USU launches bold fundraising campaign to keep place in college sports

It was clear almost immediately that Utah State athletic director Diana Sabau is on a mission.

Behind the friendly smile that was emblazoned across her face as she greeted Aggie alumni and chatted with coaches and student-athletes Thursday night at USU’s Bastian Agricultural Center in South Jordan, there was a steely determination. One that almost toed the line of desperation.

That may be what is needed in an ever-changing world of collegiate sports, though. A world that the Aggies boldly declared Thursday night that they are intent to remain a viable part of.

Utah State announced a new fundraising campaign for Aggie athletics — the ‘Reach and Rise’ Fundraising Campaign — which is USU’s first-ever comprehensive capital campaign and the largest and most ambitious fundraising effort in the history of the university.

All told, USU hopes to raise $125 million over the next five years, with $20 million already raised thanks to a pair of anonymous $10 million donations.

It is — for lack of a better descriptor — a fundraiser for the survival of Aggie athletics as presently constituted.

“If we don’t take this moment right now, if we don’t invest in our ‘Reach and Rise’ campaign, Utah State athletics will not be able to keep up with the changing times, with where intercollegiate athletics is going,” Sabau said. “We are already behind with most of our peers in the Mountain West. When you look at Utah State and the number of investors, contributors and donors to our athletic department, we are second from the bottom in the MWC with number of contributors. We must grow that base.”

She continued: “…. We need to do more (so we can provide a) new field for our women’s soccer players, a new locker room for our men’s basketball players or frankly modernizing a great football stadium. Shining it a little bit to make it the gem of Logan so that everyone can be proud and we can have the best competitively.”

The proposed investment in Aggie athletics is for the benefit of the entire university, president Elizabeth Cantwell said.

“Athletics plays this critical role in elevating all of USU,” she noted.

Added Sabau: “I deeply believe that athletics is the lifeblood of a university. It creates memories. It creates legacies within families. Gives you purpose and is a gathering place, a point of pride.”

The significance of the proposed investment was not lost on USU coaches or student-athletes.

“I think it is so powerful,” men’s basketball coach Jerrod Calhoun said. “It shows a huge commitment, to not only men’s basketball (but) to all of our sports team. It is one big family there. With so many things changing I think fundraising drives a lot of this. And so your donor base, your alums, you have to be able to reach people who may have not been given. These are what these events are about and really bring awareness to Utah State athletics and I thought they’ve done a masterful job.”

Said rising sophomore Mason Falslev, one of Calhoun’s more recognizable players and a Cache Valley native: “I didn’t really know about all this, about the number, but that is a lot of money and can make a huge difference in a lot of our lives. Especially in football and basketball, we appreciate it. We love being Aggies and that extra money will do a lot for us.”

The official purpose behind the $125 million fundraising campaign is three-fold:

• To redefine the student-athlete experience by providing tools for success beyond their athletic careers.
• To raise the standard of excellence with a renewed commitment to increase funding for recruiting and retaining student-athletes and staff, along with facility enhancements.
• To change lives through education by funding student-athlete scholarships.

All of which, Sabau said, boils down to providing the means necessary for Utah State to compete for and win championships.

“We are always going to maximize and not really complain, but the reality is that the amount of success we are looking to achieve is not sustainable in the current conditions,” USU women’s soccer coach Manny Martins said.

Bold. Ambitious. Brazen. Lofty. However USU’s ‘Reach and Rise’ fundraising campaign is viewed, almost all are in agreement — Utah State athletics won’t survive in the increasingly costly collegiate sports world without it.

“It is necessary in today’s day and age,” Utah State starting quarterback Spencer Petras said. “I think it is great. It is empowering and makes you feel cared for as a student-athlete. Who knows how much we will raise, but that is a great goal. I don’t know any other way to phrase it — we want to compete at the highest level and these are the things we need to do in order to do that.”