The ACU Athletics Department announced Thursday that it has collaborated with ACU alum MK Rotenberry ('17) to create the Dottie Pepper Dream Big Award, an endowed fund that will significantly impact the future of ACU men's and women's golfers. The award will help them compete in tournaments and fuel their professional dreams.
The fund will award stipends to deserving players to help pay for travel and other costs associated with competing in notable golf tournaments. ACU Director of Golf and head men's coach Tom Shaw and women's head coach Rob Bennett will approve tournament funding.
Pepper joined the LPGA Tour in 1988 and recorded 17 official victories, including two major championships: the Nabisco Dinah Shore in 1992 and 1993. Due to injury issues, Pepper retired at the end of the 2004 season. She began her broadcasting career in 2005 with NBC and then worked for ESPN in 2013 and 2014 before moving to CBS in 2015.
"I'm honored and humbled to be associated with this award, knowing the infinite value of having support and mentorship early both in my playing days and now as an announcer," Pepper said. "ACU has a staunch supporter in MK Rotenberry, a proud alum with a work ethic and vision for the future that is a positive model for all students, qualities evident from the first day we worked together."
Rotenberry graduated with a Journalism and Mass Communication degree and was hired as a sideline producer for Big Ten Conference football games last August. She worked with sideline reporter Jenny Dell on the network's No. 1 announcing broadcasting team, including Brad Nessler and Gary Danielson. Rotenberry started with CBS Sports in May 2015 as a researcher for Pepper on CBS Golf coverage. She also worked as a researcher and course producer alongside Pepper, a course reporter on CBS broadcasts of PGA tournaments.
"Dottie Pepper has significantly impacted men's and women's professional golf, and this accomplishment deserves recognition," Rotenberry said. "I'm excited to incorporate that global influence into Abilene Christian's golf programs. Dottie understands the importance of financial support at the outset of a promising golf career. This award aims to inspire the next generation and their ambitions while serving as a catalyst for the sport's future growth in West Texas."
Shaw said the fund will be vital in allowing ACU golfers to pursue golf as a professional after their eligibility runs out.
"The Dottie Pepper Dream Big Award is a huge blessing to our team," he said. "It encourages our golfers to pursue tournament opportunities of the highest order, whether of amateur or professional nature. MK Rotenberry has been one of ACU's most successful and generous young alums. Her longtime association with one of the greats of golf has allowed this award to materialize. We are so grateful to MK and Dottie for giving select golf team members further opportunities to pursue excellence."
ACU women's coach Rob Bennett is leading his program into its second spring season in 2025 and said the fund will be a significant factor in the development of ACU women's golf.
"We are so grateful and excited for this opportunity for our program," Bennett said. "To have the ability to ensure there are no barriers for our players to compete in high-level, world-class events means so much to us and continues to show our commitment to building one of the best golf programs in NCAA Division I women's golf. We are happy to have Dottie Pepper's name associated with ACU women's golf. We are incredibly thankful that MK Rotenberry had the forethought and desire to invest in the growth of our program now and for many years to come."
