Welcome to Fundraising Friday, AB Today's weekly digest of recent developments in development.
A $4.5 million commitment from Duane and Marci Shaw and their nephew and niece, Brian and Natalie Broadbent, will support student-athlete scholarships, as well as the areas of greatest need within Utah State Athletics, with an emphasis on helping football and men's basketball remain competitive. According to Thursday's announcement, the Shaws are adding to an existing Athletics endowment, while the Broadbents are establishing a new endowment to support student-athletes, as Utah State begins a new chapter in the Pac-12 Conference.
The University of Hawaiʻi Foundation has announced a $1.5 million gift from the Kānaka Foundation to establish the Kuʻupau Endowment, creating a permanent funding stream for name, image and likeness initiatives at UH Mānoa. Per the athletic department's Oct. 11 announcement, the historic gift arrived during the UH Athletics annual Giving Week (Oct. 9–19). Named in honor of the Hawaiian concept kuʻupau — meaning to exert all effort, give everything or "go all in" — ensures student-athletes receive long-term NIL support and competitive resources.
The Rochester (N.Y.) Institute of Technology athletics department will establish the Joe and Marybeth Markiewicz Student-Athlete Well-Being Center, made possible through a $1.36 million commitment from Joe and Marybeth Markiewicz, both members of the RIT Class of 1985. Located in Clark Gymnasium, the new center will serve as the hub for RIT Athletics' student-athlete development and leadership programming, further strengthening the department's commitment to the holistic development and well-being of its student-athletes, per the athletic department's Thursday announcement. The commitment will support the renovation of the current Athletics Conference Room into the Student-Athlete Well-Being Center, provide funding for a graduate assistant position and support student-athlete development programming. The commitment includes $1 million to establish the Markiewicz Family Endowed Fund, providing sustained support for staffing and programmatic expenses associated with the center.
Total amount of these gifts:
$7,360,000
Running total for 2026:
$734,588,347
Total amount tracked by AB Today in 2025:
$1,671,578,500
