Support the 2025 Senior gift on ‘Senior Night’ Feb. 14
The University of Science & Arts of Oklahoma’s 2025 Senior Gift Project Committee has announced its fundraising campaign for this year’s project, a half-court basketball court to be installed near Lawson Court. The new space will provide students with an area for recreation and community engagement for years to come.
Harry Cracknell, a communication major from Brighton, England, and Student Government Association president, has worked with the USAO Foundation to develop the idea and seek guidance on the project.
“Our goal is to start a tradition of there being a group of people each year, that come together to make something happen that can make a difference for the next set of students. We don’t want to limit this just to seniors though. It’s open to anyone who wants to participate and make a difference,” Cracknell said.
The committee, composed of Bella Wilson, Emily Loughridge, Kaelynn Torres, Whitney Spitler, Luke Cantrell, and Cracknell, has been working to bring the project to life.
“The idea of doing this had been floating around for a while,” said Bella Wilson, a business major and professional writing minor from Pawnee. “My dad does construction, and he’s built basketball courts among other things, so I told Harry, ‘Let me reach out to some people.’ My dad has different companies and crews he works with, so he got a rough estimate for the concrete and groundwork. The more we looked at it, the more we thought, ‘OK, this is something we can actually do.’ We presented it to President Hale and JP—it was just about working with connections to make it happen.”
Wilson’s father, Troy Wilson, owns 4W Builders LLC, which has been instrumental in the project’s planning. The committee also hopes to involve local Chickasha businesses.
Together, the group released a statement through email yesterday that fully outlines their mission with this project.
“The Senior Gift Project is a long-standing tradition that has been part of many graduating classes before us. The idea is simple: we come together as a class to leave something meaningful behind for the university, and we want to continue this tradition every year, starting with us! This project is about building a legacy that we can all take pride in, and we need your support to make it happen.” – Senior Gift Project Committee.
Feb. 13 is Senior Night and a home basketball game, where the Senior Gift Committee will partner with USAO Drover Athletics to raise funds. Half of the proceeds from ticket sales will support the senior gift. The Drovers will face longtime rival Mid-America Christian on the hardwood.
About the University of Science & Arts of Oklahoma
As Oklahoma’s liberal arts college, the University of Science & Arts of Oklahoma provides a distinctive education in the liberal arts and sciences, supporting both its interdisciplinary core curriculum and major fields of study with superior teaching. USAO fosters diversity of thought and practice to help students realize meaningful, purposeful and productive lives as global citizens in a rapidly -changing world