Curtis Williams Fund split into trust, scholarship

Following a recommendation from the UW administration, the Board of Regents amended the Curtis Williams Fund to split its proceeds into a scholarship and a trust. However, the regents weren't satisfied with the recommended amounts for the respective accounts.

The fund contains approximately $460,000, which came from donations after the former strong safety suffered a paralyzing spinal injury in a helmet-to-helmet collision during a football game against Stanford on Oct. 28, 2000. Williams died May 6 from complications related to his injury.

The UW established the fund to assist Williams during his recovery in a California hospital.

The recommendation, which was reviewed and approved by Athletic Director Barbara Hedges, Executive Vice President Weldon Ihrig and Norm Arkans, associate vice president for University relations, called for transferring $335,000 from the fund into an endowed football scholarship to be named after Williams. The remaining $125,000 would be placed in a trust fund for Williams' 7-year-old daughter, Kymberly.

It is because of the amounts of the funds that the regents disagree with the administration. As a result, the board resolved to create the accounts but to determine the specific amounts at a later date.

If the regents followed the recommendation, Kymberly would receive $400 a month with a small inflationary adjustment until she turned 18, and the trust would also cover her costs to attend college. Any money left over in the fund would go to Kymberly when she turns 25.

The regents were concerned that $400 a month was not enough for the young Williams, and they thought the football scholarship should be a second priority.

"The first thing we should be doing ... is to take care of the child," said Regent Jeffrey Brotman.

But Arkans and Gary Barta, a senior associate athletic director, said that the Williams family was worried that Curtis' "estranged" wife Michelle would prevent the money from going to Kymberly. The mother and daughter live together in Anchorage, Alaska.

Another worry is that the football scholarship needs to be a minimum of $250,000 in order to cover in-state tuition, Barta said. Every year the athletic department would choose a football student-athlete to receive it.

The Husky football team can award a maximum of 85 scholarships, and the one named after Williams will replace one that used to be active.

According to Jim Daves, assistant athletic director for media relations, the athletic department awarded the scholarship to a member of the football team last month. Backup tailback Braxton Cleman received it Aug. 26, about three weeks before the regents created it.

Cleman, a fifth-year senior majoring in drama from Oroville, Wash., broke his collarbone in the first half of last year's Idaho game and sat out the rest of the season, earning him an injury redshirt. He is a three-time letterwinner and scored two touchdowns against Air Force in the 1998 Oahu Bowl, tying a UW bowl record he shares with five former Huskies.

"It is a great honor," Cleman said in a written statement. "To have his name and my name mentioned in the same breath ... it means a lot to me."

The regents next meet Oct. 18. An agenda has not yet been set for that meeting.