Majerus Family Donates $1 Million To Marquette

Even in death, the spirit and generosity of the late Rick Majerus lives on. The longtime college basketball coach’s family donated $1 million to Marquette University and helped establish the Rick Majerus Endowed Scholarship.

ESPN’s Dana O’Neil broke the story.

The scholarship, which the school will announce Thursday, will provide tuition assistance to first-generation college students in the Helen Way Klingler College of Arts and Sciences and represents the largest scholarship gift to Klingler College in its history.

Majerus graduated from Marquette in 1970 and then spent over a decade as an assistant with the school, bringing home a title with head coach Al McGuire in 1978 and spending a handful of years under Hank Raymonds before assuming head coaching duties himself in 1983. He spent three seasons with Marquette before going on to man the sidelines at Ball State, Utah and Saint Louis. In 1998, his Utes were the runner-up to the champion Kentucky Wildcats. At the time of his death in 2012, at age 64, he held a career mark of 517-215.

The new scholarship is funded by the Majerus Family Foundation, of which his sister Jodi is a trustee. She commented on the new scholarship in O’Neil’s story.

“In the [foundation] guidelines that Rick put together before his passing, he said he wanted to honor Marquette,” Majerus’ sister, Jodi, said. “He didn’t say specifically what he wanted us to do, but that he wanted us to follow the values of our parents and use the four pillars that he established — education, medical research, athletics and social justice — as our guide. I wish I could ask him, ‘Is this what you wanted?’ But knowing my mom and dad and the importance they placed on education, and knowing Rick and how he looked at life in general, it feels like a natural thing to do.”

Marquette’s men’s basketball team finished dead last in the Big East this year, going 13-19 (4-14 Big East) in 2015.

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*Featured Photo (above) credit to  Rob Carr/Getty Images

Alex Poythress to return to Kentucky for his senior season
Alex Poythress to return to Kentucky for his senior season