Crimson Club

Opening Their Home and Their Hearts

Scholarship Circle members Gordon and Connie Hanks have embraced the opportunity to sponsor student-athlete scholarships and welcome those individuals into their lives

By Mike Lageschulte, Director of Annual Giving

When you ask Gordon and Connie Hanks how many Ute student-athlete scholarships they have sponsored over the years, you are likely to get a long pause. After being members of the Crimson Club Scholarship Circle for nearly 30 years and all of the athletes who have been a part of their lives, it is understandable why it would take a bit to tabulate an answer.

However, when you ask them who their favorite Ute athlete has been, the pace of the response is significantly quicker.

“No way we could pick one!” Gordon said instantly with Connie laughing at his side. “All of them have been like sons to us. Parents could never pick a favorite child. That’s the same for us with the athletes. We have loved all of them.”

By their count, the Hanks have been grouped with 14 Utes student-athletes—many of them for the majority of their time on campus—dating back to when they joined the Scholarship Circle in 1995. But their number of impactful connections doesn't stop with that group.

“We have become very close to so many of our Scholarship Circle players over the years, but the same can be said for many of their teammates,” Connie said. “Some of their family members and even a few of their girlfriends who became their wives have been over to our home.”

Gordon and Connie met while attending the University of Utah in the mid-1960s. Once Gordon earned his degree 1967, he took a job at Holladay Pharmacy and shortly thereafter decided to buy it. A couple of years later, Gordon and Connie purchased Olympus Pharmacy. They eventually acquired a small clinic pharmacy as well. The couple has been retired for over a dozen years now.

“We've had a great life and enjoyed every minute of it. It was great clientele,” said Gordon. “A lot of 60-hour weeks, but we really, really enjoyed the profession, made a lot of great friendships.”

The Hanks family starting giving back to the U and eventually became members of the Crimson Club Scholarship Circle in 1995. Forming meaningful connections with the athletes has been easy. They have always shared a love for the U as well as college athletics.

“There’s definitely been a bond there,” said Connie. “We have grown to love each one of them, and we have continued to cheer them on and stay in touch with as many as we can after they graduate.”

Their Scholarship Circle membership also afforded them the opportunity to purchase courtside seats at Utah men’s basketball games at a time when the Runnin’ Utes were a perennial national powerhouse.

“When Rick Majerus was here, we had a lot of fun sitting behind the Utah bench,” recalled Gordon. “He would get so worked up during games. We had a telephone he ripped off the scorer’s table come flying our way one night. Another night, there was a chair that came towards us. But it would happen and we would be like, ‘That’s just Rick!’ His teams were so much fun to watch.”

Like many Utah basketball fans of that era, the trip to the 1998 Final Four in San Antonio behind All-Americans Andre Miller and Michael Doleac is one of their best memories.

“We had a lot of big moments since then, especially in football,” said Gordon. “But going down there and watching us beat North Carolina and almost beat Kentucky—our guys just got worn down towards the end—that will always be a highlight for me.”

Gordon and Connie sponsored football players their first six years as Scholarship Circle members. Football players Juan Johnson, Kimball Christensen and Scott Price were some of the first athletes they sponsored. They have been paired with men’s basketball players ever since. 

“We had Tim Drisdom early on and we have still stayed close to Tim,” said Gordon. “We’ve stayed in touch with Johnnie Bryant. We are so proud of him getting into coaching in the NBA, we love his wife. We spent a lot of time with Brandon Taylor and Sedrick Barefield as well. But they have all been wonderful."

The Hanks have been paired with several foreign players, including Andrew Bogut and Stephen Weigh from Australia, and Luka Drca and Lazar Stefanovich from Serbia. Kim Tillie from France also found his way over to their home.

“It's so interesting to have someone come from somewhere else and get to know them,” Gordon added. “You have what our perspective is of their country and you also have what their perspective is of our country. And to be able to sort through that, and find out that we all have the common goal of wanting to succeed, to be successful. That's been a wonderful experience.”

Connie has made an extra effort to help the athletes from foreign countries feel at home.

“I always tried to get in touch with their families and find some things that I could cook for them that would remind them of home,” Connie said. “Trying to cook some different things was a real challenge and I’m not sure how well some of those meals turned out. But that was kind of fun and I know they appreciated it.”

Gordon and Connie’s four daughters and three of their four sons-in-law graduated from the U. Two granddaughters have earned their degrees from the University in recent years and they have four more grandchildren coming up who they are hoping will graduate from the U as well so that they all bleed red.

“We are very proud of the entire University,” said Gordon. “The growth over the last 25 years has been absolutely phenomenal. We’ve grown from being a midsize university to a really great university. I can’t thank enough all of those individuals who have financially been able to support our growth.

“Athletics has grown tremendously right along with the rest of campus, especially since our move to the Pac-12 Conference. We are grateful we have been able to help out.”

Gordon and Connie say they have enjoyed going to the games and celebrating all the big wins. But the people they have met and the relationships they have built as Scholarship Circle members is what they have valued the most.

“Having athletes come into our home, hearing about their dreams and their lives, has continued to enrich our lives in so many ways,” said Connie. “We consider each one of them a part of our family. Many of them have made Utah their home. Even those who have moved away seem to have a warm and special place in their hearts for the U of U as well as the people who helped and guided them on their journey here.”

“It's just emotionally binding that you fall in love with these kids to see them grow,” said Gordon. “And the one thing that Connie and I really strive for is connecting with kindness and love. We feel if we can share kindness and love with all of our scholarship students, then we’ve accomplished something.”

The Hanks' home is filled with collectables from their passions, fine music and Utah Athletics. Gordon gazes at a wall of autographed photos from musicians with shelves filled with signed basketballs behind him. Gordon and Connie's family is filled with Utah graduates and fans (right).