Samuel Horne Bennion
Lifetime Achievement Award
Sam Bennion has been a strong supporter of ISU athletics for over 50 years. He has personally financed the year-end Bennion Awards Banquet for the past 51 years. Bennion donated $100,000 to assist in the remodeling of ISU’s tennis courts. He also has helped support Holt Arena, scholarships, and the Simplot Games, which were once called the Bennion Games. His overall philanthropy to Idaho State University totals over $3.5 million. His most visible gift was his 1996 donation that allowed the school to purchase 10.4 acres of land, where the Samuel H. Bennion Student Union Building was erected adjacent to the Idaho State University/University of Idaho Center for Higher Education. In 1998, he was conferred the honorary doctor of laws degree by ISU during commencement ceremonies. Bennion built a small gas station business into a multi-state, multimillion dollar oil and gas operation, the Idaho Falls-based V-1 Oil Company. In addition to his many efforts on behalf of athletics and academics at Idaho State University, Sam’s own athletic talents measure up to Hall of Fam Status. A sprinter during his tenure as a student at the University of Utah in the 1930’s, he earned distinction as a “high-ranking dash star.”