Welcome to Fundraising Friday, AB Today's weekly digest of recent developments in development.
University of South Dakota athletic director Jon Schemmel announced Tuesday a $20 million dollar gift commitment from Denny Sanford to help build a new, state-of-the-art indoor track and field facility on the Vermillion campus. The facility in honor of the Bill and Jill Gassen family and, pending Board approval, will be known as the Gassen Family Fieldhouse. Per Schemmel's announcement at goyotes.com, the gift not only paves the way for construction of a word class indoor track facility, it will allow the DakotaDome, home of Coyote football, to become a turf-down facility.
The U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association and Foundation and the Naval Academy Athletic Association announce Thursday a landmark $10 million commitment from 1967 Academy graduate Bruce Lakefield and his wife, Bernadine, in support of the continued development of Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. According to the announcement at navysports.com, the Lakefields' gift will fund the design, construction and long-term operation of a new pavilion in the stadium's north end zone. The new facility will be named The Bruce and Bernadine Lakefield Pavilion.
Kennesaw State University athletics announced Tuesday that the field at Fifth Third Stadium — home of the Owls' football, soccer and lacrosse programs — will be named Walens Family Field in recognition of a transformative $4 million philanthropic gift from Dave and Donna Walens. According to the announcement at ksuowls.com, the first official event to take place at Walens Family Field at Fifth Third Stadium was Thursday's women's soccer home opener, a 7-0 loss to Memphis. Special recognition for the Dave and Donna Walens family will occur at halftime of the Owls' Sept. 13 game against Merrimack.
Total amount of these gifts:
$34,000,000
Running total for 2025:
$863,908,500
Total amount tracked by AB Today in 2024:
$943,830,339
