A $1 million gift from the pocket of the Majerus Family Foundation will create the Rick Majerus Endowed Scholarship at Marquette University.
The new scholarship celebrates the legacy of Rick Majerus, a celebrated Marquette alumnus and college basketball coach who died in December 2012.
Scholarship funds will benefit first-generation students enrolled in Marquette’s Helen Way Klingler College of Arts and Sciences, targeting those in need of financial support. The recent scholarship gift represents the largest the Klingler College has ever received.
“On behalf of the many students and families who will benefit greatly from this gift for years to come, the Marquette community offers the most heartfelt of thanks to the Majerus family,” Marquette University President Michael Lovell, Ph.D., said in a press release. “Rick’s time at Marquette gave him the foundation to become an inspiration to those who knew him, never wavering from core values that placed academics and character ahead of on-court success. His family’s willingness to now give back on his behalf, and help other students have opportunities to live a limitless life, is a testament to those values.”
Majerus, a Sheboygan native, graduated from Marquette with a history degree in 1970 and nine years later completed a master’s degree in education at the university. After his undergrad career, he devoted 15 years to Marquette as an assistant and head coach of the men’s basketball team. In addition to working under Marquette head coaches Al McGuire and Hank Raymonds, Majerus served as head coach for three seasons.
He later coached at Ball State University, the University of Utah, and Saint Louis University, in total winning 517 games and leading Utah to the NCAA national championship game in 1998.
Majerus’ family, who has issued the scholarship funds to the Klingler College, hopes to build on their gift with additional donations from the community.
“Through Rick’s scholarship, we hope to help a broad spectrum of young men and women who will learn through a Jesuit education how to live up to their potential and be, as Rick was, a person for others,” said Jodi Majerus, Rick’s sister.
Among the donations that have already poured in is a $250,000 contribution from Jon Huntsman, a Utah-based business leader and philanthropist and friend of Rick Majerus from his days of coaching in Utah.
Individuals interested in making their own contribution to the scholarship fund can do so on Marquette’s website.
