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Thompson Family Scholarship

Administration Tom Riordan

Seahawks Announce Thompson Family Scholarship

WILMINGTON, North Carolina – UNCW Athletics is proud to announce the Dick J. Thompson Family Scholarship to benefit student-athletes.

"We are so appreciative of Dick Thompson's generosity," said Michael Oblinger, UNCW's Director of Athletics. "In the ever-changing landscape of collegiate athletics, the ability to provide additional scholarship support for our programs is paramount.

"The Dick J. Thompson Family Scholarship allows a competitive advantage for some of our high achieving programs for years to come."

The scholarship will provide additional support for the baseball, men's tennis, women's tennis, men's golf and women's golf programs at UNCW.

Thompson's daughter, Thai (Class of '18), was a standout women's tennis player for the Seahawks and is married to Seahawk alum Agustin Savarino (Class of '19), who led the men's tennis team to a pair of Coastal Athletic Association championships in 2017 and 2018.

"I've been thinking about this for a while, and it was time to give back to a place that has given so much to our family," said Thompson. "I spent about 40 years living and working in New Hanover County. UNCW is a great school and it's a wonderful community. We're happy to do it for such a good cause."

The scholarship money for the five programs will be determined by a special formula that showcases regular-season and postseason success.

"I determined the sports because of my family's involvement in different sports," Thompson said. "My father loved baseball and my brothers and I were baseball players. My older brother was a very good golfer who played in college, and my mother loved golf as do both my younger brother and I. That's why we included baseball and golf. And, of course, with Thai and Gus, tennis rounded it out.

"I've always been a competitive person, so I figured it would be a good idea to create an internal competition for the scholarship money. I hope it enhances the competition between the teams and makes them strive even harder to reach the top while helping out deserving student-athletes along the way."

Thompson hopes the scholarship helps the program continue its path of growth and success into the future.

"Thai and Gus earned a good education and learned some good life lessons while attending UNCW. They turned out very well and we are grateful for the opportunity to give back to the program."

Anyone interested in establishing or learning more about a named scholarship may contact the Seahawk Club at 910-962-2731.
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