Isn't there a huge donor to Missouri athletics who has ties to Memphis? What is his name? Anyone know who I am talking about?

Bill Laurie. Married into the Walmart family and played at Memphis State.

Thank you.

He was the point guard on the '73 team that played UCLA for the national championship.

I know him not.

The rumor is he's pissed because of the way Larry was treated but its not like he was a big booster BEFORE all that.

(03-19-2013 08:24 AM)Brother Bluto Wrote:  The rumor is he's pissed because of the way Larry was treated but its not like he was a big booster BEFORE all that.

Yeah, I always heard Cal tried to bring him back into the fold during his run but it never worked out. I also heard that he was always enamored with Mizzou even when he was playing here so the fact that he shovels all his money to them didn't really surprise anybody.

So he was pissed he had to "settle" for Memphis State?

(03-19-2013 12:41 AM)azredbirds Wrote:  Isn't there a huge donor to Missouri athletics who has ties to Memphis? What is his name? Anyone know who I am talking about?

Like they said, he's married to a Walton. She's the huge Missouri donor.

It would be like expecting to get a huge donation from Lisa Marie Presley's husband...not his money.

I think Mizzou didn't accept either him or his wife.

But I blame the U of Memphis for not cultivating loyalty from them decades ago.

But I guess no one paid any mind to Bud Walton's daughter going to Memphis State in the 70's, any more than anyone would have paid any mind to Fred Smith's kid in the mid-70's (if he had kids then).

He was one of my my P.E. teachers at CBHS. The students ate him alive.

(03-19-2013 08:30 AM)Brother Bluto Wrote:  So he was pissed he had to "settle" for Memphis State?

I can't speak for him but that's the gist I got. He always wanted to play bball at Mizzou but they didn't offer so he went to Memphis. I think Nancy actually wanted to go to Memphis though.

Bill's brother played at Missouri. He grew up a Missouri fan in Versailles, Mo., and wanted to go there. He met his wife at Memphis State, by the way. He was not happy with how Larry was treated. He has done a lot for Missouri including the arena there and it was going to be named after his daughter, Paige. However, that changed once it got out that she was paying other students to do her test/papers at Southern Cal. He lives in Columbia where Missouri is at. His brother in law, Stan Kronke is also very involved in sports in St. Louis and they both tried to get an NBA team. Bill Laurie is a good guy, whether he gives a dime to Memphis or not. You have to give the guy credit...he married up.

(03-19-2013 09:57 AM)Strat57 Wrote:  Bill's brother played at Missouri. He grew up a Missouri fan in Versailles, Mo., and wanted to go there. He met his wife at Memphis State, by the way. He was not happy with how Larry was treated. He has done a lot for Missouri including the arena there and it was going to be named after his daughter, Paige. However, that changed once it got out that she was paying other students to do her test/papers at Southern Cal. He lives in Columbia where Missouri is at. His brother in law, Stan Kronke is also very involved in sports in St. Louis and they both tried to get an NBA team. Bill Laurie is a good guy, whether he gives a dime to Memphis or not. You have to give the guy credit...he married up.

Tried? Stan Kronke owns the Denver Nuggets (and the Colorado Avalanche) though he transferred the teams to his son so he could buy controlling interest in the St. Louis Rams.

Bill Laurie actually bought the Vancouver Grizzlies for $200 million but the NBA (David Stern) declined his purchase because Laurie made it known immediately he was going to move the team to St. Louis to play in the Kiel/Savvis Center which he controlled due to his ownership of the St. Louis Blues. After the NBA denied Laurie's purchase, Mike Heisley swooped in and bought the team for $160 million and promised to work to keep the team in Vancouver. As we know, the rest is history. Had Laurie played the game Stern wanted to play (at the time Stern was really anti-relocation), he probably would have been able to buy the team, and eventually relocate it to St. Louis.

And the Hornets would probably be in Memphis today.

It's really ironic that Bill Laurie said eff the NBA, and eventually eff major league sports because he sold the Blues. I think he was trying to keep up with his brother-in-law Kronke, but Kronke has made billions on his own developing property near where new Wal-Marts are going in. But if Laurie stayed with his first love, it probably would have been nice having him own the Memphis Grizzlies.

"You have to give the guy credit...he married up"

He must have listened to my Dad. Unfortunately, I didn't.

Stan Kronke is also the majority shareholder of Arsenal. But I had no clue he was married into Walmart money and essentially made all of his money from Wal-Mart real estate transactions.

(03-19-2013 11:25 AM)TigerTim Wrote:  Stan Kronke is also the majority shareholder of Arsenal. But I had no clue he was married into Walmart money and essentially made all of his money from Wal-Mart real estate transactions.

The campus and adjacent areas could use updating financed by SOMEONE with big $$$$.....the students deserve nicer.

(03-19-2013 10:09 AM)Latilleon Wrote:  

(03-19-2013 09:57 AM)Strat57 Wrote:  Bill's brother played at Missouri. He grew up a Missouri fan in Versailles, Mo., and wanted to go there. He met his wife at Memphis State, by the way. He was not happy with how Larry was treated. He has done a lot for Missouri including the arena there and it was going to be named after his daughter, Paige. However, that changed once it got out that she was paying other students to do her test/papers at Southern Cal. He lives in Columbia where Missouri is at. His brother in law, Stan Kronke is also very involved in sports in St. Louis and they both tried to get an NBA team. Bill Laurie is a good guy, whether he gives a dime to Memphis or not. You have to give the guy credit...he married up.

Tried? Stan Kronke owns the Denver Nuggets (and the Colorado Avalanche) though he transferred the teams to his son so he could buy controlling interest in the St. Louis Rams.

Bill Laurie actually bought the Vancouver Grizzlies for $200 million but the NBA (David Stern) declined his purchase because Laurie made it known immediately he was going to move the team to St. Louis to play in the Kiel/Savvis Center which he controlled due to his ownership of the St. Louis Blues. After the NBA denied Laurie's purchase, Mike Heisley swooped in and bought the team for $160 million and promised to work to keep the team in Vancouver. As we know, the rest is history. Had Laurie played the game Stern wanted to play (at the time Stern was really anti-relocation), he probably would have been able to buy the team, and eventually relocate it to St. Louis.

And the Hornets would probably be in Memphis today.

It's really ironic that Bill Laurie said eff the NBA, and eventually eff major league sports because he sold the Blues. I think he was trying to keep up with his brother-in-law Kronke, but Kronke has made billions on his own developing property near where new Wal-Marts are going in. But if Laurie stayed with his first love, it probably would have been nice having him own the Memphis Grizzlies.

I know that Kronke has the Denver team but I was just sticking to Bill's involvement.

Found this on the Internet:

Bill Laurie
School ties: University of Missouri (Memphis State, Class of '74)
Age: 53
Reported wealth: $2.2 billion
How made money: Nice marital catch, hooking up with the former Nancy Walton, a daughter of the late Wal-Mart co-founder Bud Walton
How much donated: More than $30 million
School song/cheer: Fight, Tigers
Braggin' Rights: Contributed $25 million in 2003 for the new basketball arena to be named after their only child, then 22-year-old Paige. The Paige Sports Arena lasted only until a "20/20" story revealed the Wal-Mart heiress paid a former roommate $20,000 to do her school work at Southern Cal, which was followed by Paige Laurie's voluntarily surrendering her communications degree. The Lauries previously endowed the E. Paige Laurie Professorship for the Equine Center at the School of Veterinary Medicine and gave money for a new performing arts center on campus. ... Nancy's late father, Bud, put up $15 million and still has his name on the University of Arkansas basketball arena.
The Buzz: Nancy's dad and her uncle, Sam Walton -- co-founders of Wal-Mart -- were Mizzou grads. The seven heirs are worth $83 billion and all rank on the Forbes 400 List. ... Nancy and Bill Laurie both graduated from what was then Memphis State. They moved to Columbia, Mo., after marrying and evolved into fervent backers of the Tigers' basketball team. Mizzou fans regularly vent online about Bill, the starting point guard who led Memphis to the NCAA Championship game in 1973, meddling in the program. He supposedly influenced the decision to hire Quinn Snyder rather than Bill Self when the head job last came open. ... Nephew Josh Kroenke played hoops at Mizzou. ... The couple owns the NHL's St. Louis Blues.

More off the Internet:

Nancy Walton Laurie net worth: Nancy Walton Laurie is an heiress with a net worth of $3.4 billion dollars which makes her one of the richest people in Nevada. Nancy Walton Laurie graduated from the University of Memphis, where she met her future husband, Bill Laurie. She is the daughter of "Bud" Walton, one of the co-founders of Wal-Mart. The company has become one of the most successful retail chains in the world, currently employs 2.2 million people in multiple countries, and pulls in $447 billion dollars annually. After her father passed away in 1995, she and her sister gained control of his portion of the company's stock. She and her husband owned the St. Louis Blues' hockey team for six years. She is the President and founder of Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet, a dance company based in New York City. She is also the owner of Columbia Performing Arts Centre in Columbia, Missouri. She currently lives in Henderson, Nevada with her family.