Hoop Dreams

by Niki Terzieff

15
Supporters 188
Raised $
 

A few days ago during a conversation about March Madness, Jeff mentioned that he had played a little ball in his day.

After a little digging, I found it was true! In 1971 wearing #22, Jeff Merkley was a member of the David Douglas High School JV Basketball Team!

Luckily, he took the advice of his wise friend and explored other extra-curricular activities. In 1974, Student Body Class President Jeff Merkley packed his bags for Stanford University, the first in his family to go to college.

After winning a full-ride scholarship to Princeton for graduate school (not for basketball), he spent over 5 years working with Congress and the Pentagon to stop the proliferation of nuclear weapons.

My poli-sci degree didn’t lead to anything quite that intense. But it’s been pretty intense for my Portland State Vikings! My alma mater has had a record breaking year and so has Jeff Merkley’s fundraising team.

It’s time for you to stop warming the bench.

Be a part of our team by donating:

$22 for Jeff’s JV number
$34 for the number of years since Jeff retired his jersey
$64 for the number of teams in the NCAA Tournament

Go Viks! (and Jeff, too!!)

Niki Terzieff
Deputy Finance Director

P.S. The March Madness that Jeff was so excited about had nothing to do with a basketball. It’s all about the march to end the madness in Iraq. See you in the park on Saturday at noon!