We have a vision to transform Gopher Athletics into a culture that stops at
nothing short of greatness in competition, in the classroom, and in the community.
To realize this vision, we need your support for Athletes Village, an athletics complex focused on
top academic, athletic, and leadership performance centers.
Similar investments have been the catalyst at other Big Ten schools to build championship programs.
The University of Minnesota deserves that same chance.
Our Nothing Short of Greatness campaign will establish modern development facilities for all Gopher student-athletes, while also bringing a competition-level outdoor track and field facility back to the University’s East Bank campus and building out needed practice facilities for our Olympic sports programs.
While Gopher Athletics has a strong collection of outstanding game day venues, the development facilities where our student-athletes spend the vast majority of their time studying and practicing are outdated and overcrowded. To continue providing a first-class collegiate experience for our student-athletes, we need to modernize these facilities. With approval from the University’s Board of Regents, construction on the cornerstone of these new facilities – the Athletes Village – began in February 2016. These facilities opened their doors to all Gopher student-athletes on Jan. 16, 2018.
In addition to Athletes Village, the University’s men’s and women’s track and field teams are beginning the journey to having their own competition-level outdoor track for the first time in more than a decade. This new venue, located just steps away from the new development facilities in the heart of the Athletes Village, will allow the Gophers to once again host regular season, Big Ten and NCAA meets, while also providing a place for Minnesota’s track and field community to host state high school meets and USA Track and Field events. The new track and field facility was approved by the Board of Regents in October 2016 and will cost $13 million to construct. That fundraising effort is included within our broader, Nothing Short of Greatness campaign.
Gopher Athletics will fund these projects entirely through private donations and athletics revenue – there will be no permanent funding from the University, nor Minnesota taxpayers. To-date, you have helped our Nothing Short of Greatness campaign raise more than $120 million in private contributions to address our facility needs, including more than $105 million specifically for the new Athletes Village. However, the Athletes Village will cost approximately $166 million in total, and our overall facility fundraising campaign remains focused on reaching or surpassing $190 million. As we work toward completing construction of the Athletes Village and other important facility projects, we need to continue raising money to fully fund these efforts.
