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David Ticchi ’67 gets creative in support of athletics
By Elizabeth Thompson Walker
If you get enough peanuts, you fill a bag.
David Ticchi ’67 uses that simple image to illustrate the importance of every gift to the new Crusader Athletics Fund and to Holy Cross in general. While the metaphor does confirm a basic law of physics, “peanuts” is a word that hardly communicates the true value of the generous and unusual gift Ticchi made this year in celebration of his 40th reunion. He gave a $54,000 reunion gift—stipulating that each of the College’s 27 men’s and women’s varsity athletic teams receives $1,000 from that gift. His generosity will give coaches additional flexibility in recruiting and, also, in purchasing new equipment. He invested the remaining $27,000 in a deferred gift annuity in support of the Holy Cross Fund.
Ticchi designed his multifaceted giving strategy with Tom Cadigan ’02, associate director of the Holy Cross Fund/athletics fund raising, and Ana Alvarado, director of planned giving. Ticchi’s gift has provided current-use dollars for the varsity teams in ways that enhance their budgets—and that have meaning for him. A devoted fan of Holy Cross athletics, both the revenue-producing and nonrevenue sports, he fully embraces the Patriot League’s philosophy that student-athletes excel in the classroom and on the field. He respects the College’s unwavering adherence to those standards.
Since his first day on campus four decades ago, Ticchi has loved Holy Cross. As an undergraduate, he lifted weights, assisted the crew team and participated in a wide range of intramural athletics. He was voted “Senior Athlete of the Year” by WCHC, the campus radio station.
Those were four important years in my life,” Ticchi says. “I respect what Holy Cross stands for. I have always loved athletics; I value the student-athlete. I’ve always been a jock at heart. No matter which sport you play, it takes hours of practice a day, each week. Our student-athletes work just as hard at rowing as they do at football to be the best.”
Ticchi made budget-enhancing gifts to all 27 varsity sports to highlight the equal importance of each program and to provide unexpected funds for immediate use. He would like to see other loyal fans support the new athletics fund in ways that would elevate the College’s standing in every varsity sport ranked in the league’s annual President’s Cup standings.
“If your heart and mind are there, there are all kinds of creative vehicles for giving to Holy Cross,” Ticchi says. “Supporting the Crusader Athletics Fund is important, especially in its first year. Most of the other Patriot League schools already have such funds. Finances are an important part of leveling the playing field. I’d like to see the day when we have enough money in the fund to endow the varsity coaches’ positions. Being competitive still comes down to resources for coaches and recruiting.”
Ticchi believes just as strongly about giving to the Holy Cross Fund, which supports the basic operation of the College. He made his annual gift this year by establishing a deferred gift. The annuity provides resources for his alma mater. It also allows him to remove a taxable asset from his financial portfolio, yet know, as he plans for retirement, that he will still receive income from it for the rest of his life. He considers this type of planned gift a “win-win situation.” He has decided to defer interest payments on the annuity because he is still in the workforce.
Ironically, one of the most daunting challenges he faced after graduating cum laude from Holy Cross was finding a job in his field.
“The greatest problem I face is not blindness, but people’s attitudes about capabilities,” Ticchi says. “I had problems trying to get a job in my major, economics, when I got out of college.
“I joined the Jesuit Volunteer Corps for a year,” he continues. “I taught at St. Catherine’s Indian School in Santa Fe, N.M. It changed my life. I was accepted into law school at Cornell and the Tuck School at Dartmouth. Instead, I decided to become a teacher.”
Ticchi entered Harvard’s Graduate School of Education, where he earned his master’s degree in education in 1969—followed by an advanced graduate study certificate—and, in 1976, a Ph.D. in education. The first blind person in the state certified to teach in the public schools in Massachusetts, he started his teaching career in 1971 at the F.A. Day School in Newton, Mass.
To broaden his experiences, Ticchi worked in the private sector, where he served for 10 years as an executive with Xerox Imaging Systems; he then returned to the field of education, accepting a teaching position at Newton (Mass.) North High School. He currently directs a school-to-career program there. In addition to his work with students at the high school, Ticchi is the special assistant to the president of Legal Sea Foods Corporation; he is responsible for the company’s ethics program and the President’s Advisory Council.
Among the many honors that have come his way over the years, Ticchi is most proud of being named “National Blind Educator of the Year” in 1998 by the National Federation of the Blind. This recognition strengthened his resolve to demonstrate the ability of blind professionals to succeed in a sighted world.
That same drive to succeed and passion for competing at the highest levels—as well as the desire to even the playing field for all contenders—spurs Ticchi to encourage others “to bring their hearts and minds” to support every varsity program through the Crusader Athletics Fund.
“If we’re going to play a game, and the Patriot League is going to keep score, then we should be the best in the league,” Ticchi says. “If 100 alumni do what I did, we’ll be on our way. If you get enough peanuts, you fill a bag.”
Elizabeth Thompson Walker is a freelance writer from Holden, Mass.