Student-Athlete Scholarships

Since 2000, the total scholarship costs to the University of Oklahoma Athletics department has increased by over $12 million. Currently there are 118 endowed scholarships totaling just under $30 million existing for athletics. This holds an annual expendable amount at just under $1.5 million to be used towards scholarships across a variety of sports. As is depicted in the graph below, our annual scholarship costs have increased over 400% since 2000 and are nearly $16M currently. Our scholarship endowment only funds approximately 10% of our total scholarship costs, so the need to increase our endowment is clear and present.

​​Scholarships for our student-athletes provide the opportunity to prepare them for the future. The success from our student-athletes is currently at an all time high with now a 15th consecutive semester with a cumulative GPA of a 3.0 or higher. In addition, other academic accomplishments from student-athletes include: 
  • 123 student-athletes earned their OU Degree in 2018-19. 
  • 83 student-athletes with a 4.0 GPA in the fall of 2018. 
  • 298 student-athletes were named to the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll for the Spring of 2019. 
There are multiple ways to initiate a scholarship endowment:
  • Contribute to an existing scholarship fund that helps cover the cost of tuition for scholarship student-athletes. 
    • ​This can be a gift made at any amount.
  • Sport Specific Scholarship $100,000
    • Beginning at $100,000, a sport specific scholarship may be designated towards a sport of interest. For example, a gift of this size could be formed as the Jane & John Donor Baseball Scholarship. Each year, the interest from the principle gift will go directly towards a baseball student-athlete.
  • Fully Endowed Scholarship $400,000
    • A total gift of $400,000 will cover the full scholarship costs of one student-athlete and will continue to impact student-athletes for generations to come. In addition to naming a scholarship, the donor has the opportunity to designate the gift towards a specific sport and have a honorary match with a specific student athlete. For example, a $400,000 gift (payable over a 3-5 year period) could be formed as the Joe Donor Family Softball Endowment so that the interest year over year will cover the scholarship costs of one student-athlete in perpetuity.
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​Scholarship Endowments are recognized during Championship Allocations where a member will receive 2 points per $100 for non-home ticket allocations.

LEAVING YOUR LEGACY FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS

Stamp your legacy into OU Athletics by designating OU as a beneficiary of your estate, will, trust or insurance policy. Planning and earmarking your gift towards a scholarship endowment allows your legacy to continue living within OU Athletics in perpetuity.
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