Maxx Crosby's $1,000,000 donation leads to Eastern Michigan University renaming stadium "Crosby Field" after makeover

Maxx Crosby is one of the most successful players to come out of the Mid-American Conference, and now his alma mater is honoring him.

On Friday, Eastern Michigan University, where the current Las Vegas Raiders defensive end played, announced that, as part of a $1 million donation he had made in October 2023, it had renamed the playing field of Rynearson Stadium after him and his wife Rachel, a former soccer player.

Crosby had said in a presser:

"This gift is not just about the present, but also the future of generations of student-athletes who will benefit from enhanced facilities, scholarships, and support systems that will advance the rich history of the Eastern Michigan University athletic program."

Over his three seasons at EMU, Crosby accumulated 162 tackles (89 solo), 41 tackles for loss, 20 sacks, eight forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries. He was selected in the fourth round of the 2029 NFL draft by the Raiders and has since become a two-time All-Pro and three-time Pro Bowler.

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Maxx Crosby's thoughts on DL coach

The upcoming NFL season represents Maxx Crosby's second with defensive line coach Rob Leonard, who joined alongside Josh McDaniels in 2023 and has been retained under Antonio Pierce.

During last week's mandatory minicamp, Crosby was asked how he perceived Leonard. He had nothing but praise, saying:

"Robbie's been incredible. He challenges us every day, he doesn't coach anybody — he coaches people different, but he doesn't shy away from coaching. Rob is a guy that can relate to us, he played division one football, he's been around a lot of great players, and people have his respect in our room.

"He knows what everybody wants, and you got to have real relationships with the players to be able to talk to him a certain way and I think that's what he does a great job of doing... It's not like just coach type stuff, it's real life and that's what I feel like, why guys respect him so much."

The Raiders added to his corps in the offseason by nabbing former Miami Dolphins defensive tackle Christian Wilkins in free agency, giving them both a replacement for now-Arizona Cardinals DE Bilal Nichols and another young understudy for John Jenkins, who turns 35 next month.