Thomas J. Sterkel Endowed Basketball Excellence Fund
The Men's Basketball Excellence Fund will provide supplemental resources for projects, capital expenditures and activities identified by coaching staff in areas of recruiting, team travel, athlete and staff enrichment, technology, and equipment.
The Thomas J. Sterkel Endowed Basketball Excellence Fund is open to all friends of Colorado Men’s Basketball, and is intended to provide resources for strategic and enrichment opportunities identified by the CU Men’s Basketball coaching staff.
Thomas (“Tom”) J. Sterkel was a Colorado native and a Forever Buff. He grew up in Longmont, Colorado and graduated from the University of Colorado School of Business with a Bachelor of Science in Finance in 1974. During his time at CU, he played intramural basketball and after graduation he played club volleyball and basketball. Later in his life was an active cyclist and runner. Tom had a thirty-year career in the building industry along the Front Range of Colorado. Immediately prior to his death he was an employee owner of Alpine Lumber Company where he established their Truss Division in 1998. Friends and family were Tom’s first priority, but basketball was his special passion. He purchased his men’s basketball season tickets beginning in the inaugural year of Coors Events Center and rarely missed a game from that date in 1979 until his death in 2017. He was also a CU season football ticketholder and frequently travelled to sporting events with his wife Sarah, and his daughter, Tenley. To honor Tom’s life and commitment to CU Men’s Basketball, his family and friends have established the Thomas Sterkel Endowed Basketball Excellence Fund.