The Buffalo Sabres Alumni Scholarship is open to residents of Western New York (within 716 and 585 area codes) and Southern Ontario (within the 905 area code) who are high school seniors that plan to enroll in a full-time undergraduate course of study at an accredited college or university in the United States or Canada for the fall term of the next school year.
The Buffalo Sabres Alumni Scholarship Program was formed due to a need for our organization to have a common goal and the result of an alum’s need for financial help to advance his children through College.
In late November 1993, the Alumni Association received a request from Brian Spencer’s sister in law Nancy Kent. The letter explained that just two months after Brian was tragically killed in Hollywood, Florida, Brian’s wife Janet had succumbed to cancer in a Long Island Hospital. Nancy and her husband were now raising Brian’s two boys, Jason 16 and Jarret 17. In the letter Mrs. Kent was requesting help if it was available, and if it was something the Alumni Association did in special cases like this.
In a meeting later that winter, the Alumni Board of Directors agreed to help Jason and Jarret. The Sabres Alumni donated $2,000 each, per year for four years. The Alumni Scholarship Program has never looked back. We are proud to say both of the boys graduated, Jason in 1998 and Jarrett in 1999. As a result of Nancy Kent’s initial letter, the program continues to support deserving full time students attending college or university in Western New York and Southern Ontario.
The money to support the program was generated from an annual golf tournament that was created by alumni members Jim Schoenfeld, Craig Ramsay, Fred Stanfield and Derek Smith. This tournament continues to this day and is supported by the Sabres Alumni members as well as several local businesses. As our alumni golf event began to grow so did our organization and the other events that have begun to help fund the program as well. We are able to give out an average of six scholarships per year to deserving students in the Western New York and the Southern Ontario region. Of the six scholarships given out each year, one is designated for an Alumni member’s son or daughter. The remaining scholarships are given to students that are in their senior year of high school and have excelled in community service.
To date, there have been 176 students that have received financial assistance totaling over $1 million dollars through our scholarship program. Some of our scholarship winners have gone on to become successful doctors, attorneys, business people and have served their country in the military. We continue to get updates from our scholarship winners reminding us of the traits that were evident when they initially applied for the scholarship and the reason why they were selected.
Scholarships are open to legal residents of Western New York (within the 716 and 585 area codes) and Southern Ontario (within the 905 area code) who are, or will be, high school seniors graduating in the spring of the current year who plan to, and do enroll in a full-time undergraduate course of study at an accredited college or university in the United States or Canada for the fall term of the next school year. Void where prohibited
Complete the Buffalo Sabres Alumni Scholarship Program Student Application Form. All sections of the application form must be completed for applicant to be eligible. A current official transcript of the applicant's grades, certified by the high school must accompany the application. Mail completed applications to: The Buffalo Sabres Alumni Scholarship Program, c/o Buffalo Sabres Alumni Association, KeyBank Center, One Seymour H. Knox III Plaza, Buffalo, New York, 14203.
Applications must be postmarked by July 1 of each year. Buffalo Sabres Alumni Scholarship program is not responsible for lost, late, misdirected, mutilated, incomplete or ineligible applications or postage-due mail. All applications, including essays shall become property of the Buffalo Sabres Alumni Scholarship Program and will not be returned or acknowledged.
By submitting an application, applicant agrees to provide other information and documentation as may be reasonably requested by the Buffalo Sabres Alumni Scholarship Program.
The applicants will be judged on the following criteria:
Applications will be considered by a panel appointed by the Board of Directors of the Buffalo Sabres Alumni Association, whose decisions will be final in all respects.
Recipients will be notified on or about August 29th, and must sign and return the Scholarship Acknowledgment Form and Publicity Release, including an Assignment of Rights to the names and essays submitted. Awarding of the scholarship is subject to recipient submitting verification of enrollment in an accredited college or university for the next school year. In the event the recipient does not graduate from high school, drops out of high school or does not enroll or remain enrolled in an accredited college or university, the scholarship will be forfeited.
Scholarship are payable in the currency of the country where the applicant attended high school. The amount of each scholarship awarded shall be determined on an individual basis and shall be the sole discretion of the Buffalo Sabres Alumni Scholarship Program. The scholarships are per annum as long as the recipient remains a full-time undergraduate student in an accredited college or university and maintains a GPA of 2.5 or higher. Failure to continue to meet these requirements will result in an automatic forfeiture of future scholarship payments. All scholarships will be rewarded on or about September 1st, in the form of a check payable jointly to the recipient and the institution the recipient is enrolled in. The check must be endorsed by both parties.
Taxes on scholarships, if any, are the sole responsibility of the recipient. By participating, applicants and their parents agree: a) To the official rules and decision of the Buffalo Sabres Alumni Association, which shall be final in all respects; b) Where legal, to use their names and/or likeness for advertising, promotional and publicity purposes without written consent or compensation; and c) To release, discharge and hold harmless the Buffalo Sabres Alumni Association, its Board of Directors, officers, members and sponsors from damages or claims arising out of or in any way related to recipient's participation in this program.
All rights, title and interests, including copyrights of essays submitted, belong to the Buffalo Sabres Alumni Association. Buffalo Sabres Alumni Association reserves the right to edit, adjust, modify, condense, publish, and/or excerpt essays.
Scholarships may not be assigned or transferred. Limit one scholarship per household. However, the Buffalo Sabres Alumni Association Scholarship Program reserves the right in its sole discretion to award more than one scholarship per household based upon demonstrated financial hardship. Scholarships are to be used to cover institution costs and fees. In the event institution costs and fees are less than the scholarship amount, the balance of the scholarship may be utilized for other education costs such as course materials, books and/or on-campus housing. Buffalo Sabres Alumni Scholarship Program reserves the right to interpret these rules and to make decisions concerning the award, acceptance and use of scholarships in all situations, including without limitation, those not covered by these rules.