New scholarship for student-athletes is first of its kind at IU Southeast

9th October 2017

NEW ALBANY, Ind. — Two longtime advocates of Indiana University Southeast athletics have endowed a one-of-a-kind scholarship to support Grenadier student-athletes.

Dot and Denny Ott, founders and owners of Clarksville construction company Dennis Ott & Co. Inc., have committed $50,000 to create the D. Ott Family Scholarship at IU Southeast. The Otts’ scholarship will support a business student who participates in one of IU Southeast’s seven NAIA-sanctioned sports and maintains a 3.2 GPA.

The scholarship, which rewards both the scholastic and athletic strengths a student-athlete must balance, will be the first of its kind at IU Southeast.

“The Ott family have been tremendous advocates for IU Southeast athletics for many years,” said Director of Athletics Joe Glover. “This gift is one of the most significant individual contributions that our department has received. This endowed scholarship ensures that the Ott family name will forever be linked to the Grenadier Athletic Department and its most successful student-athletes.”

Denny and Dot Ott have endowed a $50,000 scholarship to be awarded to a student-athlete studying business at IU Southeast.

Denny Ott attended IU Southeast in the days it was known as the Indiana University Jeffersonville Extension Center. He also played on the school’s basketball team, which, at the time, was an extramural squad that competed in an industrial league and was coached by an accounting professor. Ott completed his education at IU Bloomington in 1968, the same year the Jeffersonville extension center became IU Southeast and began awarding degrees.

“I believe in the power of education because that education is what got me to where I am today,” Denny Ott said. “Education teaches you how to think and how to solve problems. I have been blessed beyond what I deserve, and this is an opportunity for me to help provide for somebody else.”

Dot Ott started Dennis Ott & Co. Inc. alongside her husband before moving on to open her own construction company, Ott & Company. She is devoted to the development of children and young adults in the community, and she volunteers for the Salvation Army and other area non-profits.

“It is my hope that this scholarship will provide a life-changing opportunity to the recipient, and that they will, in turn, be able to give back one day themselves,” Dot Ott said. “IU Southeast is such an important part of this area, and I’m proud but also humbled to have an opportunity to help its student-athletes.”

IU Southeast athletics offers NAIA Division II men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s tennis, volleyball, baseball and softball.

This gift counts toward the $2.5 billion campaign, For All: The Indiana University Bicentennial Campaign.

For All: The Indiana University Bicentennial Campaign is taking place on all IU-administered campuses including IU Bloomington, Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis, IU East, IU Kokomo, IU Northwest, IU South Bend, and IU Southeast. The campaign will conclude in December 2019 to coincide with IU’s bicentennial year celebration in 2020. To learn more about the campaign, its impact, and how to participate, please visit forall.iu.edu. Founded in 1936, the Indiana University Foundation maximizes private support for Indiana University by fostering lifelong relationships with key stakeholders and providing advancement leadership and fundraising services for campuses and units across the university. Today, the IU Foundation oversees one of the largest public university endowments in the country, with a market value of approximately $1.9 billion. In fiscal year 2015, IU received $359.3 million in support from the private sector. IU is consistently ranked among the top four of Big Ten universities in annual voluntary support.

TAGS: , , , ,