Welcome to Fundraising Friday, AB Today's weekly digest of recent developments in development.
The University of Texas at El Paso recently announced that the Woody and Gayle Hunt Family Foundation has pledged $2.5 million to support UTEP Athletics as the university prepares to transition to the Mountain West Conference in July 2026. This transformative gift will play a pivotal role in ensuring UTEP’s competitiveness on and off the field as it enters a new era of regional rivalries and athletic excellence, according to the school. The donation serves as a cornerstone of UTEP Athletics’ comprehensive efforts to strengthen all men’s and women’s sports programs, upgrade facilities, and ensure operational readiness ahead of the conference transition.
The University of Wyoming athletic department and Cowboy Joe Club have announced that they will receive $2.25 million total in investments from the Schwab family of Star Valley and Gene Humphrey of Laramie for future athletic initiatives and scholarships. As reported by County 17, the Schwab family’s donation of $1.75 million will be partly distributed through the newly established S.C.H.W.A.B. Family Endowed Athletics Scholarship, with $1 million used to fund the schooling of one Wyoming athlete annually based on their embodiment of “the characteristics of sacrifice, commitment, honor, work, attitude, and belief,” according to UW Athletics. The remaining $750,000 will go to the Cowboy Joe Club for the organization’s athletic initiatives. The other donation of $500,000 comes from Humphrey and the 9H Research Foundation, with all but $50,000 going to cap off UW Athletics’ Difference Makers Campaign as it officially reaches $20 million in private donations.
An anonymous donor has boosted the work of Tuskegee University athletic director Reginald Ruffin’s fundraising efforts for student-athletes by donating $1.5 million toward the program, the university announced Thursday. This donation will help the athletic department continue to enhance the student-athlete, band, and student government experience at the HBCU school. The university has made significant upgrades in recent years and exposed student-athletes to new competitive opportunities. In addition to lights, the school has purchased new buses branded with Tuskegee logos to transport student-athletes to all athletic contests.
Florida State University head football coach Mike Norvell has committed a one-time $4.5 million contribution that will launch the athletic department’s Vision of Excellence campaign, as part of his restructured contract. As reported by the Tallahassee Democrat, the campaign, in partnership with Seminole Boosters Inc., looks “to immediately raise” FSU athletics to new heights and provide "the best resources" to benefit student-athletes across all sports.
Total amount of these gifts:
$10,750,000
