Western Michigan gets endowment gift during tough times

Western Michigan University, like many of its Mid-American Conference counterparts, is not an athletics juggernaut. Its men’s basketball team has not been to the NCAA Tournament since 2004 (and only three times ever) and its football team has been to just four bowl games in its 104 years of playing the sport. With these major revenue sports struggling greatly, raising money for the athletic department as a whole can be quite difficult. So, when an alumnus makes a major gift of any kind, it can play a major role in the development of the athletics department. Such a gift was recently given to the Mike Gary Athletic Fund, WMU’s athletics development foundation named for long-time Athletics Director Mitchell “Mike” Gary, by Bill Parsons. The gift of $300,000 creates the Parsons Family Endowment that will help fund the education of a football or basketball student-athlete on an annual basis.

What makes this gift ever more unique is that Parsons did not compete as a WMU student-athlete yet truly values the impact it plays on the development of young people. Despite his lack of involvement directly in athletics while receiving two degrees from Western Michigan, Parsons states that the athletics department played a major role in his development as a man and made his years in Kalamazoo unforgettable. Parsons also gives his time to the Mike Gary Athletic Fund as a volunteer and has been a season ticket holder for both basketball and football for over 35 years.

“I am a fan that understands that you are not going to win a championship every year but to get there, you need have the best and the brightest on the coaching staff and team. There’s no way you can build a strong program without financial resources and support. I have had season basketball and football tickets for years and I know that Western Michigan has always tried to put the best coaches and players on the field,” added Parsons.

This understanding from a donor makes raising money for athletics much easier. It is easy to raise funds during times of success, but it is those donors that support athletics during more difficult times that set the foundation for success for the department.

Parsons, who retired as a human resources director for Michigan-based law firm Miller Canfield, also supports other areas on campus including the Lee Honors College with both his time and money. His main motivation for supporting WMU is to thank the university and its supporters for his own financial support in receiving his two degrees from the school.

Sean Phifer