Jack Nealy was rooting against Kansas University’s football team Saturday until KU gave him $1,000.
Nealy was one of 25 KU students who won scholarships from the KU Endowment Association Saturday, when the Jayhawks played host to UCLA. All the students had to do was go to the game and wear a free T-shirt promoting the university’s fund-raising drive.
Ten winners were selected randomly as they entered the gates, and the other 15 were selected by row and seat number.
Nealy, a sophomore journalism major, grew up in Los Angeles and has been a lifelong UCLA fan. He was booing KU when an endowment official approached him and told him he’d won the scholarship.
“Growing up in LA, my dream was playing football for UCLA,” he said. “I’m like a mother with two sons.”
The money determined his loyalties for the second half. He rooted for KU.
The scholarship giveaway was part of the official kickoff weekend for “KU First: Invest in Excellence,” a three-year fund-raising drive that aims to raise $500 million for KU. Other events were a gala at the Lied Center Friday and a faculty and staff breakfast Saturday morning.
The Endowment Association distributed 17,000 “KU First” T-shirts to students this week. The T-shirts granted free admission to the game.
KU officials didn’t know how many students attended the game, but two sections on the east side of Memorial Stadium were dominated by the white T-shirts.
At the suggestion of Endowment Association officials, Dick and Jeanne Tinberg of Leawood donated the $25,000 for the scholarships, which will help student winners pay tuition for the spring semester.
Dick Tinberg owned Gateway Motors in Junction City before retiring. He received a degree in business from KU in 1948; his wife graduated in business a year later.
“I remember what it was like in college, especially my freshman year,” he said. “I liked the idea of this, to help the kids. I’m happy for every one of these kids. They really appreciated it.”
The winners’ list included three freshmen, 10 sophomores, five juniors, four seniors and three graduate students. Three were biology majors, and two each were business administration and pharmacy majors. The rest had 19 different majors.
Three were from Lawrence, five from Johnson County and nine were from other cities in Kansas. Seven were from out of state, and one Zheng Hai Jun was from San Jose, Costa Rica.
Scholarship winner Ryan Lunt wasn’t originally supposed to win. Endowment officials selected the seat of his friend, Sam Bao, for a scholarship. But Bao wasn’t carrying his student ID a requirement for winning the scholarship so they picked Lunt, who was sitting in the next seat, instead.
“My mouth dropped, really,” he said.
He said he’d have to find a way to thank Bao.
“I guess I’ll just take him out to dinner or something,” Lunt said.
