A deeply gracious and generous couple has gifted Crown College with $1 million, enabling the school to do a major interior and exterior renovation of the entrance to its athletic center.
Dale and Susan Teal of Eden Prairie have been friends of the college for more than 40 years. They both attended the school under its former name of St. Paul Bible College. Mr. Teal’s dedication to Crown is also evident through his service as a Board of Trustees member. He is nearing completion of his third four-year term.
“Susan and I have been part of the incredible institution for many years, and we love what God is doing with Crown,” Teal said. “It is an honor and a joy to do what the Lord has led our hearts to do.”
Teal said his time as a student on campus was meaningful, even when life took him in another direction. Dale said he recalls looking out the hallway window on campus one day and feeling like the world was calling him into business. Since the school at the time was primarily pastoral studies and teacher training, he needed to transfer to another institution.
God kept Crown in his heart for the decades to come. Along with his board membership, Teal was one of the donors for the campus Courtyard project in recent years. The renovation takes place at an active entry point for many guests of the college. In honor of the couple’s generosity, Crown College will name its gymnasium the Teal Athletic Center.
“We anticipate this gift to have the same impact as the Wiggins Welcome Center upgrade,” said Crown President Andrew Dention. “This generous gift empowers a major renovation, and this incredible change will deeply impact the school’s image for people arriving.”
Currently, visiting parents and athletic guests see a mail room, loading dock and a dark hallway in this area. “The impression it gives is not great,” said VP of Operations Brian Schwarz. “This project will change the level of excellence for students and staff with a focus on athletics.”
The project will give Crown Athletics a clear outdoor presence along with sports-based imagery, window decals and more open space for gathering areas in the interior. Work will begin after the 2025-26 academic year with expected completion in the fall of 2026. The upgrade to this area, constructed in 1960, will include an updated corridor, flooring, ceilings, lighting, and bathrooms as well as athletic branding and significantly enhanced exterior landscaping.
When parents and families arrive at the Teal Athletic Center entrance, they will see an honorable athletic upgrade, said Crown College Athletic Director Steve Tebbs. “Our coaches doing recruiting tours will go into a space they are proud of, and they will be able to offer a more visual example of the school’s excellence.” This enhancement mirrors the resurgence of athletics at Crown, where more than 40 percent of on-campus enrolled individuals are student-athletes.
President Denton says gifts of this magnitude are very special and unique for a faith-based school. “In the era of gifting to Crown, this is a milestone moment,” he said. In the first eight decades of the school’s existence, the college prepared pastors, teachers and servants of the Lord. Few graduates from that era were able to make significant one-time charitable donations, but still gave their time, prayers and compassion to the school.
“We are truly blessed to have wonderful people in our lifelong community,” Denton says. “Gifts become even more impactful when they are lovingly shared in a way that expands the Lord’s reach into the world. We are praying and believing this is the first gift of many to come.”
