Mike Alden, Brady Deaton, Don and Audrey Walsworth and MU golfer Jace Long pose for a photo after the announcement of a monetary gift to the athletic department.

Mike Alden, Brady Deaton, Don and Audrey Walsworth and MU golfer Jace Long (L-R) pose for a photo after the announcement of a monetary gift to the athletic department.

Don and Audrey Walsworth of Marceline, Missouri, have given a nearly $8.3 million gift to the University of Missouri Department of Intercollegiate Athletics. The Walsworth family will support athletic department facility improvements and expansions, including renovations to Memorial Stadium and a new clubhouse for the men’s and women’s golf teams at The Club at Old Hawthorne. The new clubhouse will house coaches’ offices, team locker rooms, indoor heated hitting bays and the latest in swing instruction technology.

“We are so very grateful to the Walsworth family for everything they contribute to the University,” MU Athletic Director Mike Alden said. “Their support for Mizzou Athletics over the years has been inspiring, and this announcement is yet another example of how they will provide a positive impact on student-athletes for generations to come.”

AUDIO A.D. Mike Alden’s reaction (6:45)

Don Walsworth, an MU alumnus and CEO of the Walsworth Publishing Company Inc., is a former chairman of the University of Missouri Board of Curators. He says this gift is an opportunity for his family to give back to the university that has meant so much to them.

AUDIO Don Walsworth’s comments (4:45)

“The university has been very good to us over the years, including our children and grandchildren,” Walsworth said. “This gift is indicative of the fantastic leadership of the university and the athletic department, including the outstanding coaches and staff. We are so pleased with the organization and administration. We love the move to the SEC and how far athletics has advanced to achieve national prominence in so many different sports. Our gift is also for the-student athletes, as we believe their education should come first—an ideal I know our family shares with the university.”

Don and Audrey’s son, Ed, and daughter, Lynn, played on the Mizzou golf teams while attending MU, and their son, Don, Jr., was an Academic All-American golfer at Stanford University. The Walsworth family has shown their generosity to MU and the Tiger Scholarship Fund many times throughout the years. This gift brings the Walsworth family’s total giving to MU to nearly $14 million.