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University and Community Relations
PO Box 1510
Pembroke, NC 28372

Phone: 910.521.6249
Fax: 910.521.6694
Email: relations@uncp.edu

Location: Lumbee Hall, Room 427 and
Jacobs Hall, Suite A
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belk athletic complex

The Irwin Belk Athletic Complex (2002) is comprised of Grace P. Johnson Stadium (2007), Taylor Track (2002), Lumbee Guaranty Bank Field (2002) and the Caton Fieldhouse (2007).

The complex is named after Irwin Belk, former president and CEO of Belk Stores. The stadium is named after Grace P. Johnson. Taylor Track is named after Dick and Lenore Taylor, local businessman, while Caton Fieldhouse is named after Bob Caton, also a local businessman.

The Belk Athletic Complex is the home of Braves football and men's and women's track and field.

Aerial View of Belk Athletic Complex and Grace P. Johnson Stadium

Aerial View of Belk Athletic Complex and Grace P. Johnson Stadium

Taylor Track

Taylor Track

Caton Fieldhouse

Caton Fieldhouse

Irwin Belk

Irwin Belk

Irwin Belk was born April 4, 1922, in Charlotte, N.C., the son of William Henry and Mary Leonora Irwin Belk. He has worked in his family’s business, Belk, Inc., his entire life. Today, Belk, Inc., is the nation’s largest privately-owned department store company with more than 275 stores in 16 states in the southeast, southwest, and mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. Mr. Belk retired from Belk, Inc. in 1996 and is now President of the Belk Group, Inc.

Mr. Belk served his country during World War II in the 491st Bomber Group of the 8th Air Force. He was elected to the North Carolina House of Representatives in 1959 and the North Carolina State Senate in 1963. He was appointed by President Clinton as the United States public delegate to the 54th United Nations General Assembly in 1999.

As senator, he introduced the legislation that made UNC Charlotte the fourth university in the UNC system. He served on the UNC Board of Governors for twenty-eight years, during that time The University of North Carolina at Pembroke joined the UNC system.

Mr. Belk has a distinguished career of service to local, state, national and international organizations. He was President of the American Cancer Society Foundation for forty years and received that organization’s highest award, the Merit Award in 2002.

Mr. Belk graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1946. He has a lifelong interest in track and field, stemming from running for UNC-Chapel Hill during his undergraduate days.

Mr. Belk has been a member of the U.S. Olympic Committee for forty-five years and received the organization’s highest volunteer award, the Olympic Order, at the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City, Utah. He has attended every Olympic Games since 1960. The U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs has on its grounds the Carol Grotnes Belk Sculpture Garden, named to honor his wife of fifty-eight years, and the Irwin Belk Olympic Path.

Mr. Belk has become perhaps the biggest individual philanthropist in the sport, building more than thirty-five tracks throughout the country and serving as a Board member for the USA Track and Field Foundation.

The Belk name permeates educational institutions throughout the country, and has a major presence at UNC Pembroke. UNCP’s Mary Irwin Belk Residence Hall, which was dedicated in 1970 and is named for Mr. Belk’s mother, marked the family’s first gift to the Pembroke campus. A contribution from Mr. Belk endowed the first distinguished professor position in the UNCP School of Business. In 2002, the Irwin Belk Athletic Complex at UNC Pembroke was named in his honor. UNCP, along with most institutions of higher learning in North Carolina and beyond, is grateful for the support, philanthropy, and vision of Irwin Belk.

Grace P. Johnson Stadium

The football stadium is named in honor of Grace P. Johnson, the late wife of E. Marvin Johnson of Rose Hill, N.C.

Grace Powell Johnson was born on August 26, 1929. She and Marvin Johnson had four children: Edgar Johnson, who preceded her in death, Diane Beasley, Robert Johnson, and Mary Anna Johnson. They have 14 grandchildren, two of whom are deceased, and 5 great-grandchildren.

“Everybody loved Grace,” Johnson said of his wife, who died February 20, 1996. “When we were married on New Year’s Eve in 1949, I borrowed a car from my sister for our honeymoon. We lived in a tenant house.”

Johnson found success in agribusiness, and Grace raised their four children, said her son Robert Johnson.

“My mother ran the home while my father ran the business,” Robert Johnson said. “My mother was very active in her church and community.”

Grace Johnson loved to travel, and she also loved athletics, Robert Johnson said.

“She was a sports fan who loved attending football and basketball games and golf tournaments,” Robert Johnson said. “Football is a great game and important to our family.”

Dick Taylor

Dick and Lenore Taylor

Dick Taylor is a Lumberton businessman with interests in insurance and real estate enterprises. He founded Taylor Insurance over fifty years ago. He is a member of the UNC Pembroke Board of Trustees and active with the Chancellor's Club and Braves Club. UNCP's track bears his name and the name of his wife, Lenore, for their support of the University. The Taylor's are very active in the Senior Olympics, which UNCP serves as a host site each spring.

Taylor is well known for his own outstanding track career at UNC-Chapel Hill. He was part of a collegiate world record relay team at UNC. He was a four year letter-winner and is in the UNC Track and Field Hall of Fame. The indoor track at UNC also bears his name. Taylor is very active at UNCP as well as his alma mater in Chapel Hill where he has served on the Board of Directors as well as the Executive Committee of the UNC Education Foundation.

Bob Caton

Bob Caton

Bob Caton has a 40-year relationship with Anheuser-Busch and a 27-year relationship with UNC Pembroke, as a member of the Braves Club, Chancellor's Club and the Board of Trustees for two terms. The new Bob Caton Fieldhouse will house the UNCP Football program. Bob and his wife Faye are active community members and serve on various boards. Faye serves on the Southeastern Regional Medical Center Board.

Caton is a Florida State University graduate where he was a standout football player. He continues to play a prominent role at FSU where he serves on the board of directors and is the incoming President for Seminole Boosters, the fundraising arm of FSU athletics.

Updated: Wednesday, April 9, 2008

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