Class of 1970 Athletic Scholarship

BR’s:

Attached is the result of a proposal submitted to the Keydet Club, approved by General Peay to create a scholarship in the name of the Class of 1970. The scholarship will be awarded to an academically qualified Rat football player with the stipulation that he remain academically qualified through out his Cadetship. Once the scholarship is fully funded it will endowed in perpetuity.

Everybody has an opinion regarding VMI Athletics, especially football. Our football fortunes have been less than acceptable over the past 20+ years to say the least. We have lived on “wait until next year” for too many years. It is my opinion that we are at a cross roads with respect to our football program. We are either going to become competitive in the next 3-4 years or we will have some very hard decisions to make. I am one who believes the program will improve to the point that we will be competitive on a very frequent basis. Why is it going to improve? For the first time since Bob Thalman became VMI’s head coach in 1971, VMI hired a head coach (Coach Reid) who had previous experience as not only as a Div 1AA head coach but a very successful head coach. You win with winners. Coach Reid has been a winner through out his coaching career. For those of you who have attended a game this year in Lexington you saw a revamped football stadium and related fac ilities that rivals any Div 1AA facility in the country. The quality of our young players, Rats and red shirted Rats, is probably the best we have ever had. If Coach Reid is given the scholarship resources to recruit the way we know he can recruit, he will get the job done. If he is going to do his job, we need to do ours. It will take approx. $400,000 to fully fund the scholarship. That sounds like a lot of money because it is a lot of money. However, if we can get 200 BR’s who will give $400 a year ($8 a week) in addition to what they normally give, over the next 5 years we will get it done. We are off to a great start- Julian Smith kicked off the scholarship with a pledge of $25,000. Ju Ju believes the job can get done and challenges everyone to step up. Jim Chapman ’69, current President of the Keydet Club gave us a $1,000 . We have half a dozen BR’s who have pledged $5,000 each. We will get it done. I would encourage everyone to drop Coach Reid a line or give him a call. I guarantee you will become a believer.
Thanks for your support.- $400 for the 40th!!!!!!!!!!!

Bill

CONCERNING THE

CLASS OF 1970 ATHLETIC SCHOLARSHIP

AT THE

VIRGINIA MILITARY INSTITUTE

The purpose of this Memorandum is to summarize the understanding between The VMI Class of 1970, as represented by J. Benjamin Dick ’70, Class President, and William R. O’Connor ’70, Class Agent (“Fund Representatives”), the VMI Keydet Club, Inc. (“Keydet Club”), and the Virginia Military Institute (“VMI” or “Institute”) with regard to the Class of 1970 Athletic Scholarship (“Scholarship”) at VMI. This Memorandum will become a part of the permanent record of the Keydet Club and is intended to serve as a guide to those who administer the Scholarship in the future.

INTRODUCTION

The Class of 1970, in conjunction with its 40th Class Reunion in 2010, wishes to recognize its love for the Virginia Military Institute, its appreciation for the excellent education each Brother Rat received, and its love for VMI Intercollegiate Athletics and the VMI SPIRIT which helped to bond the Class during their cadetships and continues to bond the Class as alumni.

NAME AND PURPOSE

This scholarship will forever be known as the Class of 1970 Athletic Scholarship at the Virginia Military Institute and will be awarded to an incoming Rat cadet who participates in a VMI Division I athletic program and who had an accumulated Grade Point Average (GPA) of 3.0 or better while in high school. Preference is to be given (1) to a member of the VMI Football Team and (2) to a matriculant from Virginia.

The same cadet will be eligible to receive the Scholarship during his cadetship as long as he or she maintains a 2.5 GPA or better and remains a Division I cadet-athlete. If the recipient’s GPA falls below 2.5 in a particular school year, then the Scholarship will be awarded to a new incoming Rat for the following school year.

FUNDING AND ADMINISTRATION

The Scholarship will be established through gifts made by Brother Rats of the Class of 1970. These contributions will constitute the corpus (or principal) of the fund to be invested as a part of the VMI Keydet Club endowment and administered in perpetuity according to the Keydet Club’s policies and practices. Future gifts to the Scholarship will be added to the fund’s corpus unless directed otherwise by the donor. Income earned by the Scholarship will be used to provide financial assistance to one or more cadet-athletes through the VMI Keydet Club. Any income not used will be reinvested in the Scholarship’s principal.

If the Scholarship’s corpus does not reach or exceed $50,000 within five years of the execution of this Memorandum of Agreement, the Scholarships assets, including principal and income, will be moved to the Keydet Club General Endowment Scholarship Fund, and this Memorandum will become null and void.

RECOGNITION AND REPORTING

The Scholarship will be listed in the VMI Brochure for Scholarships and the recipient will be recognized each year at the Keydet Club’s annual awards banquet as well as in appropriate Keydet Club and VMI publications. The Keydet Club agrees to keep the Fund Representatives informed of the Scholarship’s financial progress through periodic statements of fund performance. Unforeseeable Circumstances In the unlikely event that at some future time it becomes impossible for the Scholarship to serve the specific purpose for which it was created, the Keydet Club Board of Governors will direct that its principal and any accrued income be devoted to purposes that it deems to be most consistent with the wishes and intentions of the Donors.

Executed by signature:

Fund Representative: _________________________________________________

J. Benjamin Dick ’70

Fund Representative: _________________________________________________

William R. O’Connor ’70
VMI: ______________________________________________________________

GEN J.H. Binford Peay III ’62, Superintendent
Keydet Club: ________________________________________________________

Gregory M. Cavallaro ’84, Exec. Vice President