A Trailblazer and a Namesake

Farmer and businessman Ken Hyslop’s extraordinary generosity lives on through UND Athletics. 

At age 12, W. Kenneth Hyslop’s family moved from their Inkster, North Dakota, farm to Grand Forks. The primary reason was better education. After his sisters earned degrees from UND, Ken graduated in 1906 with a Bachelor of Arts. Ken would become one of UND’s top benefactors and namesakes. UND’s first baseball diamond, built in 1964, was named after him. Nearly two decades later, so was the University’s fieldhouse. 

At UND, Ken stood out as a founding member of the Bungaloo Club (later the Beta Zeta Chapter of Sigma Chi), junior class president, and third baseman on the inaugural baseball team. 

Ken’s post-graduation career began in New Mexico’s mining industry with two UND friends, where early success set the stage for further ventures. In a 1979 interview, he recalled, “Fifteen days after I got down there, we were in the money. I’d never been out of North Dakota, and here, all of a sudden, the money was rolling in.”

Profits fueled investments in Canadian and Red River Valley farmland and launched Ken’s global career with industrial giants like International Harvester and Ford Motor Company. After 24 years abroad, he became president and general manager of Massey Ferguson in Wisconsin. 

Frequent trips to Grand Forks reconnected Ken to UND. Upon his passing in 1981 at age 96, his multimillion-dollar estate funded scholarships, priority needs, and athletics projects, including upgrading the hockey rink with locker rooms, offices, and a hall of fame.

Then-UND President Thomas Clifford praised Ken’s generosity: “The fact that he has chosen to invest his personal wealth in the future of the University of North Dakota is a tremendous demonstration of Ken Hyslop’s faith in young people and in education.”

Ken’s legacy culminated in renaming UND’s Fieldhouse to the Hyslop Sports Center, which has served as a cornerstone of athletics and community for over 80 years. On November 15, 2024, the “Honoring Hyslop: UND Fan Luncheon” celebrated the athletic dynasties and memories as alumni recalled the electric atmosphere, camaraderie, and University pride shared within its walls.

Though the building will come down this year, its namesake’s memory will endure. A backlit “Hyslop” sign marking the Hyslop at Memorial Village, part of UND Athletics’ new complex across Columbia Road, gives a nod to the champions of the past and those yet to come.