It was early in the 1968-69 athletic season that Jim Gudger ’48, WCU’s basketball coach and interim athletic director, and Clint Dodson, head of WCU’s science department, first pulled together a fundraising organization to support student-athletes. It was called the Big Cat Club, and it would evolve into today’s Catamount Club.
Fifty years later, the Catamount Club has grown to become the heartbeat of WCU athletics, funding approximately 50 percent of the department’s student scholarships with $1.57 million in annual gifts last fiscal year.
In honor of our Golden Anniversary, generous donor and former student-athlete Tad Grattan '87 has issued a challenge to all supporters. He's asking members to increase their annual gift by at least $50 and asking new donors to come to the table at any level. If we receive 500 new or increased memberships, Tad will donate $50,000 to support student-athletes! Help us reach this goal and unlock Tad's $50,000 challenge gift!
We pulled together some of the original members of the Catamount Club to reminisce about our early years: