William Prochaska endowed scholarship to benefit athletes majoring in physical education, coaching

Grant Lang, a junior from Ankeny, Iowa, was the first recipient of the William (Bill) Prochaska Endowed Scholarship, which was awarded this spring at the annual Honors & Awards banquet held on the Fayette campus. Lang is a shooting guard for the UIU men’s basketball team and a K-12 physical education major with plans to coach high school basketball one day. Coach Pro said he was very happy with the scholarship committee’s choice of Lang for the first recipient.

Lang transferred to Upper Iowa for the second semester of his freshman year and was immediately happy with his decision. “Upper Iowa has that small town feel that I enjoy,” he said. “Everyone is friendly, and you develop a close relationship with professors, which is such an added benefit to our education. I am really honored, and I feel privileged to have been selected as the Pro scholarship’s first recipient. Pro is a UIU legend and mentored so many athletes throughout his 50-year affiliation with the school.”

The William (Bill) Proschaska Endowed Scholarship is presented annually to a student entering their junior year majoring in Physical Education and Coaching. The student must have a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher. The scholarship will be used toward the students’ junior year expenses at UIU. Prochaska (Coach Pro) and his family created the scholarship to honor his 50-year affiliation with UIU as an alum, coach, athletic director and faculty member.

“I hope to see this endowment continue to grow so even more students can be helped to further their education,” said Pro.

Anyone interested in establishing a scholarship endowment at Upper Iowa University, contact Andrew Wenthe, vice president of external affairs, at 563-425-5348 or wenthea@uiu.edu.

To view more photos from the annual Honors & Awards banquet, go here.