NATCHITOCHES –Wil Adams makes his living looking ahead for his clients, so it was second nature for him to plan down the road for his beloved alma mater's athletic program.

 

Recently, he established a $100,000 life insurance policy benefitting NSU Athletics as part of the Perpetually Purple endowed giving program managed by the Demons Unlimited Foundation.

 

Adams is a financial advisor in Marshall, Texas, for Edward Jones Investments, and is the new president of the Northwest Louisiana NSU Alumni Association, a group of Northwestern State graduates in and around Shreveport-Bossier City.

 

He is a member of the NSU Alumni Association Board of Directors, the university's President's Council, and the Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity Beta Omicron Chapter Alumni Association Board of Directors. Adams opened his Edward Jones Investments office in 2011 and three years later was among an elite group of Pi Kappa Phi alumni chosen for the national fraternity's "Thirty Under 30" honor recognizing young alumni for impact, leadership and service along with professional achievements.

 

The goal of NSU director of athletics Greg Burke and his staff is to grow the Perpetually Purple endowment, through outright donations or deferred gifts, over the next five years from the $1.5 million level last May to over $5 million. So far, gifts have come from former athletes and their families, supporters of the university and most notably, iconic retired president Dr. Randy Webb and his wife, Brenda.

 

The program is in tandem with the efforts to supplement the annual budget for the athletics program with donations, corporate partnerships and special fund-raising events. Adams contributes in that way as well, qualifying as a member of the "Select 100" group of donors to the Demons Unlimited Foundation. But as the Perpetually Purple program emerged last year, he decided to also make a long-term, low-cost investment of support.

 

"Wil's life insurance commitment is an illustration that the 'Perpetually Purple' program is about growing NSU's athletic endowment now and in the future.  It also demonstrates that anybody who bleeds NSU purple can be 'Perpetually Purple' right now," said Burke. "It is exciting to see the momentum for this endowed giving program continue to grow."

 

Assistant athletics director Haley Blount, who was competing in track and field for NSU when Adams arrived as a walk-on baseball player, was excited to announce the creation of the Wil Adams Athletic Scholarship.

 

"Wil's gift sets a precedent for our younger alumni wishing to give back to NSU.  Wil, while currently a monthly donor, made a present decision to make a future gift of greater magnitude," said Blount. "Whether it's through an existing life insurance policy or a newly planned estate gift, I encourage all of our younger alumni to consider adding NSU to their future giving plans."  

 

For Adams, his passion for Demon Athletics was solidified 10 years ago when the "Demons of Destiny," the 2005-06 NSU basketball team, made their permanent mark on March Madness. The thrilling comeback win over 15^th-ranked Iowa in the first round of the NCAA Tournament continues to resonate a decade later.

 

"I remember sitting in class, and the teacher had wheeled in a small television so we could watch the start of the game," he said. "There were 40 students piled in front of it to watch us play Iowa. At halftime we rushed over to the Student Union where a campus-wide watch party was underway. When Jermaine Wallace got the long rebound and hit that shot in the corner, you would have thought we had all just won the lottery! From that moment on I've been hooked on Demon Athletics."

 

Adams was an avid supporter throughout his undergraduate days, a trait that he's carried forward into his lifestyle as a successful young businessman. When Blount and Burke discussed the Perpetually Purple program with him, there was no hesitation in his signing up.

 

"Even though I never suited up for a game as a Demon, NSU Athletics was a big part of my overall experience as a student, and it continues today as an alumni," he said. "To me, including NSU Athletics in my estate was a no-brainer. I wanted to do my part to ensure our programs build upon their successes both on the field and academically."

 

A minimum of $10,000 is required to create an endowment fund. It can be established with an outright gift such as cash, a stock transfer or property sale, a life insurance policy, or can be included as a provision in a will or bequest. Arrangements can be made to fund an endowment over an extended period of time.
 
To inquire about the Perpetually Purple program, contact Burke (burkeg@nsula.edu, 318-357-5251), associate AD and DUF executive director Adam Jonson (jonsona@nsula.edu, 318-357-4295) or Blount (blounth@nsula.edu, 318-357-4278). Information is also available on the NSUDemons.com website.