Gregory Nerko benefited tremendously from his years playing baseball at Adelphi, which is why his estate plan includes a qualified charitable distribution (QCD) that has established a scholarship to help future Panthers excel in class and on the diamond.
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ecause he gave through a QCD, Gregory will see the impact of his gift during his lifetime.
The Gregory Nerko ’70, MA ’74 Baseball Scholarship Fund will use his IRA to support student-athletes pursuing their dreams at Adelphi. It will also cap years of generous financial support from the former four-sport student-athlete.
“I had a lot of good times with a lot of athletes,” says Greg, who used his Adelphi degrees to launch a decades-long teaching and athletic training career.
The QCD-funded scholarship will provide resources to one or more members of the Adelphi’s baseball team as long as they remain on the team in good academic standing and maintain consistent progress toward graduation.
During his years in a Panther uniform, Greg played catcher under legendary coach Ron Davies. For several years after graduation, he played both with and against Davies in the semipros. Like other alumni, Greg remembers Davies as a tremendous coach and an even more impressive baseball slugger. When Davies connected with a pitch “you had to ask which zip code it was going to,” Greg recalls.
Greg hopes fellow alumni—especially from the baseball program—will join him in making a planned gift.
“Hopefully, other people will add to the scholarship or establish one of their own,” Greg says. “If it benefits the program and the student-athletes, that’s all that really matters.”