Current Men’s Basketball Head Coach Hank Plona will serve as the first Mahurin Family Foundation Head Men’s Basketball Coach through an endowment gifted to the position by Dixie Mahurin, marking the first position in WKU Athletics to be endowed, according to WKU Athletics.
The fund will provide support for the WKU Men’s Basketball program, including salary enhancements for the head coach position and operational funding for travel, recruitment and equipment.
“Dixie Mahurin has been a blessing for WKU for so many years, and her day-to-day support and belief in our program is a driving force in our success,” Plona said in a press release from WKU Athletics. “Dixie is upbeat, always believes the best is in front of us, and instills a togetherness and determination for all of us to represent this special University in a way that makes her proud.”
Mahurin is a two-time alumna, the academics coordinator for WKU athletics and a longtime university benefactor.
“My hope is that through this gift, the current and future student-athletes who are a part of the WKU Men’s Basketball program will have increased opportunities to succeed on the court, in the classroom and in life,” Mahurin said in a press release from WKU Athletics. “This program and WKU Athletics have meant so much to me over the course of my career in academic advising, and I can’t think of a better way to continue to ensure success at the highest level for the team and coaches.”
Mahurin and her late husband, Pete, have made several donations to the university over four decades including numerous scholarships, a gift in 2002 that created professor position in gifted studies, a gift in 2010 that helped move the headquarters of the World Council for Gifted and Talented Children to WKU and a gift in 2016 to the Honors College that resulted in the Board of Regents renaming the college in their honor.
“Gifts like these not only change the programs they benefit, but they also elevate our entire institution,” WKU President Timothy C. Caboni said in a press release from WKU Athletics. “By generating a prestigious and desirable named position for the Men’s Basketball program, this gift ensures that the program is well-positioned to attract and retain a head coach with proven leadership on and off the court, making WKU a destination of choice for leading athletics professionals.
