Ben B. Cheney Student Athlete Scholarship Program

High School Scholarship History

Ben Cheney had a significant interest in supporting youth and youth athletics through his philanthropy. The Ben B. Cheney Foundation continues his legacy by awarding one scholar athlete from each of the 32 high schools in Pierce County, and one from Ben’s hometown, South Bend, each year.

Since 1976, the Ben B. Cheney Foundation has awarded more than $1.5 million in college scholarships through this program.

This $3,000 scholarship recognizes student athletes with plans to further their education in a not-for-profit vocational and technical school, or a 2- or 4-year college in the United States following graduation. Scholarship funds will be paid directly to the school or college on the student’s behalf the first week of August.

Help us celebrate our 2025 High School Scholarship program recipients.

Eligibility

To be eligible for this scholarship, students must:

• Be a high school senior.
• Graduate from an eligible, WIAA recognized high school in Pierce County. (see list below)
• Have plans to attend a not-for-profit vocational and technical school, or a 2- or 4-year college in the United States in the fall following graduation.
• Have a cumulative GPA that meets minimum college requirements.
• Have participated on at least one varsity interscholastic sponsored WIAA sports team in Pierce County (or South Bend H.S.) during their high school career. (See list below for WIAA sports. Visit the WIAA website for more information on the difference between sports and activities. The WIAA currently classifies cheer as an activity.)
• Exhibit high qualities of attainment in academics, leadership, character, citizenship, and motivation.
• Be an American citizen.
• Submit a compelling and complete application by the deadline.

Application & Selection:

• Students will complete and submit their applications online via our portal between February 1 and March 15, 2025.
• School scholarship committees review all of the eligible applications from students in their school during the months of April and early May.
• Selection committees from each school will choose one recipient based on application scoring criteria. Applications are scored on athletic participation, academics, leadership, character, citizenship, and motivation.
• Scholarship recipients will be notified via email by the end of May. It is important to double-check that your email address, mailing address, and cell phone number are correct in your application and functional after graduation so we can reach you.

2025 Timeline:

• Application Period: Feb. 1 through March 15
• School review & selection period: April through early May
• Recipient notification: End of May
• Award checks mailed directly to the recipient’s school: No later than the first week of August

How To Apply

Students will apply through our online portal. The portal is open for applications from February 1 to March 15.

• Once the application period opens, use this link to access the portal log in page.
• If you have not created an account, click the “CREATE NEW ACCOUNT” button below the log-in fields to do so.
• If you have created an account and you are coming back to work on your application, simply enter your log-in credentials.
• Once you have created your account or logged back in, you will see a welcome page about the scholarship. When you are ready to work on your application, click the blue “APPLY” button in the upper right corner of this welcome page.
• You do not need to complete your application in one sitting. You may save your work as you go by clicking the gray “SAVE APPLICATION” button at the bottom of the application page.
• Our application asks for information about the varsity sports you have played, your community and extracurricular activities, the colleges you have applied to, and your references. At the end, we ask for an essay, no more than 500 words, telling us how your participation in athletics has influenced your life.
• Once your application is complete, click the blue “SUBMIT APPLICATION” button at the bottom of the application page. You will receive a confirmation email that we received your submission. If you do not receive that email, please submit the application again so you do. Keep that confirmation for your records.
• School scholarship committees will review all applications received from students at their school in April and May. Scholarship recipients will be notified by email (at the address you provided when you applied) at the end of May

Questions?

Please see your school counselor for more information.

Disclaimer –  Impact of Displacement on Scholarship Availability:

We acknowledge that scholarship displacement may cause significant challenges for some students. While we strive to support all applicants, scholarship displacement may impact our ability to provide scholarship funds at any point in the process.

Definition: Financial Aid Displacement or Award Displacement, in this context, is when some colleges reduce their financial aid packages when the student earns private scholarship dollars—a practice called financial aid displacement or award displacement.

In the event that displacement issues prevent us from offering a scholarship or affect the availability of funds, we regret that we may not be able to proceed with awarding the scholarship to affected applicants. We encourage all students facing displacement-related challenges to communicate with their school in hopes of identifying alternative solutions. Please also note that Cheney scholarship funds can not be distributed to individuals, but to not-for-profit schools only.

By submitting your application, you acknowledge that the availability of the scholarship may be influenced by external circumstances beyond our control, including displacement-related issues, and that we may not be able to provide funding in such cases.

Students are encouraged to seek counsel and request recommendations for their individual financial situation from school they wish to attend.

For more information regarding displacement, find one resource here.

Note: Scholarship America is that is not affiliated with our Foundation in any way.

WIAA Sports:

Qualifying Schools: