George Solich fondly remembers his days as an Eisenhower-Evans Scholar at the University of Colorado, and he fully believes that the diverse background of the caddies who received the scholarship at CU back then added plenty to the experience.
When Solich graduated in 1983, almost a third of the Scholars at CU came from out of state. Most of those were from Illinois — where the Evans Scholarship program is based — but also represented were California and Nebraska. Among other things, that made for some good-natured verbal exchanges about whether the Broncos or the Bears were better, and it wasn’t unheard-of for a Nebraska joke or two to be thrown out the week of the CU-NU football game.
These days, there’s less out-of-state flavor at the CU Evans Scholar house. Just four of the 41 current Eisenhower-Evans Scholars graduated from a high school outside of Colorado, and the freshman and sophomore classes are made up entirely of Coloradans.
Solich’s first preference is to see as many qualified Colorado caddies as possible earn the Evans Scholarship. In fact, he personally funds an Eisenhower-Evans Scholarship Recruiter position at the CGA to do just that. But he also realizes that in years such as this one — when just five Coloradans received the scholarship — filling in the gaps with out-of-state kids can be a net plus for the CU house.
That’s what’s happening this year at CU, in fact. Indeed, as it turns out, the incoming class of Eisenhower-Evans Scholars in the fall will feature more out-of-state recipients than Coloradans. The WGA, which co-sponsors the Eisenhower-Evans Scholarship along with the CGA and CWGA, recently added six to the incoming class of Scholars at CU, bringing the total to 11.
“When we were there (in the CU house three decades ago), the culture was great with those guys from Chicago,” said Solich, a Coloradan who currently serves as a WGA director. “That gave us a broader perspective.
“You don’t want to go to college and only meet guys from Denver, so the ability to be with a group of guys (and women) from all over the country — and now Canada — is really cool. I think it creates a unique social culture. It did with us and all the characters we had. It made it very interesting, and I really hope we can continue to have that.”
The new Scholars coming to CU from other states include four from Illinois, one from California and one from British Columbia, Canada.
Those newcomers are identical twins Nick and Mike Pett of LaGrange Highlands, Ill.; Luke Kingsbury of Frankfort, Ill.; Joseph Greco of Hawthorn Woods, Ill.; Tom Pierce of Twain Harte, Calif.; and Canadian Alexander Adams. Pierce is the brother of Terrence Pierce, who recently graduated after being an Evans Scholar at CU.
All will receive a full tuition and housing scholarship at CU beginning in the fall.
The five caddies from Colorado who previously were announced as new Evans Scholars were Daniel Bettinger (Regis Jesuit High School, caddied at Cherry Hills Country Club); Kyle Jerome (Lakewood High School and Montana State University, caddied at Lakewood Country Club); Burke Larsen (Brush High School, caddied at Ballyneal); Zach McCain (Denver East High School, caddied at Denver Country Club and with the First Tee of Denver); and Garrett Schumacher (Sterling High School, caddied at Ballyneal).
Most of the incoming Scholars recently visited the CU house as part of an orientation.
The Eisenhower-Evans Scholarship is one of the flagship programs of the CGA and CWGA. Through CGA and CWGA bag-tag sales and Par Club contributions, Colorado donors fully fund the year-to-year scholarship costs at the CU Evans Scholars house.
All the recipients earn the scholarship based on four criteria: excellent caddie record for a minimum of two years, strong academic achievement, financial need, and outstanding character and integrity. Nationwide, 90 percent of incoming Evans Scholars go on to graduate.
The Evans Scholarship is one of the largest privately-funded scholarships in the country. It was established in 1930 by Charles “Chick” Evans, a former caddie who won a U.S. Open and two U.S. Amateurs. Over the years, the program has produced about 9,200 alumni, with 390 graduating from CU.
The CU Evans Scholars house is one of 14 nationwide, with most being in the Midwest. At CU, the program is formally called the Eisenhower-Evans Scholarship because the CGA-founded Eisenhower Scholarship for junior golfers merged with the Evans Caddie Scholarship in the 1960s.
