Larry Lucchino helped bring professional baseball to Worcester and built a career around the idea that sports could transform communities. Now, Assumption University is establishing an institute in his name to explore what happens when the lessons of sports extend beyond the playing field.
The university announced Tuesday the creation of the Larry Lucchino Institute for the Study of Sports, funded by what it described as a historic gift from the Lucchino Family Foundation. The institute will combine the study of sports with subjects ranging from business and economics to literature, ethics, leadership and civic life.
Worcester Red Sox President Dr. Charles Steinberg, who worked alongside Lucchino for 45 years, will serve as founding director.
The institute is expected to launch in fall 2027, when Assumption will also begin awarding scholarships to students interested in sports and committed to the leadership and community values associated with Lucchino’s career.
The announcement marks another chapter in Lucchino’s relationship with Worcester, where he spearheaded the relocation of the Boston Red Sox’s Triple-A affiliate from Pawtucket, Rhode Island, and the development of Polar Park. Lucchino, who died in 2024, previously led the Baltimore Orioles, San Diego Padres and Boston Red Sox.
“Larry Lucchino understood that sports are never simply about what happens on the field. They are about people, communities, the pursuit of excellence, and, as he liked to say, joy. At Assumption, we believe that learning is a profoundly joyful pursuit,” Assumption President Greg Weiner said in the university’s announcement. “The Larry Lucchino Institute invites students to begin with something they love and discover the depths of the world that can be better explored and understood through that lens. We are deeply grateful to the Lucchino family for entrusting us with his name and legacy, and for this transformational investment in the future of our students, Catholic liberal education, and the field of sports.”
Unlike a traditional sports management program focused primarily on preparing students for jobs in the industry, the institute is intended to use sports as a starting point for broader academic inquiry.
Students will examine how sports intersect with culture, economics, marketing, analytics, communication and society. Planned offerings include an introductory seminar exploring sports through literature, history and ethics, along with mentorship, internships, guest speakers and other experiential learning opportunities.
The institute complements Assumption’s existing minor in sport management and a sports marketing major currently in development. It will also collaborate with the university’s Center for Civic Friendship, including work examining how sports can bring people together across differences.
The Lucchino Scholars program provides a more direct financial benefit to students.
Beginning in fall 2027, selected students will receive renewable scholarships of $4,000 annually for up to four years, a potential total of $16,000 per recipient. The university did not specify how many scholarships will be awarded each year or disclose the amount of the foundation’s gift.
David Lucchino, a trustee of the Lucchino Family Foundation, said the institute is intended to preserve his family’s commitment to education, leadership and community engagement.
“Larry believed sports were about much more than what happened on the field. They were a powerful vehicle for leadership, innovation, education and bringing communities together,” David Lucchino said in the announcement. “Our Foundation’s purpose is to carry Larry’s legacy forward in ways that reflect not only his accomplishments, but the values that guided his life: intellectual curiosity, a commitment to excellence and a deep belief in the power of people and communities to make a difference.”
Larry Lucchino’s career included some of baseball’s most influential ballpark projects. He helped develop Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore and Petco Park in San Diego, oversaw major improvements that preserved Fenway Park in Boston and played a central role in the creation of JetBlue Park, the Red Sox’s spring training facility in Florida.
His final ballpark project was Polar Park, which opened in Worcester in 2021.
Working with longtime design collaborator Janet Marie Smith, Lucchino championed ballparks designed to connect with surrounding neighborhoods rather than stand apart from them. In Worcester, that vision helped drive the redevelopment of the Canal District and established a new home for the WooSox.
Steinberg, who also served as a senior executive with the Orioles, Padres, Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers, was president of the Pawtucket Red Sox during the franchise’s move to Worcester. He continues to lead the WooSox and will now help shape the institute’s academic direction and connections to the sports industry.
The institute will also have an advisory board drawn from sports, media, business and civic life.
Its founding members include journalists Mike Barnicle and Dan Shaughnessy, sportscaster Lesley Visser, baseball executive Janet Marie Smith, columnist George F. Will and Joshua Kraft. Other members are John Davis, Brian Kelly, Alice Nderitu and Helen R. Russell.
Assumption’s relationship with Lucchino predates the new institute.
The university was among the WooSox’s 21 founding partners, a relationship that has provided internships and other learning opportunities for Assumption students at Polar Park.
In 2022, Lucchino delivered the address at Assumption’s 105th commencement and received an honorary Doctor of Letters degree. He encouraged graduates to be bold, cultivate friendships and become agents of positive change in their communities.
Those themes will help guide the institute and its scholarship program, according to the university.
The institute is scheduled to begin recruiting its first class of Lucchino Scholars for the fall 2027 semester.
