Financial Report 2007 - Year Ended | 06.30.2007

 

Highlights | Athletics

Judy and Fred Wilpon Family Foundation Gives $12 Million
to U-M

Fred and Judy Wilpon

The University received a $12 million gift from the Judy and Fred Wilpon Family Foundation that provides $5 million to create the Sport Injury Prevention Center, $4 million for the rebuilding of baseball and softball stadiums, and $3 million for scholarships for undergraduate students with financial need. A dollar-for-dollar match from the President’s Donor Challenge will increase the impact of the Wilpons’ $3 million commitment to $6 million for financial aid.

Fred Wilpon is chairman and chief executive officer of the New York Mets, co-founder and chairman of the board of Sterling Equities, and co-founder and chairman of the Brooklyn Baseball Company, which owns the Brooklyn Cyclones, a minor league team. As principal owner of the New York Mets, Wilpon helped the franchise become a major contender in Major League Baseball.

Wilpon played baseball at U-M until an arm injury cut short his career, but a scholarship grant enabled him to continue attendance. Wilpon and his wife, Judy, earned bachelor of arts degrees from U-M in 1958.

The Michigan Difference

Student-Athletes Raise Funds and Spirits for Mott

Carr's Wash for KidsU-M coaches, student-athletes, and athletic department staff have supported the C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital for many years through a variety of fundraising and charitable activities. They donated hundreds of hours of time and raised about $345,000 for the new Mott facility in 2007 alone.

Their activities this past year included a 12-hour “radio-a-thon” to kick off the annual Carr’s Wash for Kids, a day-long event in which U-M football players armed with buckets and hoses wash cars in frontof Michigan Stadium to benefit Mott’s Pediatric Bone Marrow Transplant Unit. The radio-a-thon and Carr’s Wash for Kids, now in its fourth year, raised over $300,000.

Mock RockThe U-M Student-Athlete Advisory Council also runs regular programs in support of Mott, including Mock Rock and From the Heart. Mock Rock, an annual extravaganza in which lip-synching student-athletes compete against each other in elaborately costumed and choreographed musical numbers, raised about $35,000 in 2007. Every Thursday night, the From the Heart program arranges for small groups of student-athletes to visit with children at the hospital.

 

Carol Hutchinswomen's cross country teamwomen's track and fieldwomen's gymnastics teambaseball team

Athletics in Brief

In November 2006, the Regents approved the schematic designs for a major renovation and expansion of Michigan Stadium. Construction work will be phased over a three-year period so as not to interrupt home football games. On June 21, the Board of Regents gave final approval to invite bids and award construction. The project should be completed prior to the 2010 football season.

Head softball coach Carol Hutchins, who ranks as the winningest coach in the history of U-M athletics, was inducted into the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Hall of Fame in December 2006. During her 22-year tenure as head coach, the Wolverines never suffered a losing season while capturing the NCAA national championship in 2005, 10 Big Ten regular-season titles, nine NCAA regional crowns, and eight Big Ten Tournament championships.

The U-M women’s cross country team won its fifth consecutive Big Ten Conference title in October 2006 and went on to place third at the NCAA championships the following month.

In May, Michigan women’s track and field came from behind to share the team Big Ten title with Illinois. The team closed out the season with a program-best third place team finish at the NCAA outdoor championships, two national champions (sophomore Tiffany Ofili in the 100-meter hurdles and graduate/senior Anna Willard in the 3,000-meter steeplechase), and seven total All-Americans.

Despite competing most of the season without a number of its top gymnasts, the U-M women’s gymnastics team won its eighth Big Ten title in nine years and its 14th conference title in 16 seasons.

After capturing the Big Ten regular season championship in May, the U-M baseball team went on to defeat top-ranked Vanderbilt in June to win the NCAA regional championship.

Plans to build a new indoor football practice facility and new soccer fields were approved by the Board of Regents. The new football building will be built adjacent to Schembechler Hall along State Street, while the new soccer fields will be constructed near the Tisch Varsity Tennis Center.

The Paul “Bear” Bryant Awards committee of the American Heart Association named the late former U-M head football coach Bo Schembechler the 2007 winner of its Lifetime Achievement Award.

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