Cavalier Corner is the publication just for UVa sports fans!
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/356132
Dear Cavalier Friends, The final days of summer are winding down and soon the stands at Memorial Gym, Klöckner Stadium and Scott Stadium will be filled with Cavalier fans as a new aca- demic year and sports season approach. The 2013-14 year was remarkable, creating many lasting memories for our student-athletes, coaches and certainly fans. Among the memories — a final four appearance for women's soccer, women's lacrosse and men's ten- nis; an ACC championship and Sweet 16 appear- ance for men's basketball; an ACC championship for women's swimming and diving, women's and men's tennis, and rowing; an individual NCAA championship in women's tennis; and just one hit away from a College World Series championship. These are all successes that your generous contri- butions helped create and that led us to a fourth place finish in the Learfield Sports Directors' Cup standing. Your investment didn't stop there. In May, 130 student-athletes walked the Lawn and the overall GPA for all student-athletes was 3.0. We spend over $1 million annually to fund athletics academic affairs. Your support of the VAF an- nual campaign makes this possible, giving you the opportunity to celebrate the educational ex- perience of student-athletes and their classroom performance. Many of our student-athletes stay in Charlottes- ville during the summer to take classes and work with their coaches and the strength and condition- ing staff. The ability to take summer classes is a tremendous advantage for our student-athletes as it allows them to make progress towards their degree and address areas they cannot address during the regular school year. Just as we do for the regular academic year, we pay the University for those student-athletes who are on scholarship and attending summer school. At an annual cost of $1.2 million, we would not be in a position to fund this valuable component of our scholarship program without your generosity. Funding scholarships and operational budgets as well as athletics academic affairs and summer school continues to be a challenge because the costs increase each year. So far this year, 2,561 donors have increased their gift by 10%, 607 do- nors have increased their gift to the next level and we have added 770 new donors who did not make a contribution in 2013. Of course, it is not too late to increase your annual gift if you would like to do so. For the remainder of the year, we will be working to renew those who have not yet made their pledge. Retaining and adding new donors is crucial to building our base of support. In fact, 1,953 donors have made annual gifts for 20 or more consecutive years. As we welcome a new class of student-athletes this August and start another exciting season for the Cavaliers, we reflect on just how important do- nor support is to their overall experience. From the first day student-athletes step on Grounds to the day they walk the Lawn, you have a profound im- pact on their experience. Along the way, we get to celebrate their successes like the ones we saw this past year. These create memories for a lifetime for both the student-athletes and our fans. Thank you for your support of our student-athletes. Best regards, Dirk P. Katstra Executive Director