The department celebrated one of its most successful fundraising efforts yet, securing crucial resources
By LUCIENNE BROOKER — [email protected]
With 25 teams competing in various collegiate leagues across the country, UC Davis Athletics is a big-budget operation. While much of this budget comes from event revenue, merchandise sales and generous donations, one of the most important days of the year for the Athletics Department is Give Day. UC Davis Give Day is an annual event, overlapping with Picnic Day, where people can donate online and in person to many different areas of campus.
In 2024, the eighth iteration of Give Day raised over $4 million, with Athletics taking home a significant portion of that total.
While the numbers are still being run for Give Day 2025, which took place on April 11 and 12, Director of Athletics Rocko DeLuca described the success of this year’s event.
“We wrapped up one of our most successful Give Days to date — thanks to the generosity and passion of our supporters. These wins off the field are just as meaningful as the ones in competition, as they provide the resources necessary to fuel our continued success this spring and beyond.”
The Athletics Department thrives on a little competition, with Give Day being no exception. Teams are organized into four groups, each named after a legendary Aggie athlete, and compete to see which team can get the highest number of donors.
In the Joe Singleton group, the men’s tennis team led the way with 62 donors. Women’s soccer won the Vern Hickey group with 80 donors, though paling in comparison to the football team, which won the Marya Welch group with 248 donors. Finally, men’s soccer received 104 donors to claim the Woody Wilson group.
On the numbers side, football also received the largest amount of money donated, raising almost $85,000. Men’s water polo with $35,000 and lacrosse with $30,000, rounded out the rest of the top three. Overall, the projected final total for Athletics sits at just above $400,000.
Challenges make up an important part of Give Day as well. Donors can set up specific parameters, like the number of donations, the demographic of the donor or the financial value, and once those are met, a certain sum is unlocked and donated. Athletics was the direct recipient of 21 of those challenges, including the “Give a Gift & Get Income Challenge” by Wayne and Jacque Bartholomew, which was unlocked when 200 people aged 70 or older donated. There was also the “Employee Giving Committee Challenge” sponsored by the Employee Giving Committee, which was unlocked when 500 UC Davis employees donated.
These generous donations will help continue to improve Aggie athletics and provide a world-class environment for UC Davis athletes as they look toward the future.
Written by: Lucienne Brooker — [email protected]
