Welcome to Fundraising Friday, AB Today's weekly digest of recent developments in development.
The University of Notre Dame will use a recently announced $25 million gift from Pat and Jana Eilers of Winnetka, Ill., to create a new sports and performance institute, marking a first-of-its-kind partnership between the university’s academic units and athletic department, Inside INdiana Business reported Thursday. The Eilers Family Sports and Human Performance Institute will support research on physiology, neuroscience and athletic performance, building on existing joint efforts between Notre Dame Athletics, Notre Dame Research and faculty in the Colleges of Engineering, Science, and Arts & Letters. It's the Eilers' second gift to the university, totaling $50 million in gifts in this area. The family gave $25 million earlier this year to endow the Eilers Sports Performance Center in Jack and Kathy Shields Family Hall, which serves as home base for the school’s football operations.
The Enos family of Fort Worth, Texas, has pledged a transformative $1.125 million philanthropic commitment to the University of Oklahoma soccer program, OU cirector of athletics Roger Denny announced Nov. 6. The gift will fund upgrades to the program's locker room and other team areas, while also supporting the Soccer Championship Fund. The locker room renovation will include updated lockers, restrooms and modernized branding, and is expected to be completed by the start of the 2027 season.
Frank Shelden and Val Lawlor have pledged $5 million to the University of Missouri in support of Power the Roar, Mizzou's historic $2 billion fundraising campaign. Of the total amount, $1.5 million will provide unrestricted support for Mizzou Athletics, giving the department flexibility to benefit student-athletes and develop champions, according to the Nov. 6 announcement.
The New York Jets and the Betty Wold Johnson Foundation announced Nov. 5 a major expansion of the Jets ECAC Women's Flag Football League, the nation's largest collegiate women's flag football league, which will grow from 15 participating schools in 2026 to 29 schools in 2027. Made possible by an additional $500,000 commitment from the foundation, this latest investment builds on the foundation's $1 million founding grant in 2025, bringing its total support of the league to $1.5 million.
Total amount of these gifts:
$28,125,000
Running total for 2026:
$799,833,347
Total amount tracked by AB Today in 2025:
$1,671,578,500
