Colorado University Athletics
Stewart Family Foundation Continues Generous Support Of CU Athletics
May 17, 2021 | General, Buff Club
BOULDER — For decades, Bill and Lila Jean Stewart were loyal and steadfast University of Colorado fans. Through thick and thin, good times and bad, the Stewarts were faithful supporters of the Buffaloes.
Bill, former owner of KLMO Radio in Longmont and an avid sports fan, was a fixture in the CU press box on football game days.
Lila was an integral member of the Buffalo Belles, a season ticket holder in the Flatirons Club, and a regular attendee of the annual CU recruiting luncheons, where she bought a table and brought friends to meet the newest Buffs.
Along the way, they became generous donors to CU Athletics, as well as other areas within the university. Their daughter, Linda Jean Stennette, was a Colorado alumna, and the family's kinship to CU ran strong and deep.
And now even though the Stewarts are gone, their support continues to this day via the Stewart Family Foundation, an entity formed to continue the family's devotion to a long list of causes. Just this past year, the foundation has donated over $2.3 million to CU Athletics, the CU College for Media Communications & Information and the Anschutz Medical Center.
"What we're trying to do is continue the legacy and the planning the Stewarts had," said Jim Newcomb, president of the Stewart Family Foundation. "They wanted to support CU into the future. We know CU has a big demand. It's a big institution and this is just a small part. Over the last few years, I think they've given close to $6 million. That's a substantial amount, and their commitment isn't finished yet. We're going to try to continue this for as long as the foundation has assets."
Bill passed away in 2012, a few years after their daughter passed away following heart surgery.
But Lila remained a steadfast supporter of CU until her death in 2018. She was one of the first — and largest — individual donors to the construction of the CU Champions Center, a facility she believed to be integral to the long-term success of the Buffs.
"She thought they needed that money to help build the future of CU to make them competitive, especially with CU moving into the Pac-12," Newcomb said. "She thought it was important that they be competitive."
The Stewart Family Foundation's support is a sterling example of the generosity that has helped keep CU Athletics moving forward even in these unprecedented times. While the Covid pandemic no doubt dealt a blow to CU's revenue streams, donations have helped ensure that Colorado's student-athletes continue to receive the support services necessary to maintain their competitiveness academically and athletically.
"Lila Jean's impact, over the last eight years, has been significant," said CU Athletic Director Rick George. "It is impacting the lives of our student-athletes in a positive way every day. Her support has allowed us to continue providing support services to our student-athletes — which has been critical in a year when we haven't had a lot of revenue coming in. Her impact and legacy is significant and we couldn't be more thankful to her and her foundation for the support they have provided for CU Athletics."
Over the years, the Stewarts' support for CU has been directed to a variety of support areas. The Stewart Family Foundation Endowed Athletics fund provides discretionary support to the department, and the foundation also provides support to the Golden Buff Scholarship Fund. Other areas benefiting include the Athletics Facility Building Fund and the Athletic Director's Discretionary Fund.
"The money to CU Athletics — some is restricted and some isn't," Newcomb said. "We wanted to give Rick some opportunity to be flexible to be able to use some funds in any emergency situation that arises. We gave some money that is unrestricted and we also donated to other areas. The great thing about CU is you can pick out what you want to support — whether it's $100 or $10,000 or a larger amount."
The Stewarts wanted to make sure their support reached several areas within CU Athletics as well as throughout the university.
"She liked to support all those causes," Newcomb said. "The Stewarts were great fans of CU — and they absolutely loved (longtime Sports Information Director) Dave Plati. I think we've been pretty close to what Lila and Bill would have been doing. We're trying to continue as best we can to honor their requests and keep in line with what they were doing and then put it on a larger scale."
CU Senior Director of Development Scott McMichael said the Stewarts' support has been essential, especially over the last year.
"Lila, Bill and Linda were long-time supporters of CU Athletics and have been instrumental in enhancing all of our Athletic facilities over the years," McMichael said. "As scholarship donors, the Stewarts and especially Lila truly enjoyed the lasting relationships created with their many student-athletes, coaches and staff."
CU officials hope the department can begin a return to "normal" this year by allowing fans in Folsom Field and the CU Events Center. But the revenue hit caused by the pandemic is not something that will go away quickly. Colorado lost an estimated $26 million in ticket revenue over the last academic year, and the Pac-12 distribution was only about 50 percent of its normal rate.
"The success our student-athletes had this year academically and athletically, even in the face of this pandemic, has been in large part because of the generosity of people like the Stewart Family Foundation," George said. "We have been able to continue to provide necessary services for our student-athletes and not step backwards. A lot of our donors have had big impacts on our ability to continue to thrive in a very difficult year and the Stewart Family Foundation's support has been at the top of that list."
That support will continue to be critical over the coming years as CU recovers from the effects of the pandemic.
"It is probably more important than ever — certainly in the eight years I've been here," George said. " Right now we have very little revenue coming into our department. Having that support has been incredibly meaningful to the success we're having and will continue to be critical as we move forward."
The Stewart Family Foundation has been incredibly generous to a number of charities. Just this year, the foundation donated $1 million each to the Longmont Museum and the TLC Learning Center, as well as funds to a multitude of other charities.
"The need to give charity-wise is greater now than what it was pre-pandemic," Newcomb said. "There are so many places that are struggling and they just need a little support to get over the hump. If we can help, we're doing that."
Contact: Neill.Woell@Colorado.edu
