Scholarship money related to OSU plane crash tops $700,000

<br>STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) _ More than $700,000 has been donated to scholarship funds created after the Oklahoma State University plane crash, university officials said. <br><br>Wayne King, senior vice

Saturday, April 6th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) _ More than $700,000 has been donated to scholarship funds created after the Oklahoma State University plane crash, university officials said.

Wayne King, senior vice president for development for the OSU Foundation, said 1,811 people have donated $706,017 toward the scholarship funds.

Twelve scholarship funds have been established: 10 in the names of the crash victims; a men's basketball memorial fund and an education fund for dependents and siblings of the victims, King said.

Both pilots, two players and six other men associated with the university were killed Jan. 27, 2001, when their plane crashed in a field near Strasburg, Colo. A memorial to the victims was dedicated at the site in August.

Earlier this year, a memorial was dedicated at Gallagher-Iba Arena.

Killed were publicist Will Hancock, players Nate Fleming and Dan Lawson, student assistant Jared Weiberg, trainer Brian Luinstra, radio play-by-play announcer Bill Teegins and engineer Kendall Durfey, pilots Denver Mills and Bjorn Fahlstrom, and director of basketball operations Pat Noyes.

King said most of the donations to the scholarship funds came about six to eight months after the crash. Much of the scholarship money will be awarded for the 2002-2003 school year, though some scholarships already have been awarded, King said.

Families are given the opportunity to decide which college, campus or program receives the scholarship. Some families have not decided upon a scholarship designation, King said.

A final report on the cause of the crash is expected this spring from the National Transportation Safety Board.

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Anyone wanting to make a donation can the OSU Foundation at (405) 385-5151.