University of South Dakota Athletics

History

Started in 1997, this endowment was established by Lieutenant Colonel Robert F. Wales, a 1930 USD graduate, in order to provide financial assistance for South Dakota high school students in acquiring a degree from USD. Wales was a retired army attorney, and he was also a fine organist and pianist.
 
Wales was a Howard, South Dakota, native. He died on Dec. 15, 1996, in San Bernardino, California, where he retired after a long and distinguished career in the United States Army and Federal Bureau of Investigation.
 
Wales received his law degree from USD in 1930. Shortly after graduation, he became a special agent for the FBI, serving in St. Paul, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Wales later returned to USD for Army Reserve Officers Training Corps. After graduating from Army ROTC, he was commissioned in the United State Army. He served in the Ordinance Corp and the Army Intelligence Branch. His career spanned World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam Wat. He retired in the late 1960s. His wife, Elinor, died in 1980.

Fund Notes

Earnings generated are used for athletic scholarships and awards to Coyote student-athletes who have graduated from a South Dakota high school. Recipients must have performed well on the field/court and excelled as a student and citizen.