Batavia Illinois – The 5th Ward

When you hear the name Dennis Piron in Batavia, football is almost certainly the first thing that comes to mind. His legendary 16-season run as the head coach of the Bulldogs—punctuated by those unforgettable 2013 and 2017 IHSA state championship runs—cemented his place in our town’s rich athletic history. But if you look closer at the fabric of our city, at the young professionals and business owners putting down roots here, you’ll realize his deepest and most enduring legacy was actually built inside the classroom.

For a decade, Dennis founded and spearheaded the BHS INCubator Entrepreneurship program. He didn’t just teach business from a textbook; he effectively served as the bridge between the high school and Batavia’s vibrant local business community. He brought local leaders into the building to serve as mentors, ensuring his students lived and breathed the realities of entrepreneurship. He guided them from raw, untested ideas all the way to the pressure-cooker of Pitch Night. Along the way, he taught them the grit of managing pro-forma financials, the friction and rewards of true teamwork, and, most importantly, the courage required to build something real from scratch.

He expected excellence, and he pushed his students to find it within themselves. As INCubator Mentor Gary Ricke perfectly captured it: “There’s a tough love that prepares them in ways I don’t know that college does. Nobody like him. Nobody.”

To honor that profound, generations-deep community impact, a volunteer steering committee of Batavia business leaders and former INCubator mentors—including Dave Brown, Bob Hansen, Dominic Hansen, Rob Hollis, Bob Hubbard, Tyler Piron, Gary Ricke, and Bob Vaughan—has established the Dennis Piron Legacy Scholarship.

What makes this scholarship so perfectly aligned with Coach Piron’s philosophy is its inclusivity. Administered by the Batavia Foundation for Educational Excellence (a registered 501c3), this scholarship isn’t restricted solely to the traditional four-year university path. Coach Piron always understood that success looks different for every student. Because of that, the funds are explicitly designed to empower any driven BHS student, whether their next step is a specialized trade school, a vocational educational program, a community college, or a 4-year university.

The steering committee’s financial goal is ambitious, but it is exactly the kind of challenge Batavia is known for meeting: raising a $100,000 permanent endowment. This structure is vital. Once fully funded, this scholarship will live in perpetuity. It will generate its own interest to fund the awards year after year, meaning no annual fundraising asks will ever be needed to keep this legacy alive. It becomes a permanent fixture of Batavia High School.

Here is where the broader community comes in. The Dunham Foundation, recognizing the incredible value of this initiative, has stepped up with a massive $50,000 dollar-for-dollar matching grant.

This match is triggered the moment our community raises its $50,000 half. The momentum is already building fast, with over $36,000 committed by local supporters so far. We are in a unique, limited window where we can double our impact. Every single dollar given right now does the work of two.

While the committee notes that leadership gifts of $2,000 to $5,000 will move the needle the fastest toward unlocking that Dunham Foundation match, absolutely every contribution—no matter the size—helps secure the funds and honors a man who gave so much to our kids.

Let’s make sure the next generation of Batavia innovators, builders, tradespeople, and leaders continues to benefit from the spirit, the standard, and the tough love of Coach Piron.

How to Support

Please visit pironlegacy.org to make a secure donation, or reach out directly to pledges@pironlegacy.org to make a pledge today.

From 1909 to State Champs: Batavia High School Football

Author: Jim Fahrenbach