Renegotiating a Rivalry

New scholarship honors Bud Veene '72

By Laura Feeman

If his dear friend Richard T. "Bud" Venne '72 were still around, Tom Stemberg would undoubtedly be doing a little gloating this year.

Best known as the founder of Staples, Inc., Stemberg is credited with fueling a wave of entrepreneurship in American business during the 1980s. He is also a sports nut.

When he met Venne, the former Crusader basketball co-captain known for his dazzling shooting skills, the two developed an easy friendship that grew out of a love of athletics and a good-humored rivalry over contests between the Harvard and Holy Cross basketball teams. For many years, they exchanged jokes and jabs in the stands as they watched their respective teams do battle each season before Venne died in 2004.

Last November, when Harvard hoopsters beat the Crusaders, it was a bittersweet reminder of their rivalry and rapport. Instead of claiming bragging rights, however, Stemberg is making a bold gesture of support for Holy Cross by committing $1 million through a charitable remainder trust to create and endow the Richard T. Venne '72 Scholarship Fund.

"Give-and-Go"

Stemberg first saw Venne play in the early 1970s during a Harvard-Holy Cross match-up at the Worcester Auditorium. On that particular day, Venne's fiercely competitive nature displayed itself in an uncharacteristic form, when he got into a scuffle with an opposing player.

Venne was known to be intense on the court. He had been a standout at Xavier High School in Concord, Mass. As the state’s leading scorer his senior year there, he averaged 35 points per game and once scored 63 points in a single game. His remarkable shooting skills made him a high-profile recruit, and his choice to attend Holy Cross over Princeton made front page news in the Boston papers.

Off the court, though, he was known as an easygoing, fun-loving fellow—"one of the boys" whose humility, loyalty and sense of humor made him a respected leader to teammates and a beloved friend to classmates.

"Buddy Venne played basketball … with joy and spontaneity, and with a style that is no longer allowed," a former teammate, Bob Kissane '71, once wrote. "Like many old-school basketball greats, Buddy was a character. When not in the game, he would move to the far end of the bench and cajole the crowd behind him to chant, 'We want Venne! We want Venne!'"

His skill was eclipsed only by his eagerness. "He would get so excited and high-strung before games," recalls former Xavier teammate John Mahoney '73. "One time, the upperclassmen brought him to the back of the bus and put the ball net over his head to settle him down."

Venne loved to follow up on his own shots and was rarely satisfied unless he had his hands on the ball. "We ribbed him a lot about that," remembers John Doran '72. "We used to call him Bud 'Give-and-Go' Venne, but in his case, 'give-and-go' meant 'give me the ball so I can go to the net!'"

Fans delighted in watching Venne launch his trademark long-distance shots. "One dreads to think how many points he would have scored if the three-point rule had been in effect," Stemberg says. For years afterward, family and friends say, Venne never left a basketball court without lofting a parting swish.

Following graduation from Holy Cross, Venne spent a year overseas, playing for the Racing Club de France. Shortly after he returned, Venne was introduced to Stemberg by Doran and they became fast friends, playing tennis and squash together at the Weston Golf Club once a week, 52 weeks a year, without fail.

Venne was the stronger basketball and tennis player; Stemberg sometimes had the edge in squash, but the two were equally intense competitors. "They had an elaborate system of handicaps, and there was always a lot of negotiating going on," remembers Venne’s widow, Kathy Venne. "The one term that remained constant was that the winner would be treated to dinner afterward." On the occasion of Stemberg's 40th birthday, Venne wrote a poem for his opponent titled "Old Athletes Never Die … They Just Renegotiate."

Friends off the court

The two friends found common ground outside sports. The Vennes were a sounding board for Stemberg while he developed his idea for an office supply superstore; Stemberg was a confidant for the Vennes when they were adopting their son, Nicholas, and later, when Venne became ill with brain cancer. Throughout Venne's illness, Stemberg continued to accompany his pal to Mount St. James to watch games.

"Buddy was a very special guy; I would call him my best friend," says Stemberg. "I wanted to do this at Holy Cross because it was Bud's favorite place, and the College is so central in his and his family’s lives. When I think about the way they stood by Buddy through some very difficult years … they really are an incredible family and one that Holy Cross should be very proud to call its own."

The importance of scholarships now

In addition to honoring his friend, Stemberg's gift reflects the recognition that, in these difficult economic times, scholarship funds are more critical than ever. As families struggle to meet the formidable cost of tuition and board, colleges and universities require a greatly expanded pool of funds to meet students’ growing financial needs.

Nowhere is this predicament more acute than at institutions such as Holy Cross, which practice need-blind admissions policies (meaning they do not take students’ financial resources into account when selecting incoming classes) and which are committed to providing full need-based aid (providing the difference between the actual cost of a Holy Cross education and the amount a family can afford). "It's not every family that can write a check for $47,000 a year, but we believe strongly that any qualified student ought to be able to attend Holy Cross," says College president Rev. Michael C. McFarland, S.J. "Providing need-based aid is a huge commitment, but it's one we believe in deeply, and one we cannot meet without the support of many generous benefactors."

The new scholarship is designed to benefit students from single-parent families. "My father died when I was 11 years old, and it was very hard to grow up without him," Stemberg explains. "I was a sophomore at Harvard when my mother ran into financial difficulty, and I received one of the college's first named scholarships. I'll never forget what that did for me."

With his gift, Stemberg becomes a member of the Cornerstone Society, which includes all those whose lifetime giving to the College exceeds $1 million. "We are deeply grateful to Tom for his generosity," Fr. McFarland says. "This is a terrific gift that reveals much about his devotion to Holy Cross and to Buddy."

Laura Freeman '96 is a freelance writer from Wilbraham, Mass.