Welcome to Fundraising Friday, AB Today's weekly digest of recent developments in development.
The University of Connecticut and the UConn Foundation announced Thursday a landmark philanthropic commitment of $15 million from Robert and Stefanie Skinner in support of UConn Athletics. The gift is among the most significant private investments in the history of UConn's athletic program The commitment is structured across several areas of investment, each designed to elevate the University's athletic program at the highest level. Per the announcement, $10 million of the planned gift will establish a permanent endowed fund in support of the head coaches of both the men's and women's basketball programs. The fund is proposed to be named in honor of the coaches who have defined UConn Basketball's legacy and present — the Geno Auriemma Endowed Fund for the women's program, and the Jim Calhoun and Dan Hurley Endowed Fund for the men's program.
On Wednesday, UCLA announced that alum and longtime supporter Angelo Mazzone III committed $10 million to the Bruins' football program to endow the head coach position. The gift will create the Angelo M. Mazzone III UCLA Head Football Coach Endowment, enabling UCLA to provide sustained resources to support the head coach and maintain the broader infrastructure needed to compete at the highest level and strengthen key areas that directly impact student-athlete success, including academics, health and performance.
The University of Louisiana department of athletics has received a $2.5 million gift from Gus and Andrea Rantz, which will provide support for the baseball clubhouse project at M.L. "Tigue" Moore Field at Russo Park, it was announced Tuesday. With this commitment, the Ragin' Cajuns Athletics Foundation has now received more than $5 million in gifts and pledges toward the project's $6.5 million goal Further, the RCAF has now received more than $12 million to date in gifts and pledges for the 2025-26 year — the first time RCAF has raised more than $10M in consecutive years in its history.
Alan and Kim Cason, 1980 graduates of the University of Maryland, have made a $1 million commitment to Maryland Athletics through an estate gift. According to Wednesday's announcement, the Casons established the Christopher A. Cason Memorial Endowed Scholarship in January 2023 in memory of their son who unexpectedly died of undiagnosed acute lukemia at the age of 29 in September 2021. The fund provides merit-based scholarships for undergraduate football student-athletes in the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences. At the time of his death, Chris was a cybersecurity specialist for the Internal Revenue Service.
California State University, Northridge announced Wednesday a $1 million gift from the Jim Edmondson estate to the Paul Edmondson Memorial Scholarship Endowment named in honor of alumnus Paul Edmondson. The endowment will directly support academic scholarships for CSUN baseball student-athletes.
The Rice University women's track and field program received a $500,000 gift from alum Dr. Riva Rahl. According to the university's Saturday announcement, Rahl's contribution — the largest single donation in program history — will be split into two areas, with $350,000 towards an endowed scholarship for the program in head coach Jim Bevan's name, and $150,000 for renovations and equipment for the newly named Jim Bevan Sports Performance Room.
Total amount of these gifts:
$30,000,000
Running total for 2026:
$312,425,000
Total amount tracked by AB Today in 2025:
$1,671,578,500
