By Melanie Stawicki Azam
It has been more than a decade since Nick and Joan Spiroff first spotted a marquee sign advertising “Basketball Tonight” in front of Embry-Riddle’s ICI Center, as they drove down Clyde Morris Boulevard.
The sign drew them in and now the basketball fans, Michigan retirees who winter in Ponce Inlet, Fla., are two of the Eagles’ biggest and most faithful followers.
“We kept coming and coming and we started going in the university’s fan van to the away games,” Joan says. “We got hooked, and here we are.”
In fact, the university and its athletics program has become such a passion for the couple, they recently decided to make a generous planned gift to Embry-Riddle’s Athletics department. The funding will be earmarked for capital projects and scholarships for student athletes.
“We made our gift after what we saw here—we met a lot of nice people here and the students we encountered are friendly and respectful,” Joan says. “The university stands for the best of the best.”
Similar Values
Embry-Riddle has become a kind of second home for the couple. From the Detroit area, the Spiroffs both retired after long careers at the Ford Motor Company. Over the years, they have become regulars at the games and have forged friendships with university employees, like Maryellen Wynn, the business manager for the athletics department, who got to know the couple early on and gave them tickets for the fan zone.
“We like basketball and we like Coach [Steve] Ridder,” Nick says. “He’s just a great inspiration to his players.”
Nick says he appreciates the fact that they share similar values, like a good work ethic, and that Ridder, who came to the university 25 years ago, started the team with practically nothing and worked hard to grow it into what it is today.
The Spiroffs were also impressed by Embry-Riddle’s faculty, staff and administrators, who took the time to meet with them and show them the campus, beyond just the basketball court. The couple even got the chance to experience a discovery flight on one of Embry-Riddle’s Cessna 172 training aircraft.
“All the professors and everyone, they just greet you with such warmth and passion,” Nick says. In addition to the planned gift, the Spiroffs also funded a term and endowed scholarship for men’s basketball student athletes. That more immediate donation allows the couple to start helping students now and gives them the opportunity to meet some of the beneficiaries of their gift.
“We want the students to excel the best they can,” Joan says.
The Gift of Education
Nick says he’d love to see Embry-Riddle’s basketball team win the championship next year. The team finished its 2013-14 season with a 24-8 overall record in the first round of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Division II National Championship—its 14th trip to the competition. But more important, Nick hopes his gift will make an even bigger, lasting difference in the lives of Embry-Riddle students.
“We’re hoping whoever gets the funds here applies it to educating themselves,” he says. “We’d like to see some good citizens come out of this.”
Editor’s note: Embry-Riddle’s Daytona Beach Athletics program has officially accepted an invitation to join the NCAA Division II Sunshine State Conference. The invitation is contingent upon final approval from the NCAA Membership Committee. For status and information about this transition, visit erauathletics.com.