RE: Petition to the Rolla Board of Education regarding facility naming request per Board Policy FF.

The Rolla Board of Education has received an application for the purposes of naming the Rolla Community Track located at 1111 Soest Road “Knapp Family Complex” in honor of former Rolla High School teacher and coach Donald L. Knapp. The “Knapp Family Complex" would refer to the entire facility, which primarily serves the district for track and field and RJH football. The name “Rolla Community Track” would remain for the track.

The application states, “[Mr. Knapp’s] exceptional, unmatched contributions and accomplishments for Rolla Public Schools and the Rolla community include 37+ years as head track coach, head cross country coach, and high school science teacher. He also coached football and wrestling for the Rolla school district.”

“Coach Kanpp was there to support his athletes every single day with the same level of warm encouragement, rain or shine. We could have a bad day, but he never allowed himself to have one so that he could be there for us. As he often said, “Every day is a good day.” No athlete was unworthy of his attention as a coach or mentor. For every incredibly successful athlete, he probably had 10 kids who would never see their name in the newspaper. He made them feel just as valued and he put just as much energy into them. He wanted to see kids have personal success and improvement - not just in the sport, but in life.” 

The application also outlines Coach Knapp’s extensive list of accolades; including being inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2023 and receiving the RHS Most Influential Teacher Award 23 times over 37 years. View the entire application at this link.