Weber State University athletics announced a major donation from a former player and longtime supporter to create a fund that endows the head football coach position at WSU.

Roger Trinchero, a 1968 All-America honorable mention player at Weber State, made a “lead contribution” of an unknown sum to create the endowment, the school announced Wednesday via news release, with the intent to add more donations to the fund “to ensure the ability of WSU to recruit and retain quality football coaches.”

An endowment is a fund created to generate long-term support for a particular purpose — in this case, funding the head football coach’s salary. This theoretically will boost how much WSU can pay its head football coach.

Trinchero and his brother are owners of Trinchero Family Estates which operates Sutter Home, their family’s wine empire in Napa Valley, California. Trinchero Family Estates is said to be the second-largest family-owned winery in the world, and the fourth-largest of any kind in the United States.

“Weber State University had been fortunate to have such high-quality football coaches like Sark Arslanian when I played and Jay Hill now,” Trinchero said in the news release. “The intent of my commitment is to encourage others to contribute to ensure this quality coaching legacy continues.”

Trinchero transferred to Weber State from UCLA and the 1968 team started the season 6-0, just as the 2022 team has done under Hill. He later served a tour in the Vietnam War before returning home to work for Sutter Home.

“On behalf of our football program, I want to thank Roger Trichero for his generous support and passion for our success,” Hill said. “His strong ties to the program began as a player and continue as one of our great supporters.”

Trinchero has previously donated to the Sark’s Gateway as part of the Youngberg Football Center project at Stewart Stadium, and a “major gift” for the building of the Marquardt Fieldhouse just west of the Dee Events Center that includes an indoor practice space and weight rooms for several sports.

“We are so grateful to Roger Trinchero for being a long-time supporter of Wildcat football and Weber State,” WSU President Brad Mortensen said in the release. “His willingness to give back and support the university that positively impacted him is exemplary, inspiring, and demonstrates his genuine commitment to making a difference.”

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