Welcome to Fundraising Friday, AB Today's weekly digest of recent developments in development.
University of Richmond Class of 1996 members Paul and Anne-Marie Queally have donated $10 million to support Spider Athletics. This lead gift will help build a new facility dedicated to men’s and women’s lacrosse, the school announced Thursday. Envisioned to open in the summer of 2029 at the north end of Robins Stadium, the premier facility will include locker rooms, strength and conditioning space, meeting rooms, and offices to best support the teams.
Texas Christian University launched the Roach Institute of Athlete Engineering on Tuesday with an event at the Legends Club at Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth. The interdisciplinary institute will study how athletes, military personnel and workers in physically demanding jobs train, perform and recover in high-pressure environments, TCU said, as reported by Thursday by Dallas Innovates. The institute is being funded by a $10 million gift from The Roach Foundation of Fort Worth. The launch was announced by TCU chancellor Daniel W. Pullin at TCU’s inaugural Global Human Performance Forum, which brought together researchers, industry leaders, and practitioners to discuss the future of human performance research.
Virginia Athletics and the Virginia Athletics Foundation announced a $5 million commitment from Scott Wagner and Kristin Norman that will provide critical immediate resources for Virginia football, Virginia men's basketball and scholarship support across Virginia's women's sports programs. According to Wednesday's announcement, the gift is the largest in the history of the Men's Basketball Enhancement Fund and among the largest gifts ever made to the Football Enhancement Fund.
Boise State Athletics has received a second $1 million gift from the Nicolaysen family and ES-O-EN Management LLC, the athletic department announced Thursday. The investment supports scholarships for men's and women's basketball, the Bronco men's basketball enhancement fund, and the North End Zone Project. The gift matches the Nicolaysen family's previous $1 million contribution in 2022.
Racer Field, home of Murray State University softball, continues to undergo its incredible transformation after the MSU athletics department officially broke ground on the Sandra Hartmann Press Box on June 12. The project was made possible by a $500,000 cash gift from Hartmann, a 1975 graduate of Murray State, according to the department's announcement. The stadium is currently undergoing a significant renovation, with the outfield being outfitted with synthetic turf. The press box will feature a main media area and additional auxiliary space, all of which will be ground level to make Racer Field tournament-host ready. Grandstands will be fixed to the top of the facility, providing a new vantage point for fans to enjoy the game.
Total amount of these gifts:
$26,500,000
Running total for 2026:
$499,827,000
Total amount tracked by AB Today in 2025:
$1,671,578,500
