Couple's estate gift gives $3.5 million to athletics, law

Nancy Winter was born in Chicago and moved with her family to Wichita when she was a child. She studied theater at KU and started a small community theater in Ottawa soon after she and Wint settled in the town.

The gift to KU was a pleasure to give, Nancy said. “It’s a love of the university,” she said. “It’s so fun to be able to do it; it’s a perfectly wonderful joy.”

It was an easy decision to provide gifts for law and athletics, Nancy said.

“We give to the areas we know, that we have been a part of. So we decided to split it up. I didn’t play football — I didn’t make the team,” she joked. “But I certainly was right in there, cheering, supporting and watching.”

The Winter athletics scholarships are given to students who meet a specific criteria. Preference is given to student athletes from Franklin County or Douglas County; those who have demonstrated superior academic performance; and students who play center on the football team.

All five of Nancy and Wint’s children went to KU with their parents’ encouragement: Wint Winter, Jr., Lawrence, ’75, Law ’78; Mary Winter Stingley, Denver, ’77; Dan Winter, Portland, Oregon, ’80; Cece Winter, Omaha, Nebraska, ’85; and Adam Winter, Denver, ’86.

“I know that KU and KU football were huge in the lives of my mom and dad, and I grew up going to KU football and basketball games,” Wint Winter Jr. said. Like his father, he played football at KU on a scholarship, and they both played center. “We shared that, and dad was pretty proud that I decided to go play football at KU, where he played.”

Winter said his father considered law a very honorable profession.

“I know he had a lot of admiration for KU law school,” Winter said. “His best friends came from KU law school, and I ended up mirroring his KU experience.”

Stephen Mazza, dean and professor at the KU School of Law, expressed his appreciation for the law school’s portion of the gift.

“We are proud to count two generations of the Winter family among our graduates, and this gift is a tribute to their longstanding connection to KU Law,” Mazza said. “Their generous contribution will help the law school continue to provide students with a quality legal education at an affordable price.”

Kansas Athletics Director Sheahon Zenger expressed his gratitude for the contribution.

“The Winters’ generous gift provides opportunities for students that might not otherwise be available,” Zenger said. “The family tradition of athletics in the Winter family makes it even more meaningful that these future KU student-athletes will be able to pursue excellence both academically and athletically.”