The Chronology of Yanaq’s battle with Leukemia

6/01/2024

A message from TLSN Chair – Beth Coblentz

While the TLSN worldwide Longhorn fan base continues to grow exponentially, TLSN still faces challenges in adding email addresses from our target audience, which includes former Longhorn student-athletes, support staff, and their immediate families to communicate our fundamental mission of providing financial assistance to those eligible and sharing Longhorn sports history.

TLSN needs YOUR HELP in spreading the word about the TLSN mission. The mission statement is at:

https://www.texaslsn.org/mission-statement. 

 Through the years, an organization supporting former players of DKR (LSG), and Texas Legacy Support Network, a 501(c)(3), have offered temporary financial assistance to 16 qualifiers, totaling $186,138.

Presently, TLSN is providing financial assistance to two former Longhorn student-athletes.

Since 2017, Yanaq, the son of former UT Volleyball player Jackie Campbell, has been battling leukemia. Donations from the Glenn Blackwood family and many others have paid some of her non-medical expenses, including food, housing, and car payments.

Yanaq’s treatment regimen at M.D. Anderson is comprehensive and aimed at enhancing his chances of survival. Over the next six months, he is scheduled to undergo chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and a second bone marrow transplant.

Billy Dale and I met with Jackie and her family (see picture below) two weeks ago before Yanaq started his chemo treatments and delivered a check to defray some of the families temporary living expenses in Houston.

This is a marathon, not a sprint, and Longhorn brand builder Jackie Campbell’s family needs financial support along the way.

Here are the two sites to donate to the Campbell family.

https://www.texaslsn.org/send-donation-to, or

https://gofund.me/d62a9741

3/28/2020

Hello Horns,

I hope you and your family are well and are able to stay safe and healthy during this time.

I received the check from TLSN and cashed it that same day.  Thank you very much.

We are alright.  These certainly are challenging times. 

I am very worried about Yanaq getting exposed and trying to keep the household under control and safe without letting him know just how at risk he is and scaring him.  Because of the immunotherapy he received in Philadelphia, he cannot mount a defense should he get exposed. It’s a tough balance to try to create.

He is doing well though.

I went back to work when we returned, but because of my risk of exposure in the ER and passing the virus to Yanaq, I have decided to not work there until the situation gets real bad and there aren’t nurses and I am needed.  If /when it comes to that, I will stay somewhere else.  Until then, I am trying to get hours in the psychiatric hospital.

We return to Philadelphia April 12 for a bone marrow biopsy and lumbar puncture to see if his treatment is still working and clear of leukemia.  We will only have to be there 4 days.

Thank you so much for your help.  It really is life changing at this time.  Please  pass on our thanks and appreciation to your supporters.  Let them know that Yanaq is doing well.

Again, I hope you and your family are well and stay safe and healthy.

Jackie

03/10/2020

Dear Billy thank you for calling me in your offer to help. I was trying to get by without asking for your help since you have helped us so much already. The hospital paid for our hotel since we are on a clinical trial and some friends raised some money for us before we left in January 2002, but I am still in rough shape financially. I have not been able to work since he Yanaq’s relapse on September 11, 2019. If you still have some funds available we could use the help.

Thank you so much for whatever you are able to do. The hospital where I have worked has allowed me to return,and I have already worked at few shifts- so our situation should be better soon.

As for Yanaq – he seems to be tolerating, and I have hope responding to treatment well. He looks and feels real good. Before we left, his bone marrow biopsy showed no cancer cells. We return to Pennsylvania April 13th for another biopsy to follow up and every 3 months there after for one year as long as he remains cancer free, I can feel hopeful. Thank you again for caring and for helping us. Love, Jackie and Yanaq & Family

10/19/2019- Yanaq’s cancer has returned. Letter from Jackie is below

Jackie Wrote – Yani will go to UofM on the 25th ti get his cells “harvested” .  Then he starts a 28 day continuous chemo infusion…hopefully only 3 days in hospital and the rest at home.  Then he is off everything for 2 weeks and then goes into hospital to receive the cells back.  He should be in the hospital for that about 2 weeks and then we will need to stay in hotel in Ann Arbor for 6 to 8 weeks.

A letter from Jackie to all Longhorns written in 2018

Dear Longhorns,

I really do not know where to begin to thank you for all you have done for us.  We sold our house on June 28th.  Please do not feel bad that we had to do that.  As I said, if you had not been helping us, instead of being able to sell it, the bank would have foreclosed and we would not have been able to get anything out of it.  As it happened, I was able to  pay off our credit cards and loans with the sale of the house and now, we have credit to continue to manage until I return to work.  

We continue to be in Ann Arbor.  We are at a hotel near the hospital and will be here until the end of August.  Some teachers from Yanaq’s elementary school began a gofundme page to pay for the cost of the hotel.  Yanaq is doing well and his doctor says he is responding well to the transplant and tolerating treatment.  He continues to have trouble eating.  He is on IV therapy at night time.  I will start work next week, only one day a week at first.  I hope to be up to 3 days a week by September 1st.  Yanaq cannot go back to school for 6 months to a year,   My husband is almost finished with the house we will move into – he has only a few more things to do before the water can be hooked up.  Then, we petition the city for final inspection and occupancy.  

So, things are coming together.  I never imagined having to start over at 53!  But, if my boy can get his health back, that is all that matters. Your financial support has made this tragedy so much easier to bear.  Your kindness and concern have been comforting and I cannot thank you enough.  

I hope you and yours are well.

 Jackie

Visit http://guidestar.org/ and search for TLSN to learn more about the Texas Legacy Support Network mission

Dear Horns

 Jackie

7/08/2018

As of July 8th 2018 and with a joyful heart I can say  Yanaq’s  blood counts are returning, he is free of infection, and his calorie intake is adequate.   Soon Yanaq will be going home. Thanks to all the donors that helped Jackie. While she may not have been on your team she is still a  teammate  in spirit.   Her contributions to our great university  opens a portal to the past that remind all Longhorns that she is part of UT heritage and has  contributed to shape the present and empower the future of UT.  On behalf of the three TLSN board members- Benny Pace, Jim Kay, and Billy Dale- please support the TLSN mission by sending a $50 donation so that TLSN is prepared  to help the next qualifying individual.

Blessing to All,

5/26/2018   – letter from Jackie Campbell

Dear LongHorn Family,

I want to give you am update on Yanaq. This is his 9th day since transplant (day 16 in the hospital), and he is doing well.  There is a waiting time (usually 10-21 days) where all of his blood counts are low and while his brother’s marrow is settling in and seeding.  We wait for his blood counts to return while trying to keep him free of infection and eating enough calories.  So far, so good.  We were fortunate to get a room at the Ronald McDonald House just across the street so his siblings and dad can stay there and visit as much as possible.  That is what seems to help him the most.  Overall, his spirits are good and he has a good attitude, pushing himself to do what he needs to in order for things to go well.  

Temporary financial support was approved by the UT Compliance department. 

Jackie Campbell Quispe is the type of former Longhorn student athlete that TLSN seeks to help consistent with TLSN’s charitable purposes. Jackie is a former volleyball player from the mid-80’s and is the sole source of financial support for her family which include three children in college and four still at home, including her eleven-year-old son, Yanaq.  On November 17, 2017, Yanaq, was diagnosed with leukemia.   As a result, Jackie has only been able to work sporadically. 

 The goal of TLSN is to have funds available for grants to qualifying applicants without having to seek contributions from donors every time assistance is needed.  That  is not the present situation.  At present TLSN has raised approximately $15,000 in our general fund to help Jackie, but by the end of June the donor general fund account will be depleted.   Please donate to the TLSN tax exempt 501 (C) (3)  general fund so we can continue to help  Jackie  and other future  qualifying applicants.  

Qualifying applicants must complete a form and submit to the UT compliance department for approval for financial assistance, and the TLSN board must also complete due diligence to make sure the grant is used for the purposes intended. Jackie’s request for temporary financial help was approved by both UT compliance and the TLSN Board in January 2018

The grant amount sent to Jackie as of the end of March is $16.268 The grant has been used to pay for:

      
                 
      
Company                              Purpose   

 
Besco                               Water treatment   
Semco Energy                   Gas furnace    
AT & T                              phone    
Kellogg Community           mortgage    
groceries                          groceries
Sprint                              phone     
Gas                                  car
 
            

 XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Doug English

In the Austin American, there was an article about Evan Mallet. He was a Bowie football player that was paralyzed in a car accident.

It was Doug English Lonestar Paralysis Foundation that provided tremendous financial support to benefit Evan.

Doug started this charity as a result of a TCU football player that was severely injured while making a tackle in a game back in the late ’70s. If you are a subscriber to the Austin American Statesman you can read Evan Mallet’s story at the link below,

https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.statesman.com%2Fstory%2Fsports%2Fhigh-school%2F2021%2F11%2F25%2Fformer-bowie-quarterback-evan-mallett-recovering-accident%2F8727575002%2F%3Futm_source%3Dstatesman-Daily%2520Briefing%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_campaign%3Ddaily_briefing%26utm_term%3Dhero%26utm_content%3DTEXAS-AUSTIN-NLETTER65&data=04%7C01%7C%7C980d88f1162440cf556608d9b40dddb8%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637738793913048336%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=6KbYRdeL4hG%2FrwLyy5GL%2BLUwpQJVSL2azhGUN1p5AxU%3D&reserved=0

In addition, Doug’s Foundation also helped a baseball player at ASU, marine, teacher, coach, and later head of a division of Motorola who lost feeling below his knees. After a week of therapy after surgery, he was turned loose on his own even though he could not even get in a car. It took his determination and help from Doug’s LSPF foundation allowed him to walk again with the aid of braces. He is now on the board for LSPF and raises money for scholarships for people like himself and Evan.

Johnnie Johnson

03/05/2021

Johnnie Johnson has been successful in both sports and as an entrepreneur. More importantly, he is a giver from the heart, helping those who need assistance with the MOVING FAMILIES INITIATIVE.

 8/15/2020

        Moving Families Foundation

Moving is difficult for anyone, especially for young children. The Moving Families Foundation is a 501c3 nonprofit organization that focuses on helping improve the lives of family members by providing them access to character and life skills development activities, high-quality education, and protection for the entire family during periods of transition and change in their lives, specifically when they move or relocate. A specific focus is placed on children ages 19 and younger and college students of all ages. With the foundation:

• Our aim is for all eligible children, ages 19 and younger, who move or relocate throughout the U.S. to participate in an extracurricular activity of their choice when they move to a new home. Our goal is to have the Foundation cover the cost of their participation for the first year via the Moving Families Extracurricular Activities Scholarship Plan.

• Our goal is for all eligible high school students, ages 19 and younger, who move or relocate throughout the U.S. with their parents during their high school years to have an opportunity to go to college if they desire to do so. To assist in the realization of this goal, the Foundation’s commitment is to provide qualified students with a $4,000 college scholarship, $1,000 for each of their freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior years at a college of their choice via the Moving Families College Scholarship Plan.

• Although the Foundation supports all parents moving with children, ages 19 and younger, our aim is to provide life insurance protection for eligible single-parent households when they move or relocate to a new home with children, ages 19 and younger, with a specific focus on protection for their children. The Foundation will provide and pay for the first two years of a $100,000 term life insurance policy for the single parent and a $10,000 rider for each of their children when they move or relocate to a new home. The single parent family will own and be the beneficiary of the insurance policies.

A portion of the proceeds from the new book, From Athletics to Engineering: 8 Ways to Support Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for All, coauthored Johnnie Johnson and Dr. Michael E. Webber will be donated to the Moving Families Foundation in support of scholarships for children’s extra-curricular activities and college tuition. Proceeds will also be donated to support other select educational programs at the university level.

Johnnie Johnson
President and CEO
World Class Coaches
800-314-7713
www.movingfamiliesinitiative.com
www.worldclasscoaches.com

“OUR Number One Priority – YOU Achieving Your Goals”

http://www.movingfamiliesinitiative.com/

Dear WETS,

This is the time of year we give THANKS for being a part of the Texas Swimming and Diving family!

The Texas Men and Women are off to a great start. Although we can’t be present at their meets, we are there in spirit and enthusiasm and are so impressed with the team’s performances and attitudes to date.

 2021 WET$ Donors

We are truly blessed with the support our donors have given our organization. I would love to have every former swimmer, coach, parent, or fan be a part of our fun and happy group. Please reach out to friends, and let’s see if we can double this list before 2021!! Our goals continue to be the same as when our founders started the organization in 1967: HONOR the past, PROMOTE the present and future of Texas swimming and diving and PROVIDE a common forum for all former swimmers, divers, coaches, and fans. Thanks to supporters so far, and  If you don’t see your name on the list amongst these early bird heros, please DONATE ONLINE or send your splash of cash (no more than $100.00) WETS, PO Box 132614, Woodlands, TX. 77393. Tax-deductible ID:74-2124063

 Please read the Full letter attached to see our early bird donors and lots of fun Longhorn swimming and diving news!!!

 A Swimcere THANKSgiving to all

Link to site NFL Austin Chapter site   

NFL Alumni-Austin Chapter | Facebook

Mission Statement

The NFL Alumni is a charitable organization composed primarily of former professional football players guided in their volunteer efforts by the motto: Caring for Kids. The NFL Alumni’s secondary objective is to help its own by offering support to former pros experiencing financial or medical hardship.

Caring For Kids

For more than 20 years, the NFL Alumni has worked to advance Caring for Kids’ mission by engaging in hands-on community service and working to raise money for youth-oriented charitable causes. Contact us to see how you can help, as you do not need to be a former player to become a chapter member.

Michelle Williams Adamolekun

Michelle was the recipient of a full scholarship in the sport of Track & Field from 1989 – 1993 and the Earl Campbell Scholarship in 1992 at the University of Texas at Austin. She was a member of the NCAA Indoor National Championship team in 89-90 and – a member of the 4×100 relay team that won the NCAA Outdoor national championship in 1991.

Michelle strongly believes in giving back to her community and currently serves as President & Co-Founder of the Reggae Girlz. 

To learn more about her 501 (c) (3), please click on the link below.

https://reggaegirlzfoundation.com/about

What if I told you that with a small donation of $10, you would be able to help a young girl make healthy life choices, develop knowledge and critical skills to thrive in life.  Childhood problems emerging from increasing health risks, low-income families, and gaps in education leave your girls without the opportunity to gain key life lessons and experiences that allow them to be physically/emotionally healthy, academically enriched, and personally fulfilled throughout life.  Many young girls are still limited by a lack of access to sports, positive role models, and academic learning opportunities beyond the classroom.  The Reggae Girlz Foundation works to level the playing field and avail young girls with a fighting chance to succeed in life by expanding access in the sport of soccer/football, improving their overall health, life skills, and maximizing their true potential.

The Reggae Girlz Foundation (RGF) mission inspires, educates, mobilizes, develops, and supports the next generation of young female soccer players in Jamaica. Through RGF initiatives, we strive to level the playing field for females in the sport by improving the growth, development, and accessibility to quality soccer programs that enhance the physical, mental, spiritual, and personal development in under-served communities across Jamaica.

We are already changing lives; please visit our website to read the success stories of young women positively impacted due to the support, gifts, and contributions from individuals and corporations that have helped them achieve the highest level of international play and success on the world stage.

1. “Together, we will strive for gender equality, to level the playing field, and create a world where all girls and women can reach their true potential and achieve their goals on and off the soccer/football field.”  Michelle Adamolekun, RGF President

Charlie Cravens

See video below

Craven’s living legacy is the tens of thousands of athletes who are healthier and better prepared competing on fields and courts across the country. Craven is responsible for the modern strength and conditioning program at The University of Texas, and he had a profound impact on the development of other collegiate, professional, and high school training programs.

Link to the donate site is below

https://utdirect.utexas.edu/apps/utgiving/online/nlogon/?menu1=EDPE

Sam Acho and Emmanuel Acho

A link to the great work of Sam and Emmanuel Acho in Giving Back is in the Austin American link below.

Chris Bils Hookem.com Staff

cbils@hookem.com

Brothers Sam and Emmanuel Acho left their mark at Texas.

Since leaving the 40 Acres, the Acho brothers have continued to leave a mark wherever they go. They visited Nigeria, where their parents Sonny and Christie Acho were born and where the family built a medical clinic as part of its Living Hope Ministries charity.

Emmanuel and Sam spent two weeks at the clinic, which provides free care to families in need.

“We saw over 5,000 people,” Emmanuel Acho said in an Instagram post. “Performed over 100 surgeries for FREE!!” The younger of the two brothers has been out of the league since 2015. He graduated from Texas this spring with a master’s in sports psychology and has delved into the media world as an analyst with the Longhorn Network and Fox 7 Austin. He has also been spreading awareness about the dangers of head injuries in football.

 Donate link is below

http://www.hookem.com/2017/07/13/look-texas-ex-brothers-emmanuel-sam-acho-launch-medical-center-nigeria/

Tina Bonci

Bill Little commentary: To Tina Bonci, with thanks

University of Texas trainer Tina Bonci passes away at 59.

MEMORIAL GIFTS/CONDOLENCES: The family will advise regarding a future memorial service in Greenville, Pa. A recognition event also will be scheduled in Austin in late spring. Memorial gifts in Tina’s honor may be sent to The Longhorn Foundation, The University of Texas/Intercollegiate Athletics, PO Box 7399, Austin, TX  78713-7399, Attn. Rob Heil and note TINA BONCI SPORTS MEDICINE ENDOWMENT FUND on checks. Personal notes of condolence may be sent to Fred Bonci, 462 S. Dallas Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15208

Bill Little, Texas Media Relations

When you think of Tina Bonci, you think of words that begin with the letter “T”

“T” is for Tina.

“T” is for tenacity.

“T” is for Texas.

“T” is for thanks.

What can you say about someone, who in her 28 years working in the field of athletic training at Texas, touched more people — with her hands and her heart — than could fit into any arena, facility or field where Tina weaved her magic.

There is another letter that would fit. Tina captured the essence of the letter “G.” She was gentle, gracious, giving. She was indeed a giant, and she was very, very good.

As a pioneer in the field of sports medicine, Tina understood more about the human body than a hospital full of specialists. From the mid-1980s, when she served as an athletic trainer for the USA Olympics women’s basketball team, until last weekend when she finally lost a brave battle with cancer, Tina immersed herself in learning.

On the third floor of Bellmont Hall, there was a little cubby hole of a corridor which served as the training room for UT women athletes for years until the men and women’s programs combined their training facilities in the Moncrief-Neuhaus Athletics Center. There, Tina was the master of medicine. Staff or student, hurt a limb and need ice? Go see Tina, just down the hall. The machine was always working. Rehab? Got it. Ankle taping? Sure. Counseling? Sit down and visit.

Tina bridged the gap between genders and age groups. Where the legendary Frank Medina became synonymous with athletic training at Texas during his 33 years between 1945-78, Tina served the women’s program for 28 years and was still a full-time employee at the time of her death. The irony, of course, is that Tina’s time with us was shortened by the failure of the body — the one thing about all of us she had dedicated her life to preserving. First it was Type I diabetes, and then a complicated form of cancer.

The tenacity entered then, and she whipped both — living with the diabetes, and willing the cancer into submission.

There is really no count of the number of events she attended, or the number of student-athletes to whom she attended. But they know who they are. Because Tina was always there, caring and cheering, event after event, malady after malady.

She became famous, far beyond the Forty Acres. Though she never reached 60 years of age, she became a legend in her profession. From the time she left the University of Pennsylvania’s sports medicine arena to come to Texas in fall 1985, Tina was a fixture at Texas, and an ambassador for her trade.

When Texas made its undefeated run to the NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship in 1986, Jody Conradt was quick to note that Tina’s arrival had coincided with the team’s success. She used all of her medical knowledge to help athletes stay on the court, just as she prepared them for a healthy life beyond the game.

When she realized one of the Longhorns basketball players struggled with an allergy to milk products, she made sure pizza wasn’t on her diet. She came into a world where women were just beginning to grow bigger, faster and stronger, and she nurtured and studied to understand, and to help them understand, this brave new world into which they were moving.

You can pitch in all of the available adjectives to describe Tina, and you would be right. She did have a quiet, gentle touch — patiently kneading the hand of a stroke victim, searching for electrodes that would fire and bring a finger to life. She could be relentless, and she could be firm. But beneath all of that, she was kind. You loved Tina Bonci, because she loved you. It came from inside that tiny body, and it radiated through flashing eyes.

She was on the cutting edge of the modern world of sports medicine. She respected the past, and those in her field who had come before, but she understood that there were new and better ways to treat, and she wasn’t afraid to explore. In that way, she was not only a pioneer, but a pathfinder.

As the decade of the 2010s arrived, Tina’s life took a turn that all of her training and knowledge couldn’t conquer. The cancer had returned, and doctors told her there was nothing more that they could do. It was then that she took a step back, and resolutely faced a future she knew all too well would not be what she, or any of us, would have wanted.

She had earned her place where just a few women were beginning to emerge in her youth. She had defied odds in her profession, and even had withstood challenges of health for her and for her hundreds of patients. Gallantly, she now faced the one thing she couldn’t whip.

When Texas played basketball in West Virginia, Chris Plonsky, Jody Conradt, and long-time friend Becky Marshall visited Tina at her brother’s home in Pittsburgh. There they laughed and enjoyed a great Italian meal. Then they said goodbye. Friday, just a few hours before the Texas women’s team defeated Oklahoma in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Conference tournament, Tina lost her final battle.

Tina Bonci was instrumental in maintaining and promoting the health of female student athletes. She entered the Longhorn Hall of Honor in 2013. She is an inductee in the Southwest Athletic Trainers’ Association Hall of Fame, and in 2009 she was recognized  as the Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer.

Donate information is listed below.

Cole Pittman

Donation information to the Cole Pittman foundation is in the link below denoted in red font.

hornsgivingback.com/

The University of Texas has established a scholarship in the name of Cole Pittman. The first $25,000 contribution was made by U.T. Men’s and Women’s Athletics. Friends are asked to direct donations to the Longhorn Foundation, P.O. Box 7399, Austin, TX 78713. Please make contributions payable to The University of Texas. The link to Cole Pittman’s charity is below.

hornsgivingback.com/

Tommy Nobis

The link to the Tommy Nobis charity is below, denoted in red font.

http://nobisworks.org/

To know the Tommy Nobis who transcends time, you need to know his heart. He will probably always be remembered first for his football legacy, but his Legacy from the heart is, in many ways, more critical.

In 1975, before setting up tax-exempt charities were fashionable, Tommy Nobis established an organization to help the underprivileged and disabled acquire working skills. Jeff Van Note paid tribute to Tommy when he said, “there is no one in the history of sports in Atlanta that has given more back to Atlanta’s community than Tommy Nobis” and that “he is, by far, the greatest Falcon football player ever.”

Tommy Nobis Is The Founder Of The Tommy Nobis Center. He has Been Honored With The Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr Award For His Support of The Georgia Special Olympics, as NFL Man of The Year for his “Work From The Heart,” and the 2008 recipient of the WXIA-TV Community Service Award for his Outstanding Contribution to the Community.

Brian Robison “Reel “Em In” Foundation

2016

The Brian Robison “Reel ‘Em In” Foundation, founded by Jayme and Brian Robison in 2015, was formed to provide financial, emotional and physical support for those in need. Robison couples his affinity for bass fishing with giving back to the community by hosting an annual bass fishing tournament. Each year, Robison and his wife select a Texas-based non-profit as the beneficiary of their tournament, and all proceeds are donated to the selected organization in need. The Foundation is committed to continued research and evaluation to seek out groups identified as struggling and in need of help. In April 2016, The Brian Robison “Reel ‘Em ” Foundation raised close to $30,000 for K9s4COPs.

For more information on how to donate, please visit www.brianrobison96.com.

The Longhorn foundation

The Longhorn Foundation is spearheading the Mary Ann & DeLoss Dodds Campaign to specifically support former student-athletes who seek to return to campus and complete undergraduate or postgraduate degrees.

If you can help fund this worthy cause,  please make a donation to the Mary Ann & DeLoss Dodds fund at

TheLonghornFoundation.com/Dodds.

Texas Legacy Support Network (TLSN)

TLSN Board of Directors members Beth Coblentz, Spanky Stephens, Jim Kay, Benny Pace, and Billy Dale are all T-ring recipients.

November 2017, Benny Pace and Billy Dale toasted the completion of the TLSN 501 (C) (3). TLSN’s mission is to help qualifying former longhorns who have fallen through society’s safety net. As of 12/20/2021, the organization has supported three former student-athletes with an average grant of $15,000. The precursor to the TLSN tax-exempt (LSG), helped nine former student-athletes with an average check of $12,000.

Over the last seven years, chronicling the history of Longhorn sports has been a passionate part of the TLSN mission. That passion has not waned. On the contrary, it is stronger now than in 2014.

That said, Longhorn sports history is not the primary mission of TLSN. Instead, TLSN Board members’ goal is to raise and distribute funds through a 501(c)(3) to assist qualifying former Longhorn student-athletes, trainers, managers, coaches, and immediate families.

With deep sadness and reflection, TLSN read about the circumstances surrounding the death of Chris Samuels. I don’t know if Chris was seeking help but could not find it, or maybe he knew there was help (TLSN) but refused it.

However, what I do know is that TLSN had resources available to help Chris. Contributions from the heart of donors to assist those who built the Longhorn Brand.

My guess is that Chris was not aware of TlSN’s mission. If that is true, the Longhorn Nation needs to remedy that travesty. More needs to be done to inform all that there is an organization whose sole mission is to help qualifying former Longhorns.

The TLSN mission is at https://www.texaslsn.org/build-it-and-they-will-come

“If we could learn from history,” wrote famed English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge, “what lessons it could teach us!”

One of the most important life lessons is the importance of Giving Back a blessing received. Many Civilizations have toppled because the individuals and their governments took but did not give back.

Kerry Shook, a minister in Woodland, Texas, said during his “Live Boldly” lessons, “There are two types of people in the world: givers and takers. No one ever remembers what they take out of life; we’re only remembered for what we give back in life.”

DKR attended and endorsed a who’s who of other charities and personally started one called the Ben, Willie, and Darrell Golf Classic Tournament that helped the inhabitants of East Austin. Royal insisted that the proceeds distributed to the East Austin community should not be drained off with administrative costs. The Austin Community Foundation complied with DKR’s wishes. TLSN is also following the same script as the Austin Community Foundation. No TLSN Board member is paid for administrative expenses.

In 2015, 3 Longhorn T-ring recipients from the 1960s began the long and winding road to forming a 501 (c) (3) Longhorn sports educational site with a compassionate component. The journey started in the offices of Longhorn A.D. Patterson, Perrin, and now CDC. Patterson rejected the TLSN mission, Mike Perrin blessed it, and CDC set the limits. This winding road led to a new path blessed by the NCAA and the UT legal and compliance departments.

As an educational website, TLSN has chronicled a detailed history of all Longhorn Sports from inception through 2015. The website offers powerful and discerning Longhorn comments captured from Longhorn authors, media brochures, newspaper articles, shelter magazines, videos, and, most importantly, Longhorn athletes who have helped create the Longhorn brand. TLSN’s historical site is free to visit.

TLSN is tax-exempt that “is leaving something behind.” Just like- Longhorn athletes Brian Robison, Tommy Nobis (deceased), Cole Pittman (deceased), Johnnie Johnson, Tina Bonci (deceased), Sam and Emmanuel Acho, Charlie Cravens, and Michelle Williams Adamolekun- have done.

Just click on https://www.texaslsn.org/giving-back-tax-exempt-organizations-setup-by-former-longhorn-student-athletes who know the meaning of what I gave I kept.

Texas Legacy Support Network is a historical site that is free, educational, and Insightful. TLSN has built a bridge to the past to remind all Longhorns that sports heritage shapes the present and inspires the future. Everyone involved with the U.T. Athletic Department through the last 120-plus years has been instrumental in making the Longhorn brand the most recognized name in NCAA sports history. No one involved should be forgotten or left behind. Horns that were part of the U.T. Athletic Department deserve an equity stake in our great university and should have a safety net available.

In 2015 three Longhorn lettermen -Benny Pace, Jim Kay, and Billy Dale- joined forces to create a tax-exempt charitable foundation to enable TLSN to raise funds from tax-deductible contributions. The funds raised provide financial assistance to ALL former qualifying student-athletes, trainers, managers, coaches, and their immediate families.

TLSN received notice of its tax-exempt 501 (c) (3) status on September 12, 2017.

 Jackie Campbell, a Longhorn volleyball player from the ’80s, was the first qualifying person to receive assistance from TLSN. Her son, Yanaq, was diagnosed with Leukemia in 2017. Jackie needed temporary financial help, so she reached out to U.T.’s Longhorn Foundation for support. Jill Sterkel notified TLSN of her situation, and TLSN offered her a financial safety net. From January 2018 thru February 2020, TLSN sent Jackie a grant of approximately $25,000. The grant helped Jackie defray expenses for groceries, house payments, gas, utilities, and telephone. Her son is recovering and has been released from medical supervision. A message from Yanaq to all of us who helped his family pay for six months is below.

 TLSN wants to continue to fulfill Coach Royal’s message that hung in the locker room.  As the title to Sean Rowe’s song says, TLSN wants “to leave something behind.” In his song, Sean says, “I can get thru the wall if you give me a door So I can leave something behind.”

*The donate button below is only for tax-exempt donations to TLSN. An organization that helps qualifying former Longhorn student-athletes, former managers, trainers, and their immediate families.

If you want to send a check, please make out the check to “TLSN” and send it to

TLSN -7703 Mesa Drive, Austin, TX, 78731