June 4, 2007
University of Notre Dame graduate John Arlotta, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Denver-based Coram Inc., and his wife, Bobbie, have pledged a lead gift toward a new lacrosse stadium to be built to the east of the Joyce Center as part of the University’s new athletics quadrangle. The Arlottas’ children – Mindy, Andy and Jon – also have pledged an additional gift from The Arlotta Family Foundation toward the project.
The lacrosse stadium, to be named Arlotta Stadium, is expected to be a $5 million project. Construction will begin once it is fully funded and architectural design plans are available. Conceptual plans suggest a 3,000-seat, lighted stadium that would include an artificial-turf field, locker rooms, restrooms and concession areas.
“We’re thrilled and grateful that the Arlottas’ gift will significantly enhance the positioning of our lacrosse programs at Notre Dame,” said Kevin White, the University’s director of athletics. “Both our men’s and women’s programs already are nationally competitive – and a new, top-quality facility will further their abilities to attract the very best student-athletes in the sport of lacrosse.”
The lacrosse project is part of the long-term athletics facilities master plan that ultimately will add a new softball stadium (groundbreaking took place last month on that facility), new stadiums for lacrosse, soccer, track and field and tennis, and three relocated football practice fields (one of them artificial turf), all in the area east and southeast of the Joyce Center. The University is actively seeking additional contributions for all of these projects.
The Arlottas said the reason for their gifts in support of the Irish lacrosse programs “was a combination of things. We absolutely fell in love with the game while living in Baltimore and, when considering how we could share some of our blessings and good fortune with Notre Dame, we concluded that the lacrosse programs met three critical goals that we had established for our gift to the University.
“First, we wanted to do something that would help both men and women. Second, we wanted to support programs that produced great student-athletes. And third, we wanted to do something that would make a difference. The lacrosse programs at Notre Dame met all three of these criteria.
“It was a bonus that (head coaches) Kevin Corrigan and Tracy Coyne and their respective coaching staffs are wonderful people who have built their programs from scratch. Helping them add the final piece to their puzzle, and compete each year for a national championship, is very exciting for our entire family.”
Arlotta is a 1971 graduate of Notre Dame who majored in marketing with a minor in transportation management. He also was an Army ROTC graduate and is a retired captain in the U.S. Army Reserves. He and his wife, the former Bobbie Dooney, currently reside in Denver and Milwaukee and, in addition to their three children, have two grandchildren, Devin and Riley.
Coram Inc. is a privately held provider of home infusion and specialty pharmacy services with $500 million in revenues. Prior to Coram, Arlotta served as chairman, president and CEO of NeighborCare Inc., a Baltimore-based public company with annual revenues of $1.6 billion. NeighborCare was in the business of providing pharmaceutical products and services to nursing homes. Arlotta joined NeighborCare in July 2003, and took the company public in December of that year. Shortly after going public, NeighborCare became the target of a hostile takeover attempt by its largest competitor, and the company was ultimately sold in July 2005.
Prior to NeighborCare, from 1995 to 2000, Arlotta was president and chief operating officer of Caremark Rx as well as the president of Caremark’s specialty biotech drug distribution business. Caremark was a publicly traded pharmacy benefit management company with revenues that grew from $1 billion to $6 billion during his tenure.
From 1986 to 1996, Arlotta was chairman, president and CEO of HealthCall Corp., a Milwaukee-based distributor of durable medical equipment and consumable medical supplies for home health care. He started his health care career in 1971 at Chicago-based Baxter International. In 15 years at Baxter, he held a variety of sales, marketing and general management positions. While at Baxter, he started one of the country’s first home-care companies, providing intravenous therapy to chronically ill patients. He is a recipient of the prestigious Baxter Distinguished Salesman Club Award.
Bobbie Arlotta, a Philadelphia native, is a former high school lacrosse and field hockey player. A University of Delaware graduate, she had a distinguished 18-year career in sales and marketing management at Independence Blue Cross in Philadelphia.
Mindy (Arlotta) Nelson is a social worker and a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Her husband, Eric Nelson, is a police officer and a graduate of Ohio University. They have two children, Devin, 5, and Riley, 2, and reside in Cincinnati.
Andy Arlotta is a graduate of Northern Illinois University and currently is a national account manager with Managed Healthcare Associates. He is a former college wrestler who now lives in Orlando.
Jon Arlotta also is a graduate of Northern Illinois University and is a director of account services for CVS/Caremark. He is a former college football player who now resides in Philadelphia.
The Arlottas’ gift is a component of the $1.5 billion “Spirit of Notre Dame” capital campaign. Announced last month, the campaign is the largest such endeavor in the history of Catholic higher education.