ENDOWMENT
Below are recorded zoom calls with head coaches, endowed scholar-athletes, and endowment donors showing the true value of an endowed scholarship. These calls allowed our coaches, student-athletes and donors the opportunity to connect on a personal level and start the foundation of their relationship that will last for many years to come. Scholarships are an integral part of what the VAF provides student-athletes, but the relationships and positive impact our endowment donors have with these student-athletes matter the most.
An endowment gift is one of the most powerful gifts a donor can make to Virginia Athletics. Endowed funds provide a lasting source of support for Virginia Athletics. Gifts can be made to establish endowed scholarship funds or sport-specific operational funds to assist with annual budgetary needs.
Baseball
- The Ted Davenport Endowed Baseball Scholarship – Marc Lebreux | Montreal, Quebec | CRITERIA
- The T. David Fitz-Gibbon Baseball Scholarship – Logan Michaels | DeForest, WI | CRITERIA
- The G. Richard Fletcher, Jr. Bicentennial Scholars Fund – Zach Messinger | Chandler, IN | CRITERIA
- The Charles R. Hooff, Jr. Endowed Baseball Scholarship – Alex Tappen | Lower Gwnynedd, PA | CRITERIA
- The Ron and Barrie Tydings Endowed Baseball Scholarship – Zack Gelof | Rehoboth Beach, DE | CRITERIA
- The James O. West Endowed Baseball Scholarship – Devin Ortiz | Nutley, NJ | CRITERIA
Field Hockey
- The Paul B. Barringer Scholarship Fund – Annie McDonough | Kennett Square, PA | CRITERIA
- The Jane Miller Endowed Scholarship – Rachel Robinson | Mount Joy, PA | CRITERIA
The Richter Family Bicentennial Scholarship Fund – Lauren Hausheer | West Windsor, NJ | CRITERIA
The Michael A. and Juanita L. Turner Tidewater Student Athlete Scholarship Fund – Greer Gill | Virginia Beach, VA | CRITERIA
Football
- The Ed Armstrong Endowed Football Scholarship – Richard Burney | Chesapeake, VA | CRITERIA
- The Hedley M. Bowen Scholarship for Football – Charles Snowden | Silver Spring, MD | CRITERIA
The Virginia McDowell Bowen Scholarship for Football – Joe Bissinger | Houston, TX | CRITERIA
- The John Eric Dahlgren Endowed Scholarship – Tavares Kelly, Jr. | Miami, FL | CRITERIA
- The Thompson Dean Family Endowed Football Scholarship – Derek Devine | Pittsburgh, PA | CRITERIA
- The T. David Fitz-Gibbon Football Scholarship – Wayne Taulapapa | Laie, HI | CRITERIA
The Edmund F. Garno III Endowed Football Scholarship Fund – Nash Griffin | Indianapolis, IN | CRITERIA
- The Gretchen Savin MacIlwaine Football Scholarship – Nick Jackson | Atlanta, GA | CRITERIA
- The Scott Montgomery Endowed Football Scholarship – Martin Weisz | West Palm Beach, FL | CRITERIA
The Murdough Family Endowed Scholarship for Athletics – Zane Zandier | Pittsburgh, PA | CRITERIA
- The Sanford B. Prater Football Scholarship – Michael Hollins | Baton Rouge, LA | CRITERIA
- The Richmond Alumni Scholarship – Joey Blount | Atlanta, GA | CRITERIA
The Rogers Family Bicentennial Scholarship Fund – Brennan Armstrong | Shelby, OH | CRITERIA
- The E. Paul Rogers, Jr. Memorial Scholarship for Football – Jowon Briggs | Cincinnati, OH | CRITERIA
- The P. Gregory Shelly Endowed Football Scholarship – Chris Glaser | Solon, OH | CRITERIA
- The James P. Soper III Football Scholarship – Dillon Reinkensmeyer | Highlands Ranch, CO | CRITERIA
- The Mark and Anne Sternheimer Endowed Scholarship – Grant Misch | Sterling, VA | CRITERIA
Men’s Basketball
The Charlottesville Men’s Basketball Endowed Scholarship – Casey Morsell | Washington, D.C. | CRITERIA
The Fralin Family Bicentennial Scholars Fund – Sam Hauser | Stevens Point, WI | CRITERIA
- The Peter M. Grant II Family Bicentennial Scholars Fund – Reece Beekman | Baton Rouge, LA | CRITERIA
- The Leighton and Anne Rawles Huske Men’s Basketball Scholarship – Kadin Shedrick | Holly Springs, NC | CRITERIA
- The William Jackey and Rose Marie Bravo Endowed Men’s Basketball Scholarship – Tomas Woldetensae | Bologna, Italy | CRITERIA
The Ledford Family Bicentennial Scholars Fund – Kihei Clark | Woodland Hills, CA | CRITERIA
The Craig K. Littlepage Bicentennial Scholarship – Jabri Abdur-Rahim | Short Hills, NJ | CRITERIA
- The Mizell Family Endowed Basketball Scholarship – Justin McKoy | Cary, NC | CRITERIA
- The Fred N. Newman Endowed Men’s Basketball Scholarship – Carson McCorkle | Cary, NC | CRITERIA
- The Rivas Family Men’s Basketball Scholarship Endowment – Francisco Caffaro | El Trebo, Santa Fe, Argentina | CRITERIA
The Rogers Family Bicentennial Scholarship Fund – Kody Stattmann | Bentley Park, Queensland, Australia | CRITERIA
Men’s Golf
- The Jim Copeland Endowed Scholarship – Andrew Orischak | Hilton Head Island, SC | CRITERIA
The David G. Williamson, Jr. Memorial Scholarship – Liam Powderly | Cockeysville, MD | CRITERIA
Men’s Lacrosse
- The Commonwealth Men’s Lacrosse Scholarship – Connor Shellenberger | Charlottesville, VA | CRITERIA
- The Kass Family Endowed Scholarship for Men’s Lacrosse – Cade Saustad | Dallas, TX | CRITERIA
- The Peele Rakowski Endowed Scholarship – Scott Bower | Dallas, TX | CRITERIA
- The Thomas C. Rixey Endowed Memorial Lacrosse Scholarship – Jeff Conner | Wallingford, PA | CRITERIA
- The E. Doyle Smith, Jr. Endowed Men’s Lacrosse Scholarship – Ian Laviano | Laurel Hollow, NY | CRITERIA
Men’s Soccer
- The Betty Sams Christian Coca-Cola Classic Soccer Scholarship – Andreas Ueland | Bryne, Norway | CRITERIA
- The Timothy Doran Men’s Soccer Endowment – Nathaniel Crofts | Sheffield, England | CRITERIA
- The Douglas S. Luke Family Scholarship for Men’s Soccer – Axel Gunnarsson | Gothenburg, Sweden | CRITERIA
The Michael W. Rogers Endowed Men’s Soccer Scholarship – Cabrel Happi Kamseu | Harare, Zimbabwe | CRITERIA
Men’s Swimming & Diving
- The 2018-19 Championships Bicentennial Scholarship – Keefer Barnum | Louisville, KY | CRITERIA
- The Gus and Becky Ramirez Swimming and Diving Scholarship – Casey Storch | Great Falls, VA | CRITERIA
Men’s Tennis
- The Harold M. Burrows, Jr. Endowed Tennis Scholarship – Jefferson Dockter | Atlanta, GA | CRITERIA
- The Cameron M. Corse Endowed Tennis Scholarship – Gianni Ross | Chicago, IL | CRITERIA
- The Downing Family Endowed Tennis and Leadership Scholarship – Spencer Bozsik | Charlottesville, VA | CRITERIA
- The John H. Mulholland Men’s Tennis Scholarship – Matthew Lord | Bloomfield, CT | CRITERIA
- The Jonathan W. Old, Jr. Endowed Men’s Tennis Scholarship – Ammar Alhaqbani | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | CRITERIA
- The Thomas Family Endowed Scholarship Fund – Jerome Romualdez | Manila, Philippines | CRITERIA
The E. Massie Valentine Men’s Tennis Scholarship – Ethan Moszkowski | New York, NY | CRITERIA
Men’s Track & Field
The Milton G. Abramson Track Scholarship Fund – Jordan Willis | Williamsburg, VA | CRITERIA
- The Fred and Nancy Stubblefield Scholarship – Peter Morris | Hamilton, VA | CRITERIA
Rowing
- The John William and Mary Virginia Barnard Endowed Scholarship – Sophia Kershner | Palmyra, VA | CRITERIA
- The Leonard W. Sandridge, Jr. Endowed Scholarship – Abbie Bird | Ascot, England | CRITERIA
The Women’s Rowing STEM Bicentennial Scholarship Fund – Gabby Grob | Henrico, VA | CRITERIA
Softball
The All In For Excellence Scholarship – Arizona Ritchie | Stafford, VA | CRITERIA
- The Lisa and Frances Palmer Endowed Softball Scholarship Fund – Mikaila Fox | Ocean Springs, MS | CRITERIA
Volleyball
- The Bob Olderman Student-Athlete Scholarship Fund Agreement – Sarah Billiard | Matthews, NC | CRITERIA
The Mark and Anne Sternheimer Scholarship for Excellence in Athletics Fund – Grace Turner | Cincinnati, OH | CRITERIA
Women’s Basketball
- The Thomas J. Ryan Memorial Women’s Basketball Scholarship – Meg Jefferson | Sydney, Australia | CRITERIA
The Leroy and Betty Strickler Bicentennial Scholars Fund – Shemera Williams | Milwaukee, WI | CRITERIA
- The Christine J. Toretti Women’s Basketball Scholarship – Carole Miller | Alexandria, VA | CRITERIA
- The Virginia Women’s Basketball Alumni Scholarship – Tihana Stojsavljevic | Zagreb, Croatia | CRITERIA
Women’s Golf
- The William C. Eacho Women’s Golf Scholarship Endowment – Riley Smyth | Cary, NC | and Virginia Bossi | Como, Italy | CRITERIA
- The John and Audrey Lewis Endowed Women’s Golf Scholarship – Beth Lillie | Fullerton, CA | CRITERIA
Women’s Lacrosse
- The Yeardley Reynolds Love Endowed Scholarship – Halle Graham | Rockville, MD | CRITERIA
- The Bob Olderman Student-Athlete Scholarship Fund Agreement – Charlotte Campbell | Lloyd Harbor, NY | CRITERIA
Women’s Soccer
- The Betty Sams Christian Coca-Cola Classic Soccer Scholarship – Taryn Torres | Frisco, TX | CRITERIA
- The Fang Family Women’s Soccer Endowed Scholarship Fund – Sydney Zandi | West Chester, PA | CRITERIA
- The Margaret Littlepage Bicentennial Scholarship – Rebecca Jarrett | Washington Township, NJ | CRITERIA
Women’s Swimming & Diving
- The Mark Bernardino Endowed Swimming Scholarship – Emma Seiberlich | Audubon, PA | CRITERIA
- The Juliana Schulte O’Reilly and Brian T. O’Reilly Bicentennial Scholars Fund – Jessica Nava | Ft. Lauderdale, FL | CRITERIA
- The Gus and Becky Ramirez Swimming and Diving Scholarship – Kyla Valls | Miami, FL | CRITERIA
Women’s Tennis
- The Nancy Wachtel Shrier Endowed Tennis Scholarship – Amber O’Dell | New Milford, NJ | CRITERIA
- The Cindy Brinker Simmons Endowed Scholarship for Women’s Tennis – Sofia Munera | Pereira, Columbia | CRITERIA
- The Virginia Athletics Foundation Endowed Tennis Scholarship – Rosie Johanson | Abbotsford, British Columbia | CRITERIA
Women’s Track & Field
- The Rachel Ward Sheridan Scholarship Fund – Jada Seaman | Pikesville, MD | CRITERIA
Wrestling
- The Jonathan A. Frent Endowed Memorial Wrestling Scholarship – Louie Hayes | Orland Park, IL | CRITERIA
- The Robert J. Kane, Jr. Endowed Scholarship Fund – Patrick McCormick | Poquoson, VA | CRITERIA
SCHOLARSHIP ENDOWMENTS
The Foundation is able to fund the 316.6 athletics scholarships allowed by the NCAA for the 25 varsity sports sponsored by UVA each year, but only a small percentage of those are funded by the endowment. Currently, 92 student-athletes have been awarded endowed scholarships. The goal is to endow all of the scholarships in order to rely less on the Annual Fund.
Gifts to establish endowed scholarships are invested and an annual distribution is used to provide funding for designated scholarship recipients. Gifts can be made at any level to the scholarship endowments. An endowed scholarship recognition wall is located in John Paul Jones Arena.
The Virginia Athletics Foundation works with the Virginia Athletics administration and UVA head coaches to recognize deserving student-athletes who meet the criteria of each of our named scholarships.
$1,000,000 Scholarship Endowment
- Donor can establish scholarship criteria and designate sport and position, if desired
- Student-athlete is named as recipient according to established criteria
- Donor recognized on donor wall, website, annual report, etc.
- Donor receives bio of student-athlete on annual basis
- Annual acknowledgment from student-athlete
- Invitation to endowment dinner with recipient, if available
- $500,000 Endowed In-State Scholarship/Partial Out-of-State Scholarship
- Donor can establish scholarship criteria and designate sport and position, if desired
- Student-athlete is named as recipient according to established criteria
- Donor recognized on donor wall, website, annual report, etc.
- Donor receives bio of student-athlete on annual basis
- Annual acknowledgment from student-athlete
- Invitation to endowment dinner with recipient, if available
A student-athlete may be awarded multiple named scholarships at this level to meet the actual cost of a full grant-in-aid scholarship
- $250,000 Endowed Partial Scholarship
- Donor can establish scholarship criteria and designate sport and position, if desired
- Student-athlete is named as recipient according to established criteria
- Donor recognized on donor wall, website, annual report, etc.
- Donor receives bio of student-athlete on annual basis
- Annual acknowledgment from student-athlete
- Invitation to endowment dinner with recipient, if available
A student-athlete may be awarded multiple named scholarships at this level to meet the actual cost of a full grant-in-aid scholarship
- $100,000 Sport-specific Scholarship Endowment
A donor may designate a scholarship at $100,000 or more to a specific sport
While no specific student-athlete will be named, the donor will receive an invitation to the endowment dinner and will be acknowledged in annual reports.
OPERATIONAL ENDOWMENTS
Like an endowed scholarship, an operational endowment provides an ongoing source of financial support for the designated team. Gifts to an operational endowment are invested and an annual distribution is used to assist in the funding of the designated team’s budget. Naming opportunities begin at $50,000 but gifts of any size can be made toward operational endowments.
When a gift is made to the endowment, the Foundation invests it with the University of Virginia Investment Management Company (UVIMCO) for long-term growth. The earnings generated by the investments are used to support the scholarship or operational needs in the area that the donor chooses to endow.
Head Coach Endowment – contact the VAF office for more information (800.626.8723)
Donor can designate a sport, if desired
Endowment supplements the operation of the designated sport or the head coach’s salary
Donor recognized on donor wall, website, annual report, etc.
Annual acknowledgment/interaction with head coach
Invitation to endowment dinner with head coach, if available
$500,000 Assistant Coach Endowment
Donor can designate a sport, if desired
Endowment supplements the operation of the designated sport or the assistant coach’s salary
Donor recognized on donor wall, website, annual report, etc.
Annual acknowledgment/interaction with assistant coach
Invitation to endowment dinner with assistant coach, if available
- $250,000 Team Endowment
Donor can designate a sport, if desired
Endowment supplements the operation of the designated sport
Donor recognized on donor wall, website, annual report, etc.
Invitation to endowment dinner, if available
- $100,000 Team Captain Endowment
Donor can designate a sport, if desired
Endowment supplements the operation of the designated sport
Donor recognized on donor wall, website, annual report, etc.
Annual acknowledgment from head coach
- $50,000 Operational Endowment
Donor can designate a sport, if desired
Endowment supplements the operation of the designated sport
Donor recognized on donor wall, website, annual report, etc.

“Our players always distinguished themselves with loads of heart and spirit. We endowed this basketball scholarship to honor our parents’ memory and to support that continued character in our teams.”
KYLE HUSKE
1994 UVA Arts & Sciences
VAF Endowed Scholarship donor