MACOMB, Ill. – Western Illinois University Athletic Director Matt Tanney announced a new endowment fund for WIU Athletics, named in honor of former Leatherneck student-athlete, faculty member, and coach Don Viar.
 
Thanks to a generous donation from Betty Viar '45 (Bachelor of Science in Education) and family, the Don Viar Endowment will fund initiatives within WIU Athletics that will support football, basketball, baseball, golf, tennis, and swimming and diving student-athletes.
 
"On behalf of Leatherneck Athletics, I'd like to thank Betty Viar and family for their continued support," said Tanney. "This type of funding is as crucial as ever, and the fact that it will honor a former WIU student-athlete and coach in perpetuity is extra special. We are forever grateful to the Viar family."
  
Don Viar was a two-sport student-athlete at WIU, lettering in football and baseball. He graduated from WIU in 1945 with his bachelors in physical education, and was a successful high school football coach who was inducted into the Illinois High School Coaches Hall of Fame. The Abingdon-Avon High School football field is named in his honor. In 1960, he joined the WIU Athletics staff, serving as an assistant coach in football, basketball, and baseball. He was a long-time supporter of WIU Athletics. All four of Don's children (David, Donna, Sally, and Wendy) are WIU graduates. David was a member of the WIU swimming and diving team and honored as an All-American collegiate water polo player while competing for the WIU Water Polo Club.
   
Endowments require a minimum gift of $25,000, which is invested by the WIU Foundation to support programs in perpetuity. The principal remains intact, and interest earned by the endowment is used to support the scholarship. Typical spending for an endowment fund is approximately 4.5 percent. Any additional earnings are reinvested in the fund to ensure future growth.
 
Endowments can be established with a single gift of cash, securities or other property, or may be funded with a series of gifts made over time. They can also be funded through a bequest or other deferred gifts, or through a combination of lifetime and deferred gifts. For more information on endowments, contact Assistant Director of Athletics for Development Michael Jones at M-Jones2@wiu.edu or call (309) 298-1190.