The Names Family Foundation has expanded its long-standing commitment to University of Puget Sound’s athletics programs with a new gift of $250,000. The generous contribution bolsters an endowed fund for Logger athletics that the family initially established in 2009.

The Tom and Meg Names Endowed Fund for Athletics honors the memory of sports enthusiasts, community benefactors, and Puget Sound alumni Tom and Anna “Meg” Names.  Tom Names passed away at age 80 in February 2015, and Meg, at age 81, in February 2016.

Their daughter, Erin Shagren, executive director of the Names Family Foundation, currently serves as a member of the Puget Sound board of trustees and their granddaughter is a member of the Class of 2017.

“The Names Family Foundation is a long-standing friend of Puget Sound athletics and its support has allowed our program to flourish,” said Amy Hackett, athletics director. “We are grateful for this new gift, which will help our teams gain the means to compete at a high level against quality National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III opponents outside of our conference, both at home and away. We expect this to heighten our competitive readiness for conference play and give us avenues to improve our stature within Division III for postseason championships. Playing teams from across the country will also afford broader and more fulfilling experiences for student-athletes.”

Over the past eight years, the foundation’s athletics endowment has been a valuable resource for student-athletes. It allowed the athletics department to update its media technology for classrooms and funded the purchase of new equipment to assist coaches in game preparation and student-athlete recruitment. The fund also was used to buy and install new scoreboards for the recently renovated Memorial Fieldhouse.

            – University of Puget Sound