Dear Faculty, Staff and Students,
This fall, DePaul Athletics and Advancement celebrated many wins. From success in the classroom and on the field and court to fundraising progress for the
Dream Big Campaign, we wanted to share highlights with you as we all get ready to head into the holiday break.
Fundraising gains momentum
As we work to improve our facilities for student-athletes, we’re happy to report progress is being made in fundraising.
A
$2.5 million gift from Jennifer Steans and Jim Kastenholz, along with additional new gifts totaling
$1.75 million, bring us to nearly
$10 million in donor commitments for the athletics practice facility so far.
We are incredibly grateful to all our wonderful donors for their contributions to DePaul’s future. We look forward to sharing additional gift announcements in the new year and remain committed to breaking ground on the facility when the necessary funds are raised.
Elevating DePaul’s national profile
From local and national media coverage to excitement from our fans in the stands and on social media, Athletics success elevates DePaul’s reputation among prospective students, their parents, alumni and donors.
We’re already seeing results in attendance. Season ticket sales for men’s basketball increased by 15.2%, while women’s basketball season ticket sales increased by 11.7%.
Fans who can’t attend in person are able to watch the men’s team on national TV for all 31 regular season games on stations like FOX, FS1/2, ESPNU, CBSSN and Peacock.
During those broadcasts, a DePaul admissions commercial plays nationally. During home games, admissions messaging is displayed around the court, which also appears in the background of the broadcasts. As a point of reference, last year, 3.6 million people watched DePaul’s televised men’s and women’s basketball games.
Academic accolades
We are so proud of our student-athletes and their hard work this year.
In the classroom, all 15 teams collectively had at least a 3.0 GPA during the
fall quarter, and our 218 student-athletes averaged a
3.586 overall GPA. A remarkable 66 student-athletes, or 30% of our total student-athletes, earned a perfect 4.0 GPA.
In competition, men’s soccer, women’s soccer and women’s volleyball all qualified for the BIG EAST Tournament in the same season for the first time since DePaul joined the conference in 2005.
But wait, there’s more …
DePaul student-athletes are giving back to the community and receiving global recognition:
- Women’s basketball welcomed over 5,000 Chicago Public Schools students for its annual Field Trip Day game, marking the best-attended women’s basketball home opener in school history.
- During their annual orientation, first-year student-athletes made nearly 100 blankets to donate to the St. Vincent de Paul Center. The Wintrust Blankets program runs throughout the academic year and is the second-largest service initiative for Athletics outside of Vincentian Service Day.
- A WGN story featured women’s soccer’s special bond with 9-year-old Emily Flood, who lives with spina bifida. Flood is the honorary 32nd member of the team, thanks to a partnership with Team IMPACT, a program that pairs children with serious illnesses or disabilities with college sports teams.
- Alumna Noelle Malkamaki won a gold medal at the Paris Paralympic Games in the F46 shot put, helping to place DePaul front-and-center on the international stage.
In addition, the
renovated Sullivan Athletic Center and McGrath-Phillips Arena, hosted the university’s Blue Demon Welcome, a CPS high school basketball game, as well as several university department meetings and Lincoln Park community events. The renovated facility is providing much-needed space for Athletics and our university and Chicago communities.
If you’re looking for fun and affordable activities for your friends and family this winter, we encourage you to check out the many
game promotions for men’s and women’s basketball at Wintrust Arena.
New this year, all regular season softball games at Cacciatore Stadium will offer
free admission to make athletics events more accessible to students, faculty, staff and local residents.
We look forward to seeing you there.
Happy Holidays to all, and Go Blue Demons!
Sincerely,
DeWayne Peevy
Vice President and Director of Athletics
Katie Fraumann
Senior Vice President, Division of Advancement and External Relations