Private Funding Gives Ski Team a Lift
Western State College successfully completed an effort to privately fund its intercollegiate ski program through 2010.
Alumni and friends of the College have made annual commitments of more than $150,000 for the next five years for a total of nearly $750,000 to ensure the program will continue.
“Everyone involved in the effort, from administration to athletes to alumni, agrees that the proud tradition of skiing and the transforming impact that it has on students’ lives is worth saving and securing for the future,” said President Jay Helman.
The fund drive momentum was kicked off by a $130,000 gift from the Sweitzer Foundation to establish the endowment, and followed by generous gifts from Jim (’57) and Dee Mahaffey to establish an endowed ski scholarship.
These gifts set the pace for leadership commitments from Doug Carlson (’81) of $75,000 (over five years) and Carlo Gaines (’72) of $50,000 (over five years). Others who made major gift annual five-year commitments include: Dick Bratton (’54), Dave Gorsuch (’64), Kenneth Grant (’74), Craig and Charlotte Haase, Ray Hensley (’74), Tom Hensley (’77), Michael Johnson (’77), Jim Musgrave (’64), Jack and Gwen Nixon, Jim Pike (’70) and Dean Stevenson (’81). Others who made significant gifts include Jim Clifford (’74), Mary Margaret Hewes (’61), Patricia Humphrey, Jim and Cleo Loken and Brad Pech (attended ’77-’80).
“What these supporters have accomplished is historic for Western and rare in collegiate athletics at any level,” said President Helman.
Tom Burggraf, Executive Director of the WSC Foundation, said, “We are so grateful for all the generous commitments to the campaign.” He added that college officials will “continue to work diligently to attract private investment so an endowment of $3 million can permanently replace the annual funding, that will annually produce a budget of $150,000.”
Tom and Greg Waggoner, Director of Athletics, said they are proud of the fact that, in nine months time, intercollegiate skiing went from a program attracting among the lowest external funding to one that is now “absolutely the highest.”
The effort to increase private funding for the Ski Program began fully three years ago. Over the past several years, a “comprehensive athletic program evaluation” which studied all intercollegiate sports at Western identified skiing as one of the college’s most costly intercollegiate programs as well as the sport most in need of private funding.
Last fall 35 ski alumni, former coaches and others from across the country met for a weekend-long “Ski Summit” in Denver to consider how to fund the program.
“It was a veritable Who’s Who of Western Skiing,” said Tom. “Our question was whether those who cared most about the program would step up and make the kin of commitment needed to save it. The answer was a resounding yes.”
The group heard presentations from President Helman and Greg who labeled efforts to privately fund the Ski Program a priority while detailing the realities of funding issues.
“We came out of the Summit with a game plan,” said Greg. “We have now successfully completed the first step of that plan, on time.”
The NCAA National Collegiate Ski Championship consists of teams from NCAA Division I, II and III. Greg pointed out that Western is the smallest four-year public college to compete in these championships.
“Many of the programs we compete against have significant private funding,” said Greg. “Still, Western has produced a staggering list of individual champions, U.S. Ski Team members and coaches and Olympians.”
Western, said Greg, is one of the few places where promising American skiers can still compete at the highest level. Nearly all the top colleges and universities in the U.S. “buy their skiers” from overseas, he said.
President Helman pointed out that the success of the recent campaign means that ski coaches can recruit two classes of students who can expect to be in the program until their graduation.
“Then, as it becomes evident we are succeeding in permanently endowing the program, they can recruit with confidence far into the future,” said President Helman.