Profiles in Giving: Intercollegiate Athletics

John and Peg Slusher
Marion, Iowa

John and Peg Slusher stepped up to the plate and made history as the first contributors to fully endow a named scholarship for a specific position in Hawkeye women's athletics.

The John and Peg Slusher Softball Catcher's Scholarship pays tuition and fees, room, and board for the starting catcher on the UI softball squad.

The Slushers are both retired employees of Rockwell Collins and live in Marion. They started attending Iowa sporting events in 1981 and quickly caught the Hawkeye fever.

In a sign of the extent of their devotion to the Hawkeyes, in one whirlwind weekend they once attended the national NCAA wrestling tournament in Oklahoma City, leaving after the last match on Saturday night and making it back to Iowa in time to catch the Hawkeye women's basketball team play in an early round of the NCAA tournament.

For these devoted Hawkeye fans, endowing the Slusher Scholarship was an opportunity to help advance the softball team's pursuit of excellence, both athletically and academically.

"The softball team is so exciting to watch," Peg says. "We chose to endow the scholarship for the catcher because we felt it was one of the most difficult and demanding positions on the team."

Thanks to the Slushers' loyalty to the Hawkeyes and concern for student-athletes, generations of talented catchers will wear the black and gold as they strive for success in competition, in the classroom, and in their careers.

Read other Profiles in Giving