PROVIDENCE – Financial support for Friartown’s athletic programming has reached a new all-time high.
Providence College announced Friday that $7.4 million was raised from more than 5,000 donors in support of the college’s athletic program during the 2023 fiscal year. That figure, PC says, represents the largest amount raise for athletics in the college’s history.
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The previous record was set in the 2018-19 fiscal year when PC’s athletics programming received $7 million in financial support from approximately 4,000 donors.
“This has been a year filled with transition and opportunities. I am thankful to be a part of this special community, one that believes in the success of Friartown and one that shows their generosity to make that vision a reality,” PC Vice President and Director of Athletics Steven Napolillo said in a statement.
PC says this past fiscal year was highlighted by multiple major gifts, including two new sport-specific endowment funds that were established this year. One major gift PC received was back in February when Chicago Blackhawks owner William Rockwell “Rocky” Wirtz – who died last month at age 70 – contributed a $1 million gift to support the college’s field hockey program. The donation is the largest such gift for a women’s athletic program in PC’s history and funds from it support the team with travel, game costs, recruiting, professional development, supplies, summer tuition and coaches’ salaries, among other covered costs.
Also, PC formed the Athletic Director’s Cup golf tournament to financially support the college’s teams based on rotating need. The inaugural event held back in May at Misquamicut Country Club in Westerly raised funds to send PC’s women’s ice hockey program to Belfast, Northern Ireland to compete internationally in the Friendship Series, PC said.
Kevin Connolly, PC’s assistant vice president and associate athletic director, said in a statement that the philanthropic support the college received has transformed PC into a “destination where student-athletes can compete at the highest level while receiving a first-class education.”
James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter at @James_Bessette.
