of the team in 1979, 1980, and 1981 and was a member of the New Jersey All-Star Team his junior and senior years. In his senior year, Anderson was named to All-Conference, All-State and Academic All-America teams. His career batting average of .344, and his career 53 stolen bases and 37 walks put him in the top ten for William Paterson baseball all-time statistical records. In 1990, he was inducted into the University’s Athletic Hall of Fame.
After graduating in 1981 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration, he worked for the Mahwah Honda and Acura of Ramsey car dealerships. By 1996, he became dealer partner for Mahwah Honda, and by 1999, he had purchased both dealerships. During his ownership, Mahwah Honda earned 11 Council of Excellence Awards, which recognizes outstanding Honda Financing Departments that have demonstrated exemplary customer service. Acura of Ramsey is the longest-running recipient of the prestigious “Jersey Cup” awarded by Acura to the highest-ranking dealer for customer satisfaction.
“Alan mentored many employees, friends, and acquaintances throughout his career. He was an extremely principled businessman with honor and integrity in everything he did, and he was an outstanding son, brother, uncle, and a true friend,” says Lauren Anderson of her brother, who died in 2019. “Our family is thrilled to honor Alan's legacy with the Alan J. Anderson '81 Baseball Locker Room at the fieldhouse and it is with great pride and wonderful memories of the love and passion that he had for baseball and William Paterson University that this honor be bestowed on him.”
Anderson supported numerous charities and organizations, both personally and through Mahwah Honda and Acura of Ramsey, including Unico, a charity that promotes the heritage and culture of Italian Americans, along with several police departments in Bergen County, the Bergen County Prosecutors Office, Toys for Tots, and numerous others. Following his death in 2019, the Alan J. Anderson Foundation was established in his name to honor his legacy. The Foundation financially supports charitable organizations devoted to eliminating cancer and assisting those affected by cancer and provides scholarships to outstanding student-athletes in the New Jersey area.
The William Paterson fieldhouse project, slated for completion in August 2024, includes a 4,000-square-foot addition to its existing athletic fieldhouse facility. It will include a student-athlete-specific fitness center, featuring strength training and cardio areas, with roll-up glass garage doors facing Wightman Stadium. It will also feature an expanded athletic training facility; individual locker rooms for field hockey, softball, women's soccer, and women’s tennis; and a renovation of the existing football and baseball locker rooms. William Paterson fields 13 NCAA Division III intercollegiate teams and currently has 300 student-athletes.
