KALAMAZOO, Mich.- Former Western Michigan football player Peter Tuffo and his wife, Kristi, recently pledged a $100,000 lead gift in the honor of late WMU Senior Associate Athletic Director Dennis Corbin.

The Corbin Fund has been created to laud the body of work of Dennis Corbin and his 36 years with Western Michigan Athletics. Corbin had planned to retire at the conclusion of the 2017-18 academic year, but passed away unexpectedly this past March.

Corbin supervised the Bronco athletic training and strength and conditioning staffs and oversaw student-athlete conduct. In addition to being a supervisor for various athletics teams over the years, Dennis' most rewarding experiences were associated with the mentoring and positive impact he was able to have on the well-being of thousands of Bronco student-athletes across four decades.

The Corbin Fund has a goal of $500,000 and the resources raised will be used to renovate the Athletic Training Rooms in Read Fieldhouse and the Bill Brown Football Center.

"Denny Corbin played a large role in my life and in my family's life and this was something we talked about doing for a couple of years," Tuffo said. "He wanted to transform how the athletic facilities were, specifically the training rooms, and we were really excited to put this together. Unfortunately he is no longer here with us, but we wanted to make sure that we continued with our promise."

"I think the University has done so much for so many of us, especially Denny and the training staff. A lot of us spent way more time in the training room than we wanted to, and built this special relationship with him. I encourage others to join us to make sure its a special facility for the athletes now and the athletes to come."

"We want to thank Peter Tuffo and his family for their generosity, as this lead gift really gives us momentum as we work towards reaching our ultimate goal of $500,000," said WMU Athletic Director Kathy Beauregard. "Dennis worked every day to make the experience of our student-athletes a positive one and the Corbin Fund will allow us to continue to honor his work. This project was very special to Dennis. Just like the thousands of student-athletes he impacted over the last 36 years, these renovations to our athletic training areas will impact generations of future Broncos."

Tuffo was a three-year letterwinner as a linebacker at WMU in 1990, 1992, 1993 and 1994 after missing the 1991 season with an injury. He was one of four "true freshmen" to earn a varsity letter and after returning from injury in 1992 he was named WMU's Defensive Player of the Year. He was the Broncos' leading tackler his final three seasons, and finished with 382 career tackles, including 36 tackles for a loss. He was a First Team All-MAC selection in 1993 and 1994.

Anyone interested in making a gift to the Corbin Fund can go to: mywmu.com/corbinfund.