It's summer at Drake Athletics, which for our department means summer camps, planning for the fall, and time to rejuvenate. It's also a time for us to reflect on our last academic year as we make goals for next season. By all measures, our past academic year was a tremendous success. As I stated in a May email, we experienced great successes on the field of competition and in the classroom. Three ingredients are essential to sustaining excellence: people, culture, and resources. We have incredible student-athletes, coaches, and staff that have helped create high standards within their programs. In this note, I will focus on resource generation's role in allowing our student-athletes to pursue their dreams and providing our coaches and staff with the tools they need to take their programs to the next level.
A Record Year for the Bulldog Club
Our Bulldog Club is the annual fund for the Athletics Department. The amount we raise for the Bulldog Club each year directly impacts our annual budget and, thus, our ability to provide the necessary resources to our 18 athletic teams. I'm pleased to report that last year was a record year in donations to our Bulldog Club, with over $1 million in gifts received. This is a record by approximately $200,000! The total is a tremendous accomplishment for our department, but more so is a testament to you – our loyal fans, alumni, and supporters. Many of you have increased your Bulldog Club giving over the past year and encouraged new friends and family to join the Bulldog Club. We're grateful to all of you for believing in Drake Athletics and stepping up to show your support for our student-athletes and coaches. Thank you!
Investments in Women's Athletics
Last year was also our inaugural year of Elevate the IX, which celebrates, promotes, and raises funds for our nine women's athletic programs. When we created Elevate the IX a year ago, we set a first-year goal of $50,000. Once again, thanks to many of you (and a wonderful matching donor couple), we far exceeded our goal by raising $130,000 for our nine women's teams. Gifts to Elevate the IX went directly to each women's sports program and are being used to meet individual program needs. For example, the women's volleyball team used their funds to host the NIVC championship match, which created a homecourt advantage for our Bulldogs. All additional funding for these programs provides the opportunity to do more for the student-athletes, including:
- Enhanced nutrition, strength and conditioning, and recovery programs
- Provide efficient and comfortable travel to competitions
- Ability to schedule marquee non-conference opponents and postseason play
- Performance equipment and apparel that reflects the excellence in our programs
To continue the success and promotion of Drake's women's athletics, we plan to continue Elevate the IX in our next academic year (we've already received our first gift for Elevate the IX for this upcoming year).
Progress on Facility Improvements
As many of you know, we have two ongoing capital campaigns currently happening across our footprint: the Knapp Center renovation and Mediacom Stadium.
Our donor challenge from Cathy and Steve Lacy advanced phase two of our Knapp Center campaign. I'm pleased to report that with your generosity, we met and exceeded the goals for phase two of the Knapp Center campaign and the Lacy Challenge. This has enabled us to install a center-hung video ring board and replace the sound system in the Knapp Center. We're sure our fans and student-athletes will love the upgrades for next season's volleyball and basketball home contests.
We are spending this summer and fall planning for the final round of the Knapp Center renovation. Currently, phase three plans consist of new and upgraded seating in the upper sections, a new restaurant and lounge in the northeast corner, an update to the Courtside Club, and major renovation to the Paul Morrison Hall of Honor in the Knapp Center atrium.
This final fundraising phase for the Knapp Center is approximately $6 million. I'm thrilled to share that we recently received a $1.5 million pledge to jump-start our fundraising for this final phase, and I look forward to publicly announcing this gift soon.
Last, Mediacom Stadium is slated to open to student-athletes, coaches, parents, and fans starting this fall. As a reminder, Mediacom Stadium will be the new home to many Des Moines Public Schools athletic teams and also a new home for our Drake men's and women's soccer programs. Drake's financial commitment to this campaign is $8 million, and as of today, we are pleased to announce that we have raised over $6.3 million from many community organizations and philanthropists. Our hope is to complete the final fundraising for Mediacom Stadium as soon as possible as we plan for a grand opening celebration this fall.
Thank you again for your belief in, and support of, Drake Athletics. It is truly a remarkable time to be a Bulldog, and I know that this is just the beginning of where our program can be on the national landscape of collegiate athletics. We hope you will continue to invest in our program and our student-athletes. Because of our generous donors' support, we can continue to advance and distinguish the student-athlete experience at Drake University.
As we prepare for our fall season sports and look to complete our ongoing capital fundraising campaigns, I look forward to visiting with many of you at a Drake Athletics event or in the community.
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Brian Hardin
Director of Athletics
Drake University
