Donor Spotlight: Dan and Jennifer Pohl

Dan Pohl is a successful businessman who recognizes that an organization must adapt and improve in order to thrive.

He's also a Central Michigan alum and, along with his wife Jennifer, is a major supporter of Chippewa Athletics.

The Pohls have made a substantial contribution to the Chippewa Champions Center, the under-construction transformational facility at the north end of Kelly/Shorts Stadium. The club level at Kelly/Shorts Stadium will be renamed the Dan and Jennifer Pohl Club Level and the couple are now members of the new 1896 Society, a recognition for Chippewa Athletics' top supporters and so named for the year that the university began competing in intercollegiate athletics.

"I think it is a great use of a space that was available," Dan said. "We had fallen behind our peers a little bit as far as facilities and we're back now to where we're leading them and better. It'll be a great place to have everything under one roof."

Dan and Jennifer's roots in the community of Westphalia run deep, just as they do at CMU. Both were raised in the quaint town 50 miles due south of Mount Pleasant, and Dan has seven siblings; Jennifer 11. The couple has been married for 27 years and they have three children, Kylen, Anthony and Dani.

Dan earned his degree in business administration from CMU in 1987 and joined the family business, Pohl Oil Co., shortly thereafter. The company was started by Dan's father in 1956 and today Dan is the owner/operator of the business, which includes a Mobil station in Westphalia, a travel center in Grand Ledge, and is a provider of fuel to homes and farms in mid-Michigan.

Two of Dan's brothers are CMU alums and he counts 13 nieces and nephews who have attended, are now attending, or have graduated from CMU.

Dan and Jennifer are longtime CMU football and men's basketball season-ticket holders and fixtures at Chippewa events. The connections and friendships that Dan forged as a CMU student and today as a loyal Chippewa fan and supporter are critical to him, he said.

"You end up running into people over the years that you knew back in college," he said. "They come back and networking has always been really important to me, I've just always felt that when you surround yourself with successful people and giving people it just makes your life more fulfilling.

"My wife and I have always tried to support any group that we are active with. The reason I always thought that CMU Athletics was a good place to donate was because of the fact that they allowed students to attend events for free. I just think it makes the school a little bit unique and kind of keeps things accessible.

"If we can help through our giving to make it a little easier for the kids that are there now, we're all for it."

Central Michigan University Athletics

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