With COVID-19 putting live sporting events on hold, the Cascade Collegiate Conference wanted to take the time to highlight families within our #ThisIsTheCCC community. Many of our member institutions have administration, coaches and student-athletes family members competing together, making the CCC truly a family affair.
CORVALLIS, Ore. – When Curt Bickley met his future son-in-law, he had no idea they would some day be coworkers. JD Leonard was a student-athlete on the men’s golf team at Multnomah University dating Curt’s daughter Whitney when he met Curt, who is the head men’s basketball coach for the Lions.
JD and Whitney married in 2015 in the loft of Curt’s grandmother’s barn in Wisconsin – Curt’s grandma, who is 98, still lives on the farm. When JD graduated from MU, he became the head golf coach and Curt’s coworker in the process.
While some people might not want to work with their in-laws, Curt and JD share a special bond both in and out of the workplace.
“It’s great to have a guy like Curt as a father-in-law,” said JD. “He’s been around coaching a long time, and I really respect him as a coach. It’s nice to have a family member as a mentor and someone to bounce ideas off of.”
Curt is proud of the work his son-in-law has done with the Lions too.
“He has done a tremendous job of building the program,” said Curt. “We did not have numbers or skilled golfers and he has gone out there and recruited really well to add so much depth and skill to the program.”
It’s no surprise JD likes to golf, but it also something Curt enjoys, which has helped the two bond out of the office.
“We play a lot of golf together and he can really hit it,” said Curt. “We are undefeated in all the scrambles and two-man competitions we have been in. He is a ringer for sure.”
“I love playing golf with my father-in-law,” added JD. “We are both really competitive and his game isn’t too bad either.”
Like with some fathers, Curt had some prerequisites for dating his daughter, including being a Packers fan. The two agree on their favorite professional team, but don’t quite see eye-to-eye on college ball. They also disagree on how much skill it takes to play certain sports.
“We are all Milwaukee Brewers/Green Bay Packers/Milwaukee Bucks fans, but we draw the line with my family being Wisconsin Badger fans and JD being Utah Utes fans,” said Curt. “I have seen my grandson with a Utes outfit that I didn't approve of.”
While the two might not agree on their favorite college football teams, they definitely are in each other’s corners, especially at MU.
“Pulling for each other to win and discussing recruiting strategies that work at MU,” said Curt on what he enjoys most about working with his son-in-law. “We had a huge basketball win at home in a thriller two years ago and my favorite part was that all my family was there that night. If you don't have someone to share your journey with as a coach, this profession can be very difficult.”