LOS ANGELES – The UCLA Athletic Department received $54,775,208 in private donations during the 2018 fiscal year (July 1, 2017-June 30, 2018), surpassing its annual goal of $47,000,000 by 17 percent. This total, the second-highest annual total in UCLA Athletics' history, came from more than 8,600 individual gifts. It brings the department to $276,641,226 raised toward a newly increased goal of $300,000,000 (original goal was $260,000,000) in private support as part of the University's $4.2 billion Centennial Campaign.
"We are truly grateful to each of the thousands of supporters who have invested so generously in the continued success of UCLA's student-athletes this year," said UCLA Athletic Director Dan Guerrero. "It is a testament to how special UCLA is that our alumni, friends and fans align with our mission and continue to support our efforts to be the preeminent intercollegiate athletics program. I would like to thank our development team, led by Senior Associate Athletic Director for External Relations, Josh Rebholz, for its continued efforts to provide our student-athletes with best-in-class resources to reach the peak of their abilities in the classroom, in competition and in the community."
The UCLA Centennial Campaign, which runs between 2013 and 2019, also recently surpassed its initial goal of $4.2 billion, which includes UCLA Athletics' goal of raising $300 million – one of the most aggressive fundraising efforts in the history of intercollegiate athletics. The campaign is dedicated to providing the student-athlete with an unparalleled experience both academically and athletically. It is focused on impacting UCLA Athletics in three distinct ways: the further enhancement of operational support that provides resources for more than 650 UCLA student-athletes, student-athlete support through endowments, and capital projects that lead to state-of-the-art facilities.
Donations to the Wooden Athletic Fund, the general fund for UCLA Athletics, for the 2018-19 annual fund campaign already have reached more than $14 million from more than 8,000 members, on pace to surpass UCLA's all-time annual fund record support of $14.6 million by the conclusion of the annual campaign in October.
UCLA also was able to establish 26 new student-athlete scholarship endowments with $4,464,792 received in private support through the Forever Champions initiative. Forever Champions allows donors to create an everlasting endowment, directed to the sport of choice, to support the educational and athletic experience of UCLA student-athletes for years to come. These generous donors enjoy exclusive, lifetime benefits through the Wooden Athletic Fund. UCLA has now generated more than $17 million in new scholarship endowment funding in the last two years.
Capital projects funding amounted to more than $4.5M in the 2018 fiscal year, as UCLA opened two new, state-of-the-art training facilities in the Wasserman Football Center (opened August 1, 2017) and the Mo Ostin Basketball Center (opened October 26, 2017). These new facilities along with the new home of UCLA Soccer, Wallis Annenberg Stadium (opening August 17, 2018) will keep UCLA positioned to train and compete in the highest quality venues for years to come.
In the coming year, athletic department expenses are projected to reach more than $115 million. With no state funding, nearly 97 percent of all total expenses are the direct responsibility of UCLA Athletics. With costs across the board continuing to rise as the landscape of intercollegiate athletics evolves and certain projected revenue streams produce at a rate lower than expected, it is vital for UCLA Athletics to generate revenue through private donations as existing self-controlled revenue streams have now been maximized, namely through the department's shoe and apparel partnership with Under Armour and multimedia rights agreement with WME/IMG.
For more information on the Centennial Campaign or to support UCLA student-athletes, contact the UCLA Athletics Development Office at 310-206-3302 or visit www.woodenathleticfund.com.