Chamberlain estate donates $650K to KU

By Chuck Woodling     Nov 20, 2003

Four years after his death, Wilt Chamberlain has reached out and touched Kansas University.

Chamberlain’s estate has donated $650,000 to endow three scholarship funds as well as a university-based Special Olympics program. Arguably the greatest basketball player of all-time, Chamberlain spent three years at KU (1956-58) before turning professional.

“It reminds me of a quote out of his first book,” said Monte Johnson, a Chamberlain teammate and former KU athletic director. “He said three of the best years of his life were the three years he spent at Kansas University, and that was contrary to what a lot of people thought.”

After leaving KU to join the Harlem Globetrotters in 1958, Chamberlain returned to the campus without fanfare only a few times, fueling the notion he didn’t want to come back.

However, Chamberlain put that speculation to rest when he returned in 1998 to have his jersey retired. At the time, Chamberlain expressed how moved he was by the genuine outpouring of emotion from the thousands who came to honor him.

Specifically, the money has been designated for:

  • A men’s basketball scholarship ($300,000).
  • A women’s basketball/volleyball scholarship. The grant will alternate annually between the two programs ($100,000).
  • An opportunity scholarship that will go to worthy, needy and disadvantaged students with a focus on those who would be the first in their family to attend college ($100,000).
  • A clinic for Special Olympics in which developmentally disabled athletes will have the opportunity to interact with players and coaches of the KU basketball team ($150,000).

“These memorials put the final exclamation point on something a lot of people never expected,” Johnson said. “And, in fact, I don’t think a high-profile athlete has ever left that much money to KU.”

The people most instrumental in determining the scope of the gift, according to Johnson, were Barbara Chamberlain Lewis, one of Wilt’s six sisters, and Sy Goldberg, his longtime manager and attorney.

“Wilt was a very generous person,” Goldberg said, “but he didn’t like to draw attention to his philanthropy. That day in 1998 was one of the highlights of his life. He went expecting a plaque, but instead all these people were so happy to see him. He was so moved by the reaction of the crowd.”

Added Lewis: “There was a constant ovation. It brought tears to his eyes. He was so excited and overwhelmed by the reactions of the media and the officials and everyone who was there.”

Also involved were the late Bob Billings, Billings’ widow, Beverly, and Johnson. Billings, a Lawrence land developer, also was a former Chamberlain teammate.

“One of Bob’s longtime goals was to get a Wilt Chamberlain scholarship established,” Beverly Billings said. “I know Bob would have been so happy to see this come to fruition.”

While at Kansas, Chamberlain scored 52 points — still a school record — in his first varsity game. As a sophomore, he averaged 29.6 points a game, then bettered that with a 30.1 average as a junior. He was a two-time All-American.

After foregoing his senior year of eligibility to join the Globetrotters, Chamberlain spent 14 seasons in the National Basketball Assn. He was named the league’s MVP five times and still is the only player to score as many as 100 points in a game. When he retired, he was the NBA’s career scoring and rebound leader.

Chamberlain died Oct. 12, 1999, at the age of 63.

A formal announcement of Chamberlain’s gift will be made at halftime of Friday night’s KU’s basketball game with UT-Chattanooga. Chamberlain’s gift counts toward the $500 million goal of KU First: Invest in Excellence, the largest fund-raising campaign in KU history.

“Wilt Chamberlain astounded basketball fans at KU and across the country,” said Dale Seuferling, president of the Kansas University Endowment Association. “We are proud to accept this gift.”


The KU Endowment Association contributed information for this story.

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