Welcome to Fundraising Friday, AB Today's weekly digest of recent developments in development.
Longtime supporters of Mississippi State University athletics, Charlie and Dana Stephenson have given $2 million as their most recent key contribution to help elevate MSU in the current landscape of college athletics. According to the athletic department's Monday announcement, Charlie Stephenson is a 1981 MSU graduate with a bachelor's degree in petroleum engineering. He is a former president of the Bulldog Club and has also served on the MSU Foundation Board of Directors and currently serves on the Bagley College of Engineering Dean's Advisory Council. He also currently sits on the Mississippi Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning, representing the Third Supreme Court District.
The University of Connecticut Department of Athletics announced Thursday a $1.5 million commitment from 1987 graduate Tony Rizza, a longtime supporter of UConn Athletics and former men's soccer standout. Inspired in part by the Skinner family's $15 million donation toward the endowment of UConn's basketball coaching positions earlier this month, Rizza's investment is structured to deliver immediate impact, giving department leadership the strategic flexibility to address top priorities as they emerge, the announcement.
Total amount of these gifts:
$3,500,000
Running total for 2026:
$317,742,000
Total amount tracked by AB Today in 2025:
$1,671,578,500
