A new book on the history of athletics at Hope College has been published by a South Haven man. Tom Renner was the longtime spokesperson for Hope College and is a retired firefighter for South Haven Area Emergency Services. He tells WSJM News In Pursuit of Excellence provides a comprehensive, carefully researched chronicle of Hope College sports from 1970 to 2020.
“I went to the college in 1967, retired in 2014, and now in retirement these past eight years have been writing this volume on the history of intercollegiate sports at Hope, calling it In Pursuit if Excellence, and it’s turned out to be quite the volume,” Renner said.
The book is in two volumes with a total of 800 pages. In Pursuit of Excellence is for sale via the Hope College bookstore and online through the college. Renner will sign copies of it at the Holland college on May 7. Hope College is a private liberal arts college that’s part of Division 3. Renner says that means its athletes are primarily there for academics, and although the competition is a bit different than Division 1, it’s still intense.
