A longtime FCA supporter, Jerry Kindall served as an adult sponsor of FCA Huddles at the University of Minnesota and the University of Arizona during his coaching tenures there. He was also actively involved in numerous FCA Camps, clinics, and conferences through the years.

Kindall was a two-sport athlete at the University of Minnesota in baseball and basketball. In 1956, he was an All-American shortstop for the NCAA championship team. That same year, he signed a professional contract with the Chicago Cubs and spent the next eight seasons in Chicago, Cleveland, and Minnesota. During his final season, Kindall played in the World Series as a member of the 1965 American League championship team.

Following his playing career, Kindall returned to Minnesota where he took the job as assistant men’s basketball coach. In 1968, he added assistant baseball coach to his list of duties. Kindall was named head baseball coach at Arizona in 1972. In 24 seasons, he led the Wildcats to three Pac-10 titles, one Western Athletic Conference (WAC) title, 12 NCAA Tournament appearances, five College World Series appearances, and three NCAA titles (1976, 1980 and 1986), making him the first individual to win a college baseball title as both a player and a coach. Kindall was also named College Baseball Coach of the Year in each of those three championship seasons.

Kindall was inducted into the University of Minnesota Athletics Hall of Fame in 1995, and the Arizona Athletics Hall of Fame in 1996. In 2004, Arizona renamed its baseball facility Jerry Kindall Field. In 2007, Kindall was inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame. The author of Baseball: Play the Winning Way and co-editor of The Baseball Coaching Bible, Kindall has also worked in the sport as a broadcaster, consultant and spring training chaplain.

Beginning in 2006, FCA began awarding the Jerry Kindall Character in Coaching Award, which is presented annually to the college or high school baseball coach who best exemplifies the Christian principles of Character, Integrity, Excellence, Teamwork and Service on and off the baseball field.