The undeniable Cal spirit that was embedded in Ned and Lynn Little will live on in three Cal Athletics programs.
 
The Littles committed over $5 million dollars as an estate gift to cover the current cost of attendance for scholarships for Cal men's and women's golf, as well as women's tennis. Each program will receive just under $1.7 million to fund The Edward H. and Lynn Little Scholarship.
 
"It doesn't surprise me at all that Ned and Lynn were so generous in their giving," women's golf coach Nancy McDaniel said. "It's very fitting for the two of them. They had such Cal spirit. To have their Cal spirit embedded in our program seems only natural. We are so grateful to their family for honoring this scholarship and Ned and Lynn's wishes to continue to support us."
 
Lynn Little graduated from Cal with a degree in humanities in 1958. She played tennis and participated in the UC Rally Committee. She also was a member of the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority. Lynn Little passed away last year after a long bout with cancer. Ned died in 2015.
 
The Littles began supporting Cal's women's golf program when it began in 1995 and were longtime supporters of all three programs that their estate is funding. Ned didn't attend Cal but joined his wife in giving his enthusiastic support to the Bears. The couple was also football season-ticket holders.
 
"We are immensely grateful for this phenomenal legacy gift made by Ned and Lynn Little," Director of Athletics Jim Knowlton said. "Their devotion to Cal Athletics dates back more than 60 years. Their support will continue to provide transformational experiences for our student-athletes through their generous endowments to three of our programs for many years to come."
 
The Littles' gift adds to an established scholarship, now providing full cost of attendance for one student-athlete from each of the three programs.
 
"They were very much part of putting Cal golf on the map," McDaniel said. "In terms of stability and longevity, this gift means so much."
 
Lynn Little was an accomplished tennis player, especially as a senior player where she enjoyed extensive success as both a singles and doubles player in U.S. Tennis Association tournaments. She won international doubles tournaments in Croatia and Istanbul as a member of the USTA American Team.
 
"Lynn really embodied what we are always looking for in our program," McDaniel said. "She was a sportswoman who took on what she did with a vengeance and loved it so much. Lynn was the kind of person we would recruit back in the day. On a personal level, it's special because she reflected the kind of athlete we are looking to emulate."
 
By funding two women's programs, the Littles estate gift continues a recent trend in transformational gifts for female sports teams at Cal in the 150th year of women at Berkeley. Earlier this year, Lynda Brothers made a $10.8 million estate gift to support six women's programs; Tom Shaffer and his mother, Abby, and Emily and Jeff Risberg made $1 million pledges to endow Cal's field hockey head coaching position; and former women's athletic director Lue Lilly made a $1.275,000 legacy commitment to support softball and academic and athletic excellence.