Don Winston, Jay Jaffe Spirit of Troy Award

A supporter of USC Baseball for many years, Don Winston will be honored with the Jay Jaffe Spirit of Troy Award at the 9th Annual Baseball Banquet.

Don Winston retired in 2014 after 40 years at USC, including 31 in the Athletic Department. He was promoted to Senior Associate Athletic Director in June of 1989 after joining the athletic staff as Associate Athletic Director in 1983. Don was director of the athletic development office, which includes all support groups, major gifts and endowments where he helped the Athletic Department raise more than $190 million and guided athletic endowment growth to more than $135 million (among the tops in the nation).

Don came to USC in 1974 as Director of Development for the College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. He was then named Assistant Vice President for Development in 1982. In 1984 he established the first major college endowed position program in the nation and later established endowments for coaching positions. In 1999 Don was named the university division Fundraiser of the Year by the National Association of Athletic Development Directors. He also received the NCAA Development Directors Lifetime Achievement Award for outstanding contributions to the field of development and demonstrating a dedicated commitment to intercollegiate athletic fundraising.

Don fundraised for construction of the Galen Center and Galen Dining Center, as well as upgrades for Loker Track Stadium and Dedeaux Field. He also handled day-to-day supervision of baseball after having previously handled men’s golf, tennis, volleyball and water polo. He was Director of Development at Davidson College for four years, Associate Director of Development at Whitman College for three years and Assistant Director of Development at Pomona College for five years. He spent three years with United California Bank in their branch management training program. Don graduated in 1958 from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, where he played varsity baseball. He obtained a master’s degree in liberal arts from USC.