A Lasting Legacy: Craig Hottenstein’s Coin Collection to Benefit Shippensburg Men’s Soccer

      For W. Craig Hottenstein ’73, Shippensburg University was more than a place to earn a degree. It was where he built a lifelong connection to the game of soccer, the university community, and the people who made Shippensburg home.

     Craig, who passed away on March 26, 2026, at age 75, left his coin and paper money collection to the Shippensburg University Foundation to be sold at auction. Proceeds from the sale will establish an endowment to support Shippensburg University men’s soccer athletes, creating a lasting tribute to a man whose life was deeply connected to the program.

     A four-year starting goalkeeper for the Raiders from 1969 to 1972, Craig helped lead the team to a co-championship in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) soccer in 1971. The team recorded a winning season in each of his four years, and Craig served as team captain during his senior year. In 2013, he was inducted into the Shippensburg University Athletics Hall of Fame in recognition of his contributions to the program.

   His commitment to soccer continued beyond his playing days. Craig taught social studies and coached at Mifflin County School District’s Rothrock Campus before returning to Shippensburg to pursue a master’s degree in communications. He served as an assistant soccer coach in 1977 and interim head coach in 1978, continuing his connection to the team he had helped shape as a student-athlete.

     Craig’s impact extended well beyond the soccer field. For more than three decades, he was a familiar face at Maxie’s in Shippensburg, working as a bartender and manager before purchasing the business in 1984. Following his retirement from Maxie’s, he returned to campus to work part-time with the stage crew at the Luhrs Performing Arts Center, where he also oversaw bar service during performances from 2014 to 2020.

      Whether on the soccer field, behind the bar, or backstage at Luhrs, Craig was part of the fabric of the Shippensburg community.

Now, through the generosity of his bequest, one of his personal passions will help shape the future of a program that meant so much to him. His coin collection offers alumni, collectors, and friends of the university an opportunity to honor his memory while investing in the success of future generations of Raider men’s soccer athletes.

     To make a gift to support the W. Craig Hottenstein Men’s Soccer Scholarship go to tinyurl.com/SUFHottensteinsoccer