Nordstrom Family Endows Head Coach Position at University of Washington

The head coach of men’s rowing will become the first endowed head-coaching position in the history of University of Washington athletics, after a series of gifts from the Nordstrom family honoring the late Blake Nordstrom.

Nordstrom rowed at Washington, graduated in 1982, and was a long-time member of the Washington Rowing Stewards. He was co-president of the eponymous retail empire founded by his great-grandfather and a major supporter of UW rowing through fundraising, relationship-building, and strategic direction efforts. He died in 2019 at the age of 58.

“Our children, Alex and Andy, and I are thrilled to support this new endowed position for a program that meant so much to Blake,” said Molly Nordstrom, Blake Nordstrom’s widow. “He valued crew so highly—the sport itself—and the everlasting bonds he made with his teammates. He wanted everyone to have that; he really considered it one of the great blessings in his life.”

The gifts to establish an endowment come at a time when Olympic-sport programs at universities face uncertainty and potential budget cuts as TV contracts, conference realignments, NIL agreements, and player demands disrupt the funding model of college sports.

Current men’s head coach Michael Callahan will become the first Blake Nordstrom Endowed Head Coach.

“Blake had these sayings he would repeat from time to time, like ‘Leave it better than you found it’ and ‘Extend yourself,’” Callahan said. “He would quietly share those with the young people down here.

“His name will be a constant reminder to all of us of those values, the lifelong friendships he made here, and the indelible influence he had on all of us. I am so grateful to the Nordstrom family and honored.

“Our goal as coaches is to make sure the lessons of rowing translate across everyone here, that every crew reaches their potential, that every crew finds that ‘swing.’

“Success here is defined not by your wins and losses. It is defined by learning to become a team and then succeeding as a team, and Blake understood every part of that.”

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