The University serves Virginia, the nation, and the world by preparing responsible citizen-leaders; advancing, preserving, and disseminating knowledge; and providing world-class patient care.
All gifts of any kind help secure the University’s place as a premier institution of learning and make it possible for our students, faculty, and researchers to shape a brighter future.
You can give to all 12 schools across Grounds. The possibilities are endless for supporting our students, faculty, and programs. Together, we will find the way forward.
You can join the growing number of alumni and friends who invest now in the University’s future by including UVA as a beneficiary of their wills, charitable trusts, and retirement plans. Gifts like these can offer you and your family significant tax benefits as well as greater financial flexibility in meeting your personal and philanthropic goals.
The Honor the Future campaign, the largest in University history, concluded in 2025, thanks to thousands of loyal supporters. Its impact on students, faculty, facilities, and research reaches across Charlottesville, Wise County, and Northern Virginia as it continues to advance the school in its third century of service to the commonwealth, nation, and world.
Campaign support for the Virginia Athletics Master Plan, endowed scholarships, and individual programs ensure a strong and sustainable future for Virginia Athletics.
With your help we’ve raised
0 from over 0 donors
+
A strategic investment in key facility needs, the Virginia Athletics Master Plan was completed during the Honor the Future Campaign. The Hardie Football Operations Center, supported by a lead gift from Robert (Col ’87, Darden ’95) and Molly Hardie (Med ’00), opened in June 2024. The Harrison Family Olympic Sports center, which will serve more than 550 student-athletes and house the Center for Citizen Leaders and Sports Ethics, will open later this year. A gift from the family of the late David and Mary Harrison provided foundational support for the project. Ramon W. Breeden Jr. (McIntire ’ 56) also provided significant support to the Master Plan.
Endowed scholarships position Virginia in a place of strength. Campaign gifts endowed 105 named scholarships across 21 sports; 11 of those scholarships cover a student-athlete’s tuition in full. Scholarship endowment support totaled over $47 million, and with matching funds from the University’s Bicentennial Scholars program created nearly $71 million in total impact.
The Honor the Future Campaign was a time of unprecedented support for our student-athletes and teams. The Virginia Athletics Foundation received its largest single gift in history, a commitment of $40 million from a former student-athlete. Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian (McIntire ’25) committed to a multi-year, transformational gift to the UVA women’s basketball program. Ohanian’s gift was the largest in the Cavalier women’s basketball program history. Lisa Palmer (Col ’89), who pitched for Virginia Softball from 1986 to 1989, and her mother Fran Palmer created the Lisa and Frances Palmer Endowed Softball Scholarship and a made a lead gift to build a new softball stadium, which was named Palmer Park in their honor. In late 2024, two anonymous gifts were made to support the football program. The first, a multi-million-dollar gift, was the largest non-capital gift in program history; the second provided $3 million in matching funds.
In a first step toward a future in which UVA envisions self-sustaining operations for all Olympic sports, the Lockhart Family Head Men’s Tennis Coach Endowed Fund was created through a gift from H. Eugene “Gene” Lockhart Jr. (Engr ’72, Darden ’74) and Terry J. Lockhart (Col ’74). The fund will permanently support Virginia’s championship men’s tennis program.
A Champion Who Champions Others
“This team is our family. The community, the coaching, the energy; it’s all been life-changing. We’re proud to be part of something that will help future generations of Hoos chase their dreams.”
Gretchen Walsh (McIntire ’25)
Alumna and Olympian Gretchen Walsh helped lead the Women’s Swimming and Diving team to four consecutive NCAA team championships while excelling in international competition and in the classroom. In her final NCAA tournament, Walsh won the 50 Free, 100 Free, and 100 Fly. Over her four-year career, she went a perfect 16-for-16 in NCAA relay competitions. Walsh currently holds four NCAA individual records (50 Free, 100 Free, 100 Back and 100 Fly) and is part of all five NCAA relay records. In 2025, Walsh was named Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year and presented with the prestigious Honda Cup at the Collegiate Women Sports Awards.
Walsh won four medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics (two gold and two silver) and holds 17 world records. She is a three-time College Sports Communicators Academic All-American and was named the 2025 CSC Academic All-America Team Member of the Year for swimming.
Walsh was the 2024-25 recipient of the Juliana Schulte O’Reilly and Brian T. O’Reilly Bicentennial Scholarship. In July of 2025, Walsh, her sister and teammate Alex Walsh, and teammate Kate Douglass announced a collective commitment to establish the Olympic Endowed Scholarship for Women’s Swimming Fund, a new scholarship that will benefit a student-athlete on the University of Virginia’s women’s swimming team.
Playing for UVA and the PGA
“Attending UVA and competing on the golf team has truly been a dream come true. The camaraderie within our team is second to none, and I’m continuing to build confidence by playing in PGA Tour events and learning from the habits of professional golfers. Balancing everything was a challenge at first, but I’ve learned to manage it by leaning into the incredible support system here at UVA, which has helped me maintain a strong sense of balance.”
Ben James (Col ’26)
Charlottesville’s Birdwood Golf Course is home to the UVA Men’s Golf team and standout player Ben James, but James is also making a name for himself worldwide. He has played nine PGA Tour events as an amateur and is currently the world’s second-ranked amateur men’s golfer.
As a junior, James went 3-0 in NCAA match play. He broke UVA’s all-time record with his 24th top-10 finish of his career at the 2025 ACC Championship. James was 5-under (72-73-66) in the stroke play competition and tied for 6th. His final round 66 was the lowest round of any competitor in the field during the 54-hole stroke play competition.
James is the recipient of the Jim Copeland Endowed Scholarship, awarded to a student-athlete who personifies the spirit and character of Former Virginia Athletics Director Jim Copeland through outstanding leadership, citizenship, scholarship and athletic achievement.
Endowed Coaching Positions
Attracting the Best Leaders for Cavalier Student-Athletes
Ryan Odom was named the University of Virginia’s Dean and Markel Families Men’s Head Basketball Coach in March of 2025. Odom coached two seasons at VCU, where he led the Rams to a 52-21 record and an appearance in the 2025 NCAA Tournament. He has deep ties to Virginia Basketball; his father, Dave Odom, served as an assistant coach on Terry Holland’s staff from 1982 to 1989. At a July press conference, Odom was asked what it means to be a UVA basketball player. “You’re playing for more than just yourself,” he said. “You think about all the players that have played here over the years. The times have changed, but the values of this place have not changed.”
Fralin Family Head Football Coach Tony Elliott is entering his fourth season directing the UVA program. Elliott and his assistants supported the team in moving forward after a campus shooting took the lives of three players—Lavel Davis Jr., Devin Chandler and D’Sean Perry. His goal is to create a model program for college football with humility, effort, accountability, respect, and toughness as core values. Reflecting on the impact the Hardie Football Operations Center will have on creating a championship culture, Elliot said, “It’s important that we show our scholar-athletes that we support them fully in everything that they do. This new facility gives us the space and resources we need to pour into these young men holistically, helping us create the model program.”
Tony Markel Family Men’s Golf Head Coach Bowen Sargent has led the Men’s Golf program for 21 seasons; the coaching position was endowed in 2024. He has coached three current PGA Tour pros and three ACC individual champions. Sargent’s teams have brought home 26 tournament championships, and he has been named coach of the year coach of the year by the Virginia State Golf Coaches Association six times.
With the opening of the Molly and Robert Hardie Football Operations Center, Phase II of the Virginia Athletics Master...
A gift from Ramon W. Breeden Jr. (McIntire ’56) will support the McIntire Expansion Project and fund the Athletics...
Posted on UVA Today | By Caroline Newman Over the next few years, athletics and student health facilities at the University...
The Harrison family’s tradition of support for students and faculty extends to UVA’s athletics facilities and neurodegenerative research endeavors...
To watch the 2021 NCAA Women's Swimming and Diving Championships, true fans had to stream four nights of finals...
