Posthumous Degree May Be Awarded Hank Gathers

Loyola Marymount University may award a posthumous degree to late basketball star Hank Gathers, whose memory led his team to three victories in the NCAA championships.

“I think it would be one of the special things about graduation this year, when his name is called and his family would be able to receive his award,” LMU student President Melany Nunez said Wednesday.

The LMU faculty Senate has passed a resolution asking the university to award a bachelor of arts degree to Gathers, a senior in good standing who was expected to graduate in May in communications and fine arts.

The memory of Gathers, who died of a diseased heart during a basketball game on March 4, still looms over the campus. Alongside the huge “LMU” bluff-side letters on the Westchester campus stands the number “44”--his jersey number.

The number 44 was also attached to the player jerseys of the LMU Lions while they played in the National Collegiate Athletic Assn. basketball tournament. The Lions made it to the West regional finals before they were beaten by the University of Nevada-Las Vegas.

University President James Loughran will make the final decision on the posthumous degree request sometime prior to graduation.

Nunez noted the posthumous degree was “a great idea” because the athletic program promotes academic achievement, which separates LMU from many other universities.

“We aren’t just so focused on athletics that we don’t care about graduating our athletes,” she said.