Friends of Fairfield Athletics Display Stag Pride Through Their Generosity

Friends of Fairfield Athletics Display Stag Pride Through Their Generosity

Fairfield Athletics Fields

Fairfield Athletics received strong fundraising support from alumni, parents, and friends during Fiscal Year 2019, resulting in an increase in both dollars raised and number of donors.

Fairfield student-athletes, coaches, and staff are all still reeling from the tremendous support provided by alumni, parents, and friends during Fiscal Year 2019 (July 1, 2018 – June 30, 2019). Last year, the Friends of Fairfield Athletics family came together to raise more than $1.3 million in operational support for all 20 varsity teams — a staggering 25% increase from the previous year. The community also gave approximately $6,500,000 in capital, planned, and endowed gifts to help repair, renovate, and construct facilities to improve players’ experiences, and to provide merit- and need-based scholarships for student-athletes.

While the amount of generosity provided by each donor is an amazing feat, the level of participation received by alumni, parents, and friends truly displays how much the community supports the elevation of Stags Athletics. Fairfield received gifts from more than 2,200 donors, a 21% increase from Fiscal Year 2018, and upwards of 950 of those gifts came from dedicated alumni. The strength of our community was further exemplified when 400 students, alumni, parents, and friends united on STAGiving Day, April 25, to raise more than $240,000 for Fairfield Athletics in just 24 hours.

Contributions from Friends of Fairfield Athletics give our student-athletes access to resources that enable them to thrive in and out of competition. Support from this community contributed to the following achievements:

  • Women’s swimming & diving, and women’s lacrosse both earned their second consecutive MAAC Championship titles. Women’s tennis bested Quinnipiac to be named 2019 MAAC Champions, and Men’s Soccer earned its second consecutive MAAC Regular Season Championship.
  • 211 Stags earned Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Academic Honor Roll recognition, representing 57% of all eligible student-athletes.
  • The following student-athletes were recruited by professional sports teams:
    • Austin Pope ’20 was selected in the 15th round of MLB draft by the Arizona Diamondbacks.
    • Jack Gethings ’19 signed to play baseball for the Kansas City Royals.
    • Samantha Cooper ’19 signed a professional women's basketball contract with Grengewald Hostert in the Luxemburg Total League.
    • Khadidiatou Diouf ’19 signed a contract to play in Spain's first-tier level women's professional basketball league.

Gifts from the Stags family further enhance Fairfield’s mission to develop men and women for others by inspiring student-athletes, coaches, and staff to give back as well. 85% of student-athletes, coaches, and administrators made a gift last year. In addition, student-athletes completed more than 7,000 hours of community service — an all-time high. The commitment of Fairfield’s student-athletes to help others is not only limited to times when they are in uniform, as proven by men’s lacrosse player Jake Tymon '20 who saved a man from a burning car this summer.

“This is a transformational time for Fairfield Athletics, as evidenced by the continued increase in support from our community,” said Executive Director of Athletics Development/Senior Associate Director of Athletics Nick Wormley. “We cannot thank our Friends of Athletics enough for their generosity, which increases Stag Country’s national reputation and ensures that our student-athletes are built for life.”

Fairfield Athletics invites alumni, parents, and friends to attend upcoming Friends of Athletics events to learn what to expect during the upcoming season, and to connect with coaches and student-athletes.

An Evening with Coach Andrew Baxter
Wednesday, September 4
6:30 – 9 p.m.
New York Athletic Club
More details and R.S.V.P. 

Friends of Tennis Round Robin
Saturday, September 7
9:30 – 11:30 a.m.
Walsh Athletic Tennis Courts, Fairfield University
More details and R.S.V.P.

Fairfield Men’s Lacrosse Golf Outing
Tuesday, September 17
10 a.m. – Registration and Breakfast
11:30 a.m. – Shotgun Start
More details and R.S.V.P.

Women’s Soccer Alumnae Appreciation Day
Saturday, September 21
12 p.m. – Kickoff vs. Niagara
2 p.m. Post-Game Reception
Fairfield University
More details and R.S.V.P.

Friends of Field Hockey Celebration
Honoring Coach Jackie Kane’s 25th Anniversary
Sunday, September 22
10:30 a.m. – Pre-Game Brunch
1 p.m. – Game vs. Providence
Fairfield University
More details and R.S.V.P.

Friends of Men’s and Women’s Swimming & Diving Kickoff
Saturday, September 28
Fairfield University
More details, event schedule, and R.S.V.P.

To see Fairfield University’s fall sports schedules and to purchase game tickets, visit fairfieldstags.com.

Tags:  Alumni Stories,  Friend Stories,  Parent Stories

20190831

Recent News

Women's Basketball Earns First-Ever Top 25 National Ranking

Read the Article

Celebrate the 10th Anniversary of STAGiving Day on March 20!

Read the Article

StartUp Showcase: Team Financially to Launch a Comprehensive Financial Wellness App

Read the Article

Michael Pollan to Discuss Intersection Between Human and Natural Worlds, March 21

Read the Article

$1M Tow Foundation Grant Funds Research Project on Gun Violence Prevention

Read the Article

Panel Discussion: Democracy on the Ballot, March 14

Read the Article

Corrigan Scholar Presents Research at National Literary Conference

Read the Article

Search Results