LA Clippers Owner Steve Ballmer Gifts WVU $5 Million in Honor of Jerry West

During this Saturday's men's basketball game against No. 2 Iowa State, West Virginia will be honoring the legendary life and career of "The Logo," Jerry West.

All fans in attendance will receive a Jerry West memorial pennant, and a special Jerry West collection of licensed merchandise will launch at the WVU Team Shop inside the WVU Coliseum and online at shopWVU.com.

To help honor West, the owner of the Los Angeles Clippers, Steve Ballmer, gifted West Virginia University with $5 million to help students.

According to the press release, "Half of the Ballmer family’s gift establishes a new fund in West’s name to support completion grants, which provide monetary assistance for WVU students at risk of leaving the University due to financial challenges. The goal is to encourage students to remain in school and complete their degrees.

"The remaining funds will bolster the Jerry West Scholarship, which goes to undergraduate students from West Virginia with demonstrated financial need. First awarded in 1971, the scholarship has enabled generations of Mountain State natives to graduate from WVU."

Steve Ballmer on the gift:

“When we talked about this gift, we wanted to focus on those students who need a little extra assistance in school because of difficulties they’ve experienced in life. This made so much sense to me because it got to Jerry’s real spirit of wanting to help those people who may not have been blessed in the same way he was.”

West Virginia and Iowa State will tip the action off at 5 p.m. EST and will be televised on ESPN+.

Steve Ballmer on the gift:

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