Golf has always been a friend to Eric Gleacher, and to show his appreciation for what golf has done for him, Eric Gleacher has been a very good friend to the game. Gleacher, a member of the four-man team that won the 1959 NAIA National Golf Championship for Western, contributed $1 million to help expand the current 9-hole course at Western Illinois University to an 18-hole facility. The extraordinary gift has been given to bolster the WIU Leatherneck Golf Program and honor former coach, Harry Mussatto.
“Our family lacked the resources for me to attend college without financial assistance. The opportunity that Coach Mussatto provided for me to continue my education, in the classroom and on the golf course, had made a major difference in my life,” Gleacher stated. “I am pleased I can help honor a man who dedicated his life to young people in a way that I think would have been particularly meaningful to him.”
Over the years, Eric Gleacher has been involved in golf, both as a player and an administrator. He is an active participant in the senior amateur events in the U.S. and Great Britain and has won club championships at Winged Foot and Shinnecock Hills. He is currently a member of the United States Golf Association (USGA) Executive Committee. He is also chairman of the finance division and serves as rule official each year at the Masters.
Eric Gleacher attended Western in 1958-59 and was a member of the four -man team that won the 1959 NAIA National Golf Championship under the direction of Coach Harry Mussatto. Gleachers $1 million dollar gift enabled Western Illinois University to expand the golf facility to 18 holes. At Gleacher’s request the entire course was renamed Harry Mussatto Golf Course.
