S.D. Couple Give $10 Million to College

Walter and Betty Zable, San Diego residents since 1949, have pledged $10 million to the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va., the college announced Friday.

The Rancho Santa Fe residents are graduates of the William and Mary classes of 1937 and 1940 respectively.

The gift from the Cubic Corp. founder and his wife will be used to endow $5 million in scholarships for student athletes, college President Paul R. Verkuil said. Another $2.5 million will be used to endow graduate student aid. The remaining $2.5 million will go toward university programs.

“This is truly one of the most significant gifts in William and Mary’s history, and it couldn’t have come at a more appropriate time,” Verkuil said. “By achieving a balance between academics and athletics, this gift reflects a hallmark of the William and Mary experience.”

In honor of the Zables, the college’s football stadium at Cary Field will be named the Walter J. Zable Stadium in a formal dedication ceremony today, just before the kickoff of William and Mary’s homecoming game with Furman University.

While earning his bachelor of science degree in physics, Zable excelled in sports, college spokesman Bill Walker said. He went on to play professional football for the Richmond Arrows and the New York Giants.

Zable, 75, is chairman and president of Cubic Corp., a high-technology conglomerate based in San Diego. Zable founded the diversified electronics company in 1951 with a $5,000 initial investment, company spokesman Jerry Ringer said. The organization now has about 3,800 employees and annual sales of $350 million.

Zable and his wife, Betty, are recognized in San Diego for their civic work, Ringer said. In 1979, Zable was the first recipient of the Distinguished American Award from the National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame’s San Diego Chapter. The foundation recognizes high school, community college and university scholar athletes, he said.

“He is also one of the movers to bring the U.S. Olympic Training Center to San Diego,” Ringer said.

Zable holds directorships on the First National Bank, San Diego County Junior Golf Assn., YMCA Corporate Planning Board and the advisory board of the San Diego Hall of Champions. He also is a member of the board of trustees of the University of San Diego and a past president of the Chancellor’s Associates at UC San Diego.