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4 CAVALIER CORNER cavalier sports I n August, the Virginia Athletics Founda- tion (VAF) launched a new initiative — the Cavalier Academic Achievement Fund — to support academic achievement awards, encouraging student-athletes to take full advantage of the academic experience at the University of Virginia. Not only do these awards reinforce the University's focus on a well-rounded edu- cational experience, but they are also an important aspect of the recruiting process. As a majority of Power Five institutions across the country include these awards in addition to scholarship offers, University of Virginia coaches will need to have the same ability to remain competitive in the recruit- ing process. Here are five questions about the Cavalier Academic Achievement Fund: Why is there a Cavalier Academic Achievement Fund? In 2021, the United States Supreme Court ruled on the NCAA v. Alston case to allow athletics departments to provide edu- cation-related benefits to student-athletes, which includes academic achievement awards up to $5,980 per year. This award is in addition to scholarships. The Cavalier Academic Achievement Fund was initiated to create a revenue stream from philanthropic contributions to fund these awards. How will student-athletes earn this award? Athletics departments can define the criteria for student-athletes to earn these awards. At UVA, student-athletes will be eligi- ble to receive these awards after completing the Pathways program, which is a custom- ized development program to facilitate new growth opportunities for student-athletes. This program is designed to enhance each student-athlete's educational experience with learning opportunities in areas of career readi- ness and networking, leadership and personal development, and community engagement. Will contributions to this fund count towards my Annual Fund commitment and priority points? Gifts to this fund are encouraged to be in addition to gifts to the Annual Fund since they will fund a new expense. They will not count towards annual giving levels or im- pact ticket/parking eligibility, and therefore are 100 percent tax-deductible. Priority points will be awarded as part of the cumulative giving portion of the priority point formula. Can I make a pledge and pay it over multiple years? Yes, multi-year pledges (up to five years) are encouraged. These awards will be al- located annually, and funds will need to be raised each year to have the resources to cover the total cost of $1.9 million per year. How will these awards impact recruiting? In addition to rewarding student-athletes for maximizing their academic experience at UVA, funding these awards for all sports will be an important aspect of recruiting. Many of our competitors are already award- ing these funds to student-athletes, in addi- tion to scholarships, and are incorporating the financial impact as part of the recruiting process. Our coaches will need to be able to provide these awards and confirm them during the recruiting process to remain competitive. five questions Cavalier Academic Achievement Fund Photo courtesy UVA For more information on the Cavalier Academic Achievement Fund and how to make a gift, visit VirginiaAthleticsFoundation/cavalier-academic- achievement-fund.