Hugh Culverhouse Jr. Sets in Motion Giving Challenge in Quest to Raise Millions for Women's Athletics Scholarships
6/24/2016 11:31:00 AM | Women's Golf
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Philanthropist Hugh Culverhouse, Jr., who has already given $1.5 million to The University of Alabama's Department of Athletics and the Crimson Tide Foundation in support of women's golf scholarships, announced today that he has donated another $1 million if donors contribute another $2.5 million for endowed scholarships in all women's sports in the next 12 months. With today's donation, Culverhouse has given $2.5 million to Crimson Tide Athletics. If those funds are matched, this gift will result in a total of $5 million toward funding endowed scholarships for female student-athletes at The Capstone.
In February of 2015, Culverhouse donated $250,000 to endow a women's golf scholarship at Alabama in honor of his mother, the late Joy McCann Culverhouse, who starred at Alabama in the early 1940s. At the time of his original pledge, Culverhouse issued a challenge to other supporters, stating that he would double his donation to the program (an additional $250,000) if others would respond to his gesture by donating gifts of their own totaling $500,000. By September of 2015, not only was that challenge met, but it was exceeded as pledges and gifts totaling more than $510,000 were received in support of scholarships women's golf program. After that original $250,000 donation, several Alabama supporters accepted the challenge, providing those additional gifts and pledges.
Now, Culverhouse has expanded the scope of his giving and is issuing another giving challenge to Crimson Tide donors. Having already personally donated $1.5 million to endow women's golf scholarships at Alabama, Culverhouse has begun this challenge to endow scholarships for female student-athletes in other sports with a gift of $1 million. His goal is to create a challenge that will raise an additional $2.5 million from other donors to raise the total amount of giving in this effort to $5 million.
"I am happy to honor my mother in this way," said Culverhouse. "An avid golfer, she attributed her success in life to the University of Alabama's athletics program. I'd like to pass that on to others."
"We are thrilled and inspired by Hugh's continued generosity and his vision in helping us fund athletics scholarships for female student-athletes at The University of Alabama," said Bill Battle, Director of Athletics at Alabama. "We have been on a mission to endow all of our athletics scholarships for more than a year now, something that Hugh gave us a great start with due to his generosity last year. Hugh has motivated and invigorated our other donors, giving them an excellent opportunity to showcase their commitment to the enduring success of our athletics program through endowed scholarships."
The source of Culverhouse's motivation was the inspiring example of his mother, Joy McCann Culverhouse, who set the stage for the Crimson Tide women's golf program to achieve full recognition as a varsity team prior to the 1974-75 season, creating opportunities for some of the game's greats to wear the crimson and white including Martha Jones Lang, Peggy Kirsch, Judi Schneider, Kathryn Cusick, Jenny Suh, Kathleen Ekey, Camilla Lennarth, Brooke Pancake, Jennifer Kirby, 2012 Ladies British Amateur champion Stephanie Meadow and current Crimson Tide golfer Emma Talley, the 2015 NCAA medalist and 2013 United States Amateur champion.
After beginning her collegiate career at LSU by becoming one of the first women granted a partial scholarship for athletics while playing on LSU's men's team, Joy transferred to The University of Alabama to continue her golfing career. She was a member of Delta Delta Delta sorority, secretary of the senior class and a member of Pan Hellenic and completed her coursework at the Capstone in 1942, earning a degree in arts and sciences. Joy went on to win 27 championships during her golfing career. In 1997, the Florida House of Representatives passed a resolution in recognition of her numerous contributions to the advancement of women.
Joy's persistent pursuit of excellence, her example as a citizen and mother, and her gratitude and sense of civic duty served as an inspiring example to her son, Hugh, Jr. That example, which made such an impact on Hugh as a child on through adulthood, has resulted in his own effort to carry on his mother's legacy. Hugh is in the midst of using his mother's transformative career as a model for making his own indelible impact on women's sports - this time via this remarkable gift to the Crimson Tide athletics program, and challenging others to match that gift to bring the total impact to $5 million for use in scholarships for all women's athletics programs at Alabama.
Joy McCann Culverhouse, who died on April 26, 2016, at the age of 96, claimed two Alabama women's state championships (1941 and 1947) and the 1961 Florida women's amateur title, was the catalyst for her son's interest and generosity. Joy, who celebrated her 96th birthday in March of 2016, set a standard of excellence in competition that has served as the benchmark for achievement in Alabama's storied women's golf program, which won three SEC championships and the 2012 NCAA championship. Alabama women's golfer Lakareber Abe was the first recipient of the Joy McCann Culverhouse scholarship earlier in 2015.
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