$5 Million Gift Pledged to University of Memphis Student-Athlete Success Center

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Memphis Athletics has received an anonymous $5 million commitment towards its transformational Student-Athlete Success Center, which will be the first phase of the 'Tiger Park' integrated academic and athletic facilities master plan.

The Student-Athlete Success Center, part of the #MemphisRising vision for the 2020s, is an innovative multi-purpose facility that supports all Memphis student-athletes by consolidating academic, nutrition, mental health and career and leadership skill development services on the University's Park Avenue campus.

In addition, this summer the University will release a request for proposal for a 500-plus bed, apartment-style housing development, located in the heart of Tiger Park just feet from the Student-Athlete Success Center. The University anticipates strong interest from potential development partners with construction on the housing development expected to begin in Summer 2023.

"We are so appreciative of this incredibly generous gift towards our Student-Athlete Success Center," Memphis Vice President and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Laird Veatch said. "This leadership commitment, along with other generous pledges, provides great momentum as we approach almost $10 million in commitments towards our $25 million goal. If we can make significant progress towards the additional support needed this calendar year, it could allow us to align our construction timeline with the student housing project.

"Together, these two projects will transform the athletics portion of the Park Avenue Campus into Tiger Park – a comprehensive one-stop living and learning environment for all Memphis student-athletes."

"We are incredibly thankful for this amazing gift towards our Student-Athlete Success Center," Memphis women's soccer student-athlete Peyton Felton said. "Having a space like this with everything we need in one place will make it so easy to go from practice, to dining, to study hall, to games all in one area. It will also help create even more cohesion among our sport programs, since we will have a central location where we will see each other each and every day."

"This is yet another example of the generosity of our community in supporting our student-athletes," Memphis head football coach Ryan Silverfield said. "This building will be one of the finest in the nation for our student-athletes, and it will also be a major recruiting piece in showing the next generation of Tigers why Memphis is the place to continue their athletic and academic pursuits."

In addition to the renovations already planned for FedExPark Avron Fogelman Field starting this summer, other major components of Memphis' Tiger Park athletic facilities master plan will include a new soccer-track stadium and the continued renovation and expansion of the Murphy Complex. The plan will be completed in phases over the next decade with the timeline determined by philanthropic support and the availability of additional funding.

In sum, Memphis Athletics' Vision 20/20s is "to be a rising Athletics Department that supports and graduates our student-athletes while delivering championship-level experiences resulting in national prominence."

For more information on #MemphisRising, including details on how to support the project, visit www.GoTigersGo.com/memphisrising.

How to follow the Tigers: For complete information on Memphis Tigers Athletics, visit www.GoTigersGo.com and follow the department's social media channels on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

University of Memphis Athletics

$5 Million Gift Pledged to University of Memphis Student-Athlete Success Center

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