UMass hockey locker room
Giving Opportunities

Athletics

UMass student-athletes serve as role models and ambassadors for the university. We are poised to expand our capacity to instill pride in them and foster their achievement in the classroom, the community, and competition.

Developing and inspiring champions

Athletics is one of the most visible areas of the university. We’re in the community, on television, and competing live in front of thousands of people. Support for enhancements to our competitive culture and development programs will benefit athletes, enrich campus life, and raise the profile of the entire institution.

Our vision

Establishing Athletics as a vital pillar of the UMass mission

UMass Athletics is an important component of campus life and critical to shaping graduates who can lead the way forward, no matter where their lives take them. You can help us cultivate a championship mindset and student-athlete success both on and off the field.

576
Varsity student-athletes
57%
of programs have won at least one team or individual league championship since 2015
304
Student-athletes made the Dean’s List in spring 2024

Initiatives for Athletics

Need-based scholarships

Scholarships enable student-athletes to turn their academic and athletic potential into great accomplishment. They also allow the department to compete more effectively with peer institutions for the best and brightest.

Student-athlete experiential advancement

Funding in this area underwrites co-curricular opportunities, such as behavioral counseling, academic support, and programs in sports performance and sports medicine.

Programmatic endowments

Endowments provide income in perpetuity to support student-athlete development, recruitment, competitive opportunities, and state-of-the-art facilities.

Coaching endowments

These endowments ensure that UMass Amherst can recruit and retain the best head coaches and top administrators.

Sport-specific support

Funding for individual programs at any giving level allows the department to target areas of need quickly and enhance the culture of success in a particular sport.

Facilities upgrades

Maintaining elite athletic facilities is crucial to supporting student-athlete achievement and enabling our coaches to recruit top-tier players from around the world.

“It is amazing to be a part of a community of previous, current, and future Minutemen who always support each other.”

Faith Richardson ’24
Women’s Track student-athlete
Faith Richardson sprinting

Campaign Progress: $31,200,000

Goal: $50M
62%
2024 Senior Class
Spotlight on Student-Athlete Academic Success

22 UMass hockey players earn Hockey East All-Academic Honors

The nationally ranked UMass Amherst men’s ice hockey team had 22 student-athletes listed on the Hockey East 2023-24 Men's All-Academic Team. In addition, four UMass players earned the honor of being named a Hockey East Top Scholar-Athlete for compiling the highest GPA at their position.

Kathy Coyner Makes Leadership Gift to Support Women’s Basketball
Spotlight on UMass Women’s Basketball

Boosting Women’s Hoops

In honor of the 50th anniversary of the Title IX law that changed women’s athletics forever, Dr. Kathy Coyner ’01 made the largest gift ever to a UMass Amherst women’s athletics program. Her gift will support the women’s basketball team, on which Coyner was a two-time captain and one of the program’s leading scorers.

Ready to learn more about Athletics?