Legacy of SU Student, Basketball Player Jack Ferguson Lives On with Memorial Scholarship

There were smiles, laughter and some moments of somber silence on the steps of Holloway Hall as a scholarship recipient met her donor for the first time. It was a quiet fall afternoon, but for a team, campus and community, it was a special moment to remember a celebrated Salisbury University student.

Kathryn Hantske, an exercise science major in the allied health track, was presented with the Jack Ferguson Memorial Scholarship in honor of the late SU student and men’s basketball player Jack Ferguson. Ferguson died March 10, 2019, after being diagnosed with histiocytic sarcoma, a rare form of cancer.

The award was created by John Falcone, a client in the cardiac rehabilitation program at Ocean Pines Physical Fitness Center where Ferguson was doing an apprenticeship. Falcone said it seemed like the right thing to do to honor Ferguson’s name.

“We all felt a great loss when Jack passed,” Falcone added. “He was an intern in a world of senior citizens, but I could talk to him like he was a peer. He knew his job well and did it well. I wish we could have met in a different story where he graduated.”

Falcone hosted a traditional Italian heritage dinner at his home, where he encouraged people to donate $40 toward the award. It might have been the host’s lively personality, or it might have been the cannolis, but Falcone was able to raise $1,000 to help a student pursuing the same career path as Ferguson.

“Jack was bright young man pursuing a noble career, and his life was cut short,” Falcone said. “We didn’t want it to fade out. If we can help someone along the same path and keep his name going, well, I think this pleases everyone.”

Hantske, a senior studying to get into a pre-physical therapy program, said the funds will go toward her final semester’s tuition at SU.

“It will take a load off of my mom,” Hantske said. She has two siblings who also are in college, one who is a cancer survivor herself.

“I’m very honored,” Hantske said. “I know the impact Jack had on this campus, how many supporters he had and how loved he was by his teammates and peers. It really means a lot to me.”

As he was joking and chatting with Hantske on SU’s campus, Falcone seemed to believe the scholarship went to the right cause.

“I think this was meant to be,” Falcone told Hantske before they parted.

Ferguson, who would have been a senior on the basketball team, was forced to sit out his final season after he was diagnosed in the offseason. The guard played three years at SU, helped the Sea Gulls to two NCAA tournament appearances and received CAC All-Academic Team honors during the 2015-16 season.

Ferguson touched the lives of many during his time at Salisbury. His teammates hosted a student tournament after his diagnosis called “Fight for Ferguson” to raise funds to help with his medical expenses. Many members of the campus and community remember him as a bright, friendly and driven young man.

“Jack was a perfect athlete, a perfect student and a perfect teammate,” said Head Coach Brian McDermott after Jack’s passing. “You don't get that kind of person come through SU that often.”

For more information, call 410-543-6030 or visit the SU website.