Welcome to Fundraising Friday, AB Today's weekly digest of recent developments in development.
Butler Athletics received the largest documented estate commitment in school history Wednesday — National Girls & Women in Sports Day. As reported by the Indianapolis Star, Butler trustee Rebecca Graham Paul, who graduated in 1970 with a bachelor's degree and earned her masters in 1975, will gift $12 million, with the majority of the gift designated to support 12 women's athletic programs, including the Bulldogs' cheerleading and dance teams. Paul’s gift will be used to establish the Rebecca Graham Paul Athletics Leadership Academy Endowed Fund, which will provide leadership programming for Butler athletes. Paul is also launching the Fund for Women’s Athletics Excellence and Athletics Leadership Academy activities through a current-use gift that will allow today’s athletes to benefit from the support.
The Northern Arizona University athletic department announced the largest single gift commitment in its history Tuesday — a $3 million donation from Mike Sims and Dr. Patricia Treharne toward the Sims-Treharne-Collaborative Research Lab inside the Student-Athlete High Performance Center. Opened in April 2022, the center has been home to the research and study of Northern Arizona student-athletes to be pioneers in injury reduction, training and recovery at altitude, and the effects of sleep and stress. The space allows for data collection and observation that furthers research and analysis objects to produce published findings in partnership with the College of Health and Human Services.
Mississippi State University Athletics has received a $1.5 million gift from a family of long-time MSU Athletics supporters who reside in Starkville, director of athletics Zac Selmon announced Tuesday. The investment will support MSU's State Excellence Fund, advancing efforts to elevate the department and its programs while enhancing student-athlete resources and providing key athletic benefits in the increasingly competitive landscape of college athletics.
With a $1 million gift, Jamie and Netta Hayes family has been a fixture around Southern Illinois University since Jamie's father, Jim, first came to Carbondale in 1961 on a football scholarship, and in honor of the family's historic $1 million gift, SIU director of athletics Tim Leonard has announced the naming of the Jim Hayes Stadium Club inside Saluki Stadium. As reported by the SIU Foundation last Friday, some of the funds from the gift will be used to revitalize the space. One of the premier locations on campus, the Jim Hayes Stadium Club will continue to be utilized by members of the entire campus community for important events and major announcements.
University of British Columbia Athletics and Recreation announced Wednesday the creation of the Marilyn Pomfret Memorial Award for Women in Athletics, made possible by a $1 million donation by UBC graduate and philanthropist Lynda Hamilton, a dedicated supporter of UBC and specifically its women's hockey program. As the largest donation ever dedicated to supporting women athletes in UBC's history, this endowment will empower the next generation of Thunderbird women athletes and coaches. Hamilton, together with UBC Athletics and Recreation, chose to name this endowment after Marilyn Pomfret, a former teacher, coach and athletic director at UBC.
Total amount of these gifts:
$18,500,000
Running total for 2025:
70,753,500
Total amount tracked by AB Today in 2024:
$943,830,339
