10-29-2021, 04:34 PM
This afternoon was the announcement of the Athletics component of the Be Bold campaign:
Quote:Dear Rice Family,
A short while ago, President Leebron announced to our Rice community the launch of a comprehensive capital campaign - Be Bold: The Campaign for Rice. This is the largest university fundraising effort in our history as Rice aims to raise $2 billion in support of initiatives across campus by the end of 2025.
In conjunction with the university campaign, I am excited to announce the launch of our $100 million athletics campaign. This historic campaign launches fresh on the heels of our recent move to join the American Athletic Conference and carries forward our tremendous momentum as we approach a new era in Rice Athletics.
The campaign presents an opportunity for every member of our Rice Family to get involved and provide support as we ramp up to compete for championships as members of the American Athletic Conference. Our three campaign priorities as are follows:
- Modernize athletics facilities to transform the experiences for Rice student-athletes and fans, led by a renovation of historic Rice Stadium.
- Fund athletic endowments for coaches, scholarships, and programs that will provide a foundation for sustained excellence in all sports.
- Grow annual support to the Owl Club Athletic Fund and Rice Athletics Scholarship Fund to exceed $3 million by campaign close in 2025.
Growing support of our two primary annual funds, the Owl Club Athletic Fund and Rice Athletics Scholarship Fund, is more critical than ever to ensure our student-athletes are prepared to compete for championships from day one in The American. The university has made a significant investment in athletics to get us to this point, and now we need you to commit to help us grow our annual giving efforts from the $2 million where it stands today, to consistently exceed $3 million annually by campaign close.
Should we achieve this benchmark, when combined with the university’s investment and new conference revenues, our ceiling is very high.
I urge each of you to strongly consider taking the following steps today to pledge your support to the Owl Club Athletic Fund through the duration of the campaign:
1. Visit http://www.riceowlclub.com/give. Make sure Owl Club Athletic Fund is listed in “designation”.
2. Add a donation amount that you are comfortable supporting as a reuccuring annual gift from now through the end of the campaign on December 31, 2025. Click “Add Donation”.
3. Under Additional Information, select “Recurring gift” and set the gift frequency for annually, ending on 12/31/2025.
4. Continue through and process your commitment in support of the TRUE student-athlete experience.
5. Regardless of the size, your new multi-year commitment to our student-athletes will be difference-making and secure your impact in helping us achieve our landmark $100 million campaign goal.
If you’d prefer to make your commitment with a member of our Owl Club team, please reach out directly to riceowlclub@rice.edu or (713) 348-8425.
From the board of trustees to university leadership to athletics administration, the alignment behind raising the level of excellence in athletics has never been stronger. Our time is NOW! We hope you'll partner with us to capitalize on this unprecedented momentum and propel Rice Athletics to new heights.
Go Owls!
Joe Karlgaard
Director of Athletics, Recreation & Lifetime Fitness