Minnesota Announces $6MM Dollar Gift to Gopher Athletics for Basketball Facility!

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Gophers announce a $6 million gift for a hoops practice facility

Could not fine a thread on it and was not sure if it was posted.

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gophersfan said:
Could not fine a thread on it and was not sure if it was posted.

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One might think if it were "announced" Doogie might have a donor in the tweet. I know it's not me, but if they ask, I will kick in a little, perhaps enough to cover a hook or two in a nice locker. Is $6M enough to break ground?

Call me skeptical, but a nice commitment like that does not seem like late Friday afternoon news dump material.
 



Thanks for the update. Call me pleased.
 


Man, mad props to Robert Eddy and all the other donors who give gifts like this to Gopher athletics. I have huge admiration for people who 1) have worked their asses off to amass this type of fortune, and 2) who love their university so much that they carve out a chunk of that fortune to help make it better. My donation was only slightly smaller :cool: but every dollar helps. I hope they can break ground soon.
 

WindyCityGopher said:
Man, mad props to Robert Eddy and all the other donors who give gifts like this to Gopher athletics. I have huge admiration for people who 1) have worked their asses off to amass this type of fortune, and 2) who love their university so much that they carve out a chunk of that fortune to help make it better. My donation was only slightly smaller :cool: but every dollar helps. I hope they can break ground soon.
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Projects like this don't go without the big hitters like Mr. Eddy, but a wide base of participation from people like you (and me) shows the real support for the program. Collecting the $50-$1,000 donations is a pain in the rear, but it's important for them to give as many people as possible the chance to say, "I helped with this and I want a good program." Hopefully, they have some type of "citizen" campaign that gives us a chance at a bumper sticker or cheap lapel pin saying we participated.
 

Holy Man said:
Projects like this don't go without the big hitters like Mr. Eddy, but a wide base of participation from people like you (and me) shows the real support for the program. Collecting the $50-$1,000 donations is a pain in the rear, but it's important for them to give as many people as possible the chance to say, "I helped with this and I want a good program." Hopefully, they have some type of "citizen" campaign that gives us a chance at a bumper sticker or cheap lapel pin saying we participated.
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Pair what you stated above with 6 mil from eddy and a portion of the land'o lakes donation we should have all the money we need for a good basketball practice facility about 15 mil plus or minus 2 mil.
 

Tim1406 said:
Pair what you stated above with 6 mil from eddy and a portion of the land'o lakes donation we should have all the money we need for a good basketball practice facility about 15 mil plus or minus 2 mil.
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I have not followed closely, but how does this all fit with the $190M overall plan? I'm not sure how much of that 190 was slated for basketball, but 15 sounds on the low end for these types of facilities in other places. They probably don't need our money, but as far as the community goes, getting as many donors as possible is a good thing, I think. Sometimes lots of little donors can inspire larger donors too.
 



I’m thrilled with Eddy’s donation but this was factored into the total amount that we knew we have already raised. It’s not a new, recent donation. This donation was just anonymous and it just wasn’t announced yet. Just clearing things up.
 

per GophersSports:

The University of Minnesota today announced a $6 million gift to the Gopher Athletics Facilities Campaign from retired telecommunications executive Robert Eddy. The gift will help fund a new Basketball Development Center, which will house men's and women's basketball offices, locker rooms and other areas designed to provide the University of Minnesota basketball programs and student-athletes all of the tools needed to achieve greatness on and off the field.

Eddy is a graduate of the University's engineering department and retired Chairman and President of Sherburne Tele Systems, Inc. A philanthropist and University of Minnesota supporter, the Big Lake resident has donated generous gifts to the Athletic Department and the University.

"Bob has been a proud supporter of Gopher Athletics and our student-athletes," said Director of Gopher Athletics Norwood Teague. "This most recent gift will provide our men's and women's basketball programs with the facilities, training and support they need to compete with the top programs in the conference and the country."

http://www.gophersports.com/genrel/020615aae.html

Go Gophers!!
 

http://www.1500espn.com/sportswire/U_announces_6_million_gift_to_athletics_department020615

The University of Minnesota's athletics department just got richer.

Robert Eddy, a retired telecommunications executive, gifted the department $6 million as part of the department's facilities campgain, the U announced Friday.

According to a press release, the gift will be ticketed towards a new basketball development center. That center will hold men's and women's basketball offices, locker rooms and "other areas designed to provide the ... student-athletes all of the tool sneeded to achieve greatness on and off the field."

Eddy graduated the U's engineering department, according to the release. He also is a member of the U's Heart Advisory Committee and created an endowed chair in 2013 for cardiovascular resuscitation.

The athletics department says it plans to honor Eddy on Saturday during the first half of the Gophers' men's basketball game (2 p.m. vs. Purdue), and on Sunday during the women's basketball game (2 p.m. vs. Michigan State). Both games can be heard locally on 1500 ESPN.
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What would be terrific is if one or more of the major construction companies in town (i. e., McGough, Krauss-Anderson, Ryan) donated portions of the costs of labor and materials to the University. To be clear, workers and vendors get paid, but University isn't charged, thus it's a donation. Remember these companies have thrived in part due to the public/private partnership in building stadiums and other public buildings, so such a donation would be an act of gratitude from upper management to the taxpayers of the state of Minnesota, and for some, to their alma mater. Please don't interpret this as a political statement, but rather as pro Golden Gophers.
 



I haven't been paying a ton of attention to this, just checking in every once in a while, but where does this put us?

There was the 25 mil from Land O Lakes, and I think I remember another 15 mil from a donor, and now this 6 mil. Not sure how much of each of these donations goes towards football or basketball or academics, etc.?? Is there a thread dedicated to this that includes all of the details?
 

Holy Man said:
I have not followed closely, but how does this all fit with the $190M overall plan? I'm not sure how much of that 190 was slated for basketball, but 15 sounds on the low end for these types of facilities in other places. They probably don't need our money, but as far as the community goes, getting as many donors as possible is a good thing, I think. Sometimes lots of little donors can inspire larger donors too.
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The total amount has been trimmed down from 190 million by using a shared "shell" for the buildings rather than building each independently. They have around 65-70 million for the entire athletic facility project at this point......which should be more than enough to begin preparation of the land and the beginning of construction. Donations will continue to filter in over time while the first few phases are underway.
 

Holy Man said:
I have not followed closely, but how does this all fit with the $190M overall plan? I'm not sure how much of that 190 was slated for basketball, but 15 sounds on the low end for these types of facilities in other places. They probably don't need our money, but as far as the community goes, getting as many donors as possible is a good thing, I think. Sometimes lots of little donors can inspire larger donors too.
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You're right OSU(2013 i think) had a 19 mil one, Mich 20 mil(2009), MSU(2002) 7.5 mil with plans to renovate it soon again i think, There are a lot more but I'm getting to lazy to actually look them up. Looks like for Basketball we should expect it to cost 25-30mil based on increase land costs in the city and inflation compared to other schools.
 

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