Duke Athletics Raises Over 150 Million In Campaign For Duke

Feb. 3, 2004

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By John Roth
Blue Devil Weekly

DURHAM, N.C. - Fundraisers and development officers from across the university took a timeout last Friday night to celebrate the conclusion of the Campaign for Duke, a wildly-successful eight-year effort that brought in a record $2.36 billion.

Duke athletics raised over $152 million during the campaign, the fourth highest total of any university division and well in excess of its goals. But director of athletics Joe Alleva doesn't want to spend too much time celebrating the achievement.

"We still have a long way to go," Alleva said. "I feel like a coach who won a championship and right away you're thinking about how to win the next championship. We have so much more to do. We can't stop."

Even though increasing the school's athletic scholarship endowment and raising more financial support for football remain pressing needs, Alleva and his staff can reflect on the last eight years as a critical time in the university's sports history. As a direct result of contributions received during the Campaign for Duke, the athletics department took several key steps toward ensuring a sound future.

According to university records, Duke brought in $152,484,440 in athletics contributions during the campaign. Donors gave about $50 million of that total for capital projects that have completely altered the look and quality of Duke's sports complex. The Schwartz-Butters Building, Yoh Football Center, Sheffield Center and Ambler Tennis Stadium all were completed in the last eight years to significantly upgrade facilities. Other similar projects are still in the works, including a new facility for the golf team and a complete makeover for Koskinen Stadium, where the Blue Devils' lacrosse and soccer teams play.

Duke also raised $26 million for scholarship endowment and brought in $75 million in current expendable gifts, most of which went directly to pay for scholarship costs -- which at Duke are the highest in the ACC. That combination allowed the school to gradually reduce the amount of money it had to allocate for scholarship expenses from the general operating budget. Last year, for the first time, all scholarship costs were covered by endowment and Iron Dukes giving.

A host of other initiatives emerged during the campaign, including some renovations at Cameron Indoor Stadium, the creation of the Basketball Legacy Fund and a switch in focus for the Varsity Club. As a result, Duke athletics is in much better shape physically and financially than it was before the campaign started in 1996.

"We're very proud that every athlete at Duke and every coach at Duke has benefitted from this campaign," said associate athletics director Susan Ross. "Over the last seven years we have improved locker rooms, facilities and stadiums for most of our programs, we've added scholarships and we've expanded the academic support program for athletes. Every team is better off thanks to the gifts we've received."

Ross, the department's chief development officer, came to athletics from arts & sciences three weeks after the university publicly announced the Campaign for Duke in 1998. Along with target fundraising for specific projects, she and her staff concentrated on growing the department's primary base of scholarship support, the Iron Dukes.

The year before the campaign began, the Iron Dukes generated $4 million from 3,612 donors. Last year, the Iron Dukes produced $9 million from 5,395 donors. Over the course of the campaign, Duke raised $59 million in Iron Dukes contributions and increased the total number of scholarships it awards each year from 190 to 235.

"The biggest part of the campaign for us was the Iron Dukes," Ross said. "Iron Dukes revenue has removed some of the scholarship burden from the general operating budget, enabling Joe Alleva to respond to other needs that the coaches bring to him. Our goal now is to bring in more Iron Dukes revenue than is needed for scholarships, so the Iron Dukes can do even more things for the coaches and the teams."

Duke's two largest athletic donations during the campaign came from the Spike and Mary Yoh family ($6 million for football facilities) and Zollie & Myra Sherrill ($5.5 million for scholarships). There were a total of 37 gifts of $1 million or more, a significant number considering that before the campaign, Duke athletics had received just two million-dollar gifts in its history.

"There has been a real explosion of support at the highest levels from people who decided to make Duke athletics a priority for their philanthropic gifts, not just a ticket-purchase arrangement," Ross said. "We changed our focus on fundraising to remind people that we are supporting students and scholarships. It's not a business transaction, it's a gift. When donors look at it that way they get a lot more pleasure out of the gift they are giving, and we are able to do a lot more for our students and coaches."

The campaign covered all parts of the university, including the medical center, undergraduate programs, graduate and professional schools and the library system in addition to athletics. Alleva said the athletics department's inclusion was critical, because that had never happened in any previous university-wide campaigns.

Each area within the university exceeded its fund-raising goal. Athletics started with a goal of $65 million but that was increased to $130 million as more projects were encompassed by the campaign.

"The football building wasn't in there to begin with," Alleva said. "Schwartz-Butters started out as a $5 million project and ended up as an $18 million project. Tennis wasn't a part of it at first.

"We've been very successful because for each one of those projects we had key people who stepped up and made a difference. For Ambler Stadium we had one donor, Merrill Ambler. For the Sheffield Center we had several donors but Karl and Alice Sheffield gave most of the money. Spike and Mary Yoh stepped up to get the football building going. We're very fortunate and thankful for all of that support."

One athletic goal that was not reached during the campaign was the bid to generate $40 million for scholarship endowment. The campaign produced $26 million in that category. One of the department's goals now that the campaign has officially ended is to continue boosting its endowment figure. A prime target is a $5 million endowment for women's scholarships, of which $2 million has been raised.

Two facilities projects still underway are the new golf team center (BDW, Sept. 2003) and Koskinen Stadium's $2.5 million facelift. Work will begin this spring to add a fieldhouse, restrooms and concession areas to that facility. The seating capacity will remain the same but the stadium will be fully enclosed with brick and new fencing. It is expected to be completed prior to the start of next soccer season.

"When you look around our campus," said Alleva, "you can see the effects of the campaign with the Wilson Center, Ambler Stadium, the Sheffield Center, Schwartz-Butters, Yoh, the lights at the baseball stadium. And there are some things that you can't see yet but are underway, such as the improvements to Koskinen that are really going to be terrific. "You also can't see how we've been able to endow more scholarships and pay for the scholarships we give. That's all been very important and we are thankful for the support. And we still have much more to do. We could start a new campaign today."

Duke Athletics Raises Over 150 Million In Campaign For Duke

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