A family that thought it was donating to fund University of Wisconsin tennis scholarships now wants a refund, claiming their $500,000 gift went to facility improvements instead.
As reported by The Capital Times of Madison, Richard Coyleās family donated the money in June 2016 following a statement in his late mother Marion Lou Coyleās will to āfund the UW tennis program.ā Specifically, she intended it to fund tennis scholarships as a way to honor Douglas Coyle, her late husband and Richardās father, who attended the UW on a tennis scholarship in the 1930s and dedicated much of his life to bringing opportunities to young tennis players.
Marion Lou Coyleās motives were never formally documented, however, and the money was eventually used to renovate the athletic department's outdoor tennis facilities.
āWe didnāt want to pour concrete,ā Richard Coyle said. āWe wanted to enrich lives.ā
Coyle remembers an initial phone call informing the Foundation about the money in July 2015, when he was told the money could be used for scholarships, as well as a visit with Wisconsin tennis coaches in October 2015, but there is no official record of any such conversations.
In an email statement, UW-Madison spokesman John Lucas said Coyleās information is inaccurate. Because the language in the bequest said it should be distributed to the āUniversity of Wisconsin, currently located in Madison, Wisconsin,ā Lucas said it was made to the university and never the Foundation. Per System policy, UW-Madison rerouted the money to the UW System Trust and complied with the bequest to āensure that their intended uses match the universityās need and ultimate use,ā Lucas said.
āWe regret that the donorās family has a misperception of the universityās actions in this matter, but we continue to be grateful for the gift and the passionate support for UW-Madisonās tennis programs."
Last year, Coyle began working with third-party organizations to submit open records requests to track down the money. He learned that, soon after the donation, the athletic department asked the Board of Regents to exempt the gift from the System's policy on large unendowed gifts, according to The Capital Times.
Endowed funds are held in perpetuity by a university to invest and accumulate over time. Conversely, unendowed gifts over $250,000 automatically become Board-designated endowments, meaning āonly the income from the gift is made available for expenditure.ā
āThe improved outdoor tennis complex will provide a wonderful opportunity for us to recognize the donor in a place where others can enjoy the sport that brought him such joy,ā UW athletic director Barry Alvarez wrote in a letter to the chancellor and UW trust funds director in September 2016. āAs an aside, UW menās and womenās tennis scholarships are funded by a significant number of sport-specific endowed funds and annual gifts. The facility project is the greatest need for our tennis program.ā
Alvarez added that Coyle had āindicated supportā for designating the gift to facilities needs. According to The Capital Times, Lucas also said in his emailed statement that athletics staff were in touch with the Coyle family, including in-person visits, phone calls and emails in which they āexpressed personal support and enthusiasmā for using the gift toward stadium renovations.
āPerhaps the school was not required to issue a gift agreement, notify the donor, or obtain written consent. But it could have done any of those things,ā Coyle wrote in a letter to various media and philanthropic organizations in February. āTheir own beliefs, statements, and principles suggest they should have done those things. But they did not.ā
The Intelligent Donorās Guide to College Giving, an October 2020 report from the American Council of Trustees and Alumni, cites the Coyle family gift as a case study on the importance of donor specificity.
āHad the original donor expressed in writing that the bequest was solely for the purpose of funding tennis scholarship, UW would likely not have been able to expedite using the funds for a capital project instead,ā the report authors wrote, as reported by The Capital Times. āAlthough a written gift agreement with clear instructions is not an absolute guarantee that donor intent will be honored, it makes it much more likely.ā
āWe just want the money back, quite frankly, so we can enrich peopleās lives elsewhere,ā Coyle said. āWisconsin says they donāt need the money? Fine. They should have told us that four years ago.ā
