Donor Support Empowers UAH Basketball Star Lili Wilken

The player who achieved more fame and spent more time in a glaring spotlight than any other in UAH women’s basketball history was able to do so because of the generosity of an anonymous donor.

Lili Wilken is the most decorated player ever for the Chargers, a first-team All-America selection who led her team to its first NCAA Division II Final Four. She was the recipient of an endowed scholarship from a donor requesting no publicity for herself.

“The donor is someone who comes from a family that cares deeply about education and then deeply about giving women's sports the same type of opportunities that the men's sports have had,” said Dr. Cade Smith, UAH Director of Athletics. “She’s been really invested in all our programs, not just basketball.”

“It really means a lot to me personally, to know that someone has the confidence in me, and they want me to be able to perform my best on the floor to help out the program and the community,” Wilken said.

Endowed scholarships are an avenue for donors to make a perpetual impact that directly affects the student-athletes and makes a difference in their lives, often alleviating strain on their families and enabling the players to focus on academics and athletics without having to seek other employment.

They also aid coaches in the complexity of roster building. Division II teams are allowed to offer the equivalency of ten athletic scholarships in women’s basketball, but may supplement that with endowed scholarships and academic aid. Said head coach Allen Sharpe, “You have to be creative.”

When this particular scholarship was endowed, “I thought, ‘What a program, that has the interest of supporters and boosters and alumni that want to give back and have that available to players,” Sharpe said. “What an opportunity…It’s money well-spent. It’s in a good place because these are good kids that are here first and foremost to get a degree, and then if we can win some games, let's win some games.”

Win a few, they did.

In Wilken’s two years, the Chargers won 59 of 72 games, including a school record 17-game winning streak this past season. They finished ranked No. 4 in the nation after their run to the NCAA South Region championship and berth in the Final Four.

Wilken’s accomplishments this past season were unprecedented:

• Academic All-America first-team (4.0 GPA, majoring in chemistry)
• NCAA Division II Coaches' All-America team
• South Region Player of the Year and All-South Region First Team
• Gulf South Conference Player of the Week five times
• GSC Player of the Year and First Team All-GSC
• GSC All-Tournament team
• South Regional tournament Most Outstanding Player and South Regional All-Tournament Team

Wilken scored a school record 836 points, averaging 22.0 per game (20.2 for her career), leading the U-turn for a program that had only six winning seasons in the previous 20.

“I'm very proud to be able to say, for the rest of my life, that I was on the two teams that turned this program around,” she said, “and I know that with Coach Sharpe, it's going to keep going this way. I’d always wanted to win a championship in college, and we did that. It’s a great feeling to be able to wear that on your chest and say I went to UAH and played basketball there.”

“She was an unbelievable teammate,” Sharpe said. “Sometimes it’s really tough on a player that talented and gets that much recognition to not have a big ego and not to become selfish. And she never did.”

Wilken transferred to UAH before the 2024 fall semester from Trevecca Nazarene, in her hometown of Nashville, where she exhausted two years of her eligibility.

“I needed a fresh start,” she said. “I didn't feel like I was getting any better, I kind of felt stagnant, and the culture wasn't really a fit for me. But when I came here, under Coach Sharpe’s leadership, it's been the best decision I've ever made. As I've said many, many times, I never had any issues with any teammates. The community is great here, there is unwavering support from administration, from the coaching staff and teammates. It’s just a blessing to be able to have played two years here. I wish I could have two more.”

So do we.