He lost his commission but got great seats

Jack Boesch ’54 clearly remembers how the University of Dayton obtained land on which to build the UD Arena. His father, Horace Boesch ’14, and Cy Grilliot owned land on East River Road. They traded it to the Miami Conservancy District for the site of the new arena.

“I would have sold that land to UD for $350,000,” Jack said. His dad was instead interested in making a gift.

Jack remembers going to a meeting with Tom Frericks, who led the Arena development project. To that meeting came not only Frericks, the athletic director, but also Father Raymond A. Roesch, S.M., UD president. A friend leaned over to Jack and said, “There goes your commission.”

That wasn’t the last Boesch gift to UD. In 1988, Jack assisted his stepmother, Kathryn Boesch, as she made a $1 million donation to name UD Arena’s Boesch Lounge.

Jack and his wife, Sue Anderson Boesch ’67, continue to follow the Flyers in the same courtside seats they held when the Arena opened 50 years ago.