Welcome to Fundraising Friday, AB Today's weekly digest of recent developments in development.
At a Western Kentucky Univerity Board of Regents meeting Thursday, the naming of the new state-of-the-art Hilltopper Fieldhouse was approved as the Tim and Sarah Ford Fieldhouse in recognition of a $3 million gift from the Fords. Per the university's announcement, the 120,000-square-foot Tim and Sarah Ford Fieldhouse will be home to the WKU Forensics and E-Sports programs, as well as provide practice and training space for the Big Red Marching Band and Hilltopper Athletics.
The University of New Mexico announced Thursday that alumn Larry Chavez has made a transformational $1.5 million gift to benefit the newly launched Lobo Alliance. According to the university's announcement, the Lobo Alliance is UNM Athletics’ philanthropic initiative to recruit and retain the best student-athletes. Chavez’s gift will provide support for Lobo football and men’s basketball, as well as a discretionary fund directed by vice president and director of athletics Fernando Lovo.
University of Miami Athletics announced Wednesday that ambassadors Chuck and Sue Cobb have donated $1 million to create the Cobb Stadium Facilities Fund. Chuck Cobb, a past chairman of the University of Miami Board of Trustees, and his wife initially dedicated the stadium in 1999, and it has since served as the home of Hurricanes women’s soccer and men’s and women’s track and field. The new fund will be administered by the athletic department to improve the infrastructure of Cobb Stadium, according to the university's announcement.
An alumni couple’s pledge of $1 million has brought Southwestern University’s athletic program closer to its goal of holding football games on its campus in Georgetown, Texas, for the first time since 1950. As reported by Austin NBC affiliate KXAN, the pledge from Kevin and Elizabeth Dice is in addition to a $3 million gift made in 2024, but the Division III university is less than half way to the $9.2 million needed to construct the new facility. Southwestern officials announced their plan for a new multi-purpose sports complex to be constructed on the site of the football practice field, east of campus.
Total amount of these gifts:
$6,500,000
Running total for 2025:
$999,668,500
Total amount tracked by AB Today in 2024:
$943,830,339
