This year’s honoree inductee is Bill Dexter, who along with his wife Donna have gone above and beyond with their support of the Norwich University cross country program for nearly 20 years.
Their son Dana was a member of the men’s team and graduated in 2003, but they have continued to attend nearly every cross country meet since then. Bill has provided the athletic department and the members of the cross country team with hundreds of photos of every meet he has attended over the years, as well as food, water and Gatorade to help the team replenish energy during and after each meet.
The Dexters have witnessed the cross country program rise up into a GNAC powerhouse the last seven years under Nick Cooper with a combined seven team men’s and women’s championships in that span.
“A lot of people say I’m a hard ass, but I cried when both teams won championships on the same day,” Dexter said. “To watch the program develop with the different changes it’s gone through has been great to see. The kids have always been the same regardless of the year, they’re an outstanding group of kids that represent Norwich University well.”
Bill has also been an integral part to the annual alumni, friends and family barbeque, which follows one of the team’s meets during the course of the year. He brings a large grill, which must be towed behind a vehicle to the competition site and then brings along friends to help him man the grill. He then cooks for approximately 70-80 people, all of which is done voluntarily without any reimbursement from the school.
Donna also provides the seven men and seven women that represent Norwich at the NCAA Regional Championship a hand-knit custom NU stocking hat, which has become a point of pride for the athletes that earn this distinction every year.
Starting in 2012, the Norwich University cross country program named its sportsmanship award after Bill and Donna Dexter. Today, the award is known as the “Donna and Bill Dexter Sportsmanship Award.”
“We started down this road 20 years ago after recognizing the need and it was something we were able to do,” Dexter said. “The kids on the team have come like family to us. The atmosphere that was Norwich breeds is a really positive one and being inducted into the Hall of Fame is something I would have never envisioned when we started helping out.”
Bill and his wife Donna have been married 52 years in September and live in Woburn, Mass. They have two sons, William Dexter Jr. and Dana Dexter ’03, as well as one daughter Leeann Dukas. They also have five grandchildren.
