Welcome to Fundraising Friday, AB Today's weekly digest of recent developments in development.
Oregon State University on Wednesday announced plans for an expansion of Goss Stadium at Coleman Field, made possible by an anonymous $15 million gift to the OSU Foundation. The project includes a new right-field structure, adding permanent bleacher seating, a dedicated clubhouse, office space for the Corvallis Knights Baseball Club and additional amenities for fans. As envisioned, the new right-field structure will provide additional permanent bleacher seats, helping meet sustained demand for tickets for Oregon State baseball and the Corvallis Knights. Beneath the bleachers, the building will house a year-round clubhouse and meeting space for Corvallis Knights players, coaches and staff, along with restrooms and a concessions area. The project is expected to be completed in 2028.
A gift of $5 million by an anonymous donor is paving the way for a 1,500-seat renovation at Illinois Field, the University of Illinois athletics department announced Thursday. The renovation, scheduled to be completed in spring 2027, will result in new and additional seating down the first and third base lines, permanent seatbacks, and new and expanded dugouts including technology upgrades, storage space and bathrooms. Illinois has made major changes to the baseball facility since it opened in 1988. Updates have included a synthetic turf field (2008, 2020), lights (1999), a video board (2015) and a renovated player clubhouse (1996).
Mustang Partners announced Monday a $1 million gift from Joe and Sherry Beard in support of Southern Methodist University's Student-Athlete Benefit Fund. Joe Beard earned All-Southwest Conference honors and honorable mention All-America recognition while helping SMU capture Southwest Conference and National Championships in 1981 and 1982. The gift will directly support the Student-Athlete Benefit Fund, which provides critical resources to help SMU student-athletes thrive academically, athletically and personally.
Memories of attending Western Carolina University during the glory days of Catamount sports inspired Gerald Kiser, former chief executive officer of La-Z-Boy Inc., and spouse Kay, both 1969 WCU graduates, to make gifts and pledges totaling $100,000 toward athletics facilities improvements on the Cullowhee campus through the ongoing “Fill the Western Sky” fundraising campaign — the first in school history to seek philanthropic support for facilities used by Catamount student-athletes. In recognition of the Kisers’ latest gift, office space located within a $37 million expansion on the west side of E.J. Whitmire Stadium will be named the Jerry and Kay Kiser Coach’s Office, the university announced June 17.
Total amount of these gifts:
$21,100,000
Running total for 2026:
$520,927,000
Total amount tracked by AB Today in 2025:
$1,671,578,500
