UCLA Receives $1M Gift for Beach Volleyball
August 03, 2017 | Beach Volleyball
The UCLA Department of Athletics is pleased to announce a donation totaling $1,000,000 from former UCLA tennis student-athlete John Mapes (BA 1990) and his wife Carrie (BA 1990, MEd 1991). The donation to the beach volleyball program will be used to endow a student-athlete scholarship, as well as to support the construction of new beach volleyball courts at Sunset Canyon Recreation Center.
The endowed scholarship, part of the Four Deep Scholarship Endowment Campaign, will be used to support a UCLA student-athlete competing in beach volleyball in pursuing a quality education while earning her degree. The gift will be matched at 50 percent through the UCLA Chancellor's Centennial Scholars Match to establish what will be known in perpetuity as the "Mapes Family Centennial Scholars Endowed Scholarship Fund."
"I would like to thank John and Carrie Mapes for their generosity and unwavering support of UCLA Athletics," said Director of Athletics Dan Guerrero. "This gift, and the significant impact it will make on beach volleyball, underscores our commitment to supporting the long-term success of the program. For our student-athletes to have access to a first-class facility, conveniently located on campus, is a major step forward for beach volleyball."
In appreciation for John and Carrie's generosity, the Mapes family will have their name displayed on a plaque in the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame and will be paired with a UCLA Beach Volleyball student-athlete each academic year, while also being invited to an exclusive annual scholarship dinner. In addition, UCLA's beach volleyball sand courts, where the team trains and competes, within the Sunset Canyon Recreation Center will now be known as Mapes Beach.
"We are grateful to be able to support the UCLA beach volleyball program," said John Mapes, who is currently the Managing Partner of Aurora Capital Partners in Los Angeles. "Carrie and I believe that a first-rate facility and scholarships will help attract the best beach volleyball players to UCLA, where our student-athletes consistently develop into champions on our courts and leaders in our classrooms and communities. We are excited to see our coaches and players take the women's beach volleyball program to new heights and to help impact future generations of UCLA student-athletes."
The capital improvements for beach volleyball at Sunset Canyon Recreation Center will consist of adding two more courts, to now total four sand volleyball courts, realignment of the courts for a more efficient and aesthetic look, as well as adding spectator seating. Beneficiaries of these improvements, in addition to the UCLA beach volleyball program, include UCLA students participating in club, intramural and open recreation programs. The UCLA beach volleyball program will also enjoy a new locker room in the Acosta Athletic Training Center beginning this fall.
In just its fifth year of existence at UCLA, head coach Stein Metzger's beach volleyball program won a school-record 30 duals in 2017 and finished the season with a 30-6 record and fifth-place national finish. The Bruins also posted a school-record 24-straight dual victories and earned their first-ever win over USC in the semifinals of the Pac-12 Championship, a victory that snapped the Trojans' 62-dual winning streak. Half of UCLA's returning starters from last year are sophomores.
"We are so appreciative of this generous gift from the Mapes family," said Metzger. "The benefit of this donation cannot be overstated. It will give us the ability to train our student-athletes at a higher level in a shorter period of time, freeing them up to have more time to focus on academics. It also allows us to host multi-institution competitions at UCLA, enabling the student body greater access to the highest level of beach volleyball in the country."
This gift from the Mapes family represents significant momentum for the campaign to raise private funds is part of the $4.2 billion campus-wide UCLA Centennial Campaign that was announced in 2014. The UCLA Athletic Department aims to surpass its $260 million goal by 2019, to date having already received commitments in excess of $230,000,000. The support directly addresses the Department's primary Centennial Campaign objective: to create a financially sustainable future to build upon UCLA's standing as the premier intercollegiate athletics program in the nation.
With student-athlete scholarship costs projected to reach more than $16 million in 2017-18, the entire amount of which is the responsibility of the UCLA Athletics Department, it is incumbent upon Athletics to fully fund in true dollars all NCAA maximum allowable scholarships at UCLA. By providing an endowed, sustainable scholarship program through the generosity of private donations, other revenue such as ticket sales, corporate sponsorships and television rights fees can be used to further invest in resources that range from coaches to travel and recruiting expenses to facilities.
Forever Champions offers donors an opportunity to make a long-term impact on UCLA Athletics' ability to establish scholarship endowments, program endowments and endowed excellence funds while enjoying exclusive benefits and recognition.
For more information about supporting UCLA Beach Volleyball or to support UCLA student-athletes, contact the UCLA Athletics Development Office at 310-206-3302 or visit woodenathleticfund.com.
