The fundraising for athletics at the University of Connecticut continues as the school announced on Wednesday that a former UConn Huskies student-athlete has pledged $3 million to go towards the construction of a new soccer stadium.
One interesting thing to note about this is the fact that when Jeff Hathaway was the AD, he didn’t get these type of donations. So a big tip of the ol’ ball cap goes to interim AD Paul Pendergast for his tremendous fundraising efforts.
Here’s the release from UConn:
STORRS, Conn. – The University of Connecticut Division of Athletics has received a commitment of $3 million toward the construction of a new soccer stadium on the Storrs campus. The pledge was made by a former UConn student-athlete, who wishes to remain anonymous. The first $1 million is an outright gift and the remaining $2 million will be given over the next five years.
The gift will be directed to the “Morrone Stadium Enhancement Fund.” The detailed scope of the project is still to be determined.
“We are grateful that a former UConn student-athlete has given back to the University and the sport of soccer,” said UConn Interim Director of Athletics Paul Pendergast. “Our men’s and women’s soccer teams are nationally-competitive programs. It is critical that they have facilities comparable to peer institutions, in order to maintain UConn’s standard of excellence.
“I also wish to acknowledge Coach Ray Reid’s ongoing participation in our fundraising efforts for this project, which helped us secure this historic commitment for our soccer programs.”
UConn now has more than $4.5 million in pledges earmarked for this soccer facility project.
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