SAN DIEGO, Calif. -- San Diego State has been given a gift from two of its own. Alumni couple Doug and Betsy Manchester donated $5 million to the university in October - the largest gift in SDSU history from an alumni couple.
The money will be divided with $3.5 million going toward presidential initiatives and undergraduate teaching support.
The rest - $1.5 million - will go to the golf program.
Although there is no plan as of yet for how the money will be utilized in any of the three distinct areas, Athletic Director Jeff Schemmel said the golf program's portion will most likely go to an endowment in the name of the Manchesters for men's golf.
The presidential initiatives include needs and services, which aren't always budgeted, such as scholarship programs or teaching and student support, Director of Media Relations Jason Foster, said.
Centennial Hall will also be renamed Manchester Hall in a public celebration and formal announcement on Nov. 15 in honor of the Manchesters' recent and longstanding contributions to SDSU.
"(Doug) really liked Centennial Hall and thought this was, you know, serving the heart of campus," said Theresa Mendoza, vice president of University Advancement.
The university did this to honor and thank the Manchesters in a public way, she said.
The name "Centennial" was never intended to be permanent, Foster said.
"The university is getting more sophisticated and taking fundraising and donor relations to another level," he said.
This is the first time that the university has renamed a building in honor of an alumni couple for their legacy of service, he said.
While the Manchesters' primary focus is education, children's causes and health and human services for their philanthropy, they have a big interest in golf, said Les Edelson, public relations and account executive for Sexton Communications, who handles Doug's personal public relations.
Doug, also referred to as "Papa Doug," has built and developed two major luxury golf resorts, one in Idaho and one, which is being constructed, in Del Mar. The course will be completed in 2007 and is to be named The Grand Del Mar.
Edelson said supporting golf is important at the collegiate level because it could result in a career choice or a life-long pursuit for leisure activity.
Schemmel said he and others are still in the "infant stages" of how to use the gift, but an endowment would ensure future funding for the golf team.
"This is groundbreaking for our golf program," he said.
Doug is a member of SDSU's athletics director's cabinet, as well as a director emeritus of the San Diego International Sports Council and life director of the Holiday Bowl. Betsy is a board member of The Campanile Foundation, a philanthropic organization, according to a press release. It is unknown how much of a role they will play in the breakdown of how the money will be used.
Schemmel said he plans to discuss the Manchesters' specific wishes for golf with the couple before making a decision.
As for the support of undergraduate studies, Mendoza said the money would serve academic planning for the next year or two and onward.
The presidential initiatives will be used at the president's discretion, she said. Doug confirmed this in an e-mail interview.
"We have faith that administration will allocate appropriately," he wrote.
However, plans have not been made.
"The president, I don't think, has identified uses or specific initiatives that have been supported by this money yet, but that would be something that would be set up over time," Foster said.
Doug and Betsy first met and fell in love while attending SDSU, and it is where Doug's high profile real estate career took off, according to a press release. Some of Doug's local and well-known accomplishments include the San Diego Marriott Hotel and Marina and the Manchester Grand Hyatt resort hotels downtown.
