CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Bielfeldt Foundation has committed $1 million to provide updates to the Bielfeldt Athletic Administration Building and to fund construction of the Football Performance Center. This gift adds to the legacy of Gary and Carlotta Bielfeldt, whose generous gift funded the 1996 construction of the athletics administration building that bears their name and serves as the headquarters for the Division of Intercollegiate Athletics.
The donation will be used to refurbish and complete maintenance projects needed to ensure the Bielfeldt Administration Building continues to serve as Illinois Athletics day-to-day operations for years to come. It will provide funding for renovation of the development areas and the main lobby.
"We are grateful to the Bielfeldt Foundation, and especially to our friends Gary and Carlotta, for their continued investment in Illinois Athletics. Their generosity, both in the past and again today, has transformed our physical space and allowed us to cultivate a culture among our staff and student-athletes that is truly one of a kind," Director of Athletics Josh Whitman said.
"Between full- and part-time staff, coaches, and student-athletes, our athletic program now numbers well above 1,000 people, and the Bielfeldt Building provides all of these stakeholders space to collaborate and support each other in their daily efforts to achieve excellence in every facet of the Illinois Athletics experience. The Bielfeldts' generosity will ensure that the building, now in its 22nd year, remains as vibrant today and into the future as the day it opened. Similarly, their support of the football project will open a new building that will have an equally transformational effect on a growing, vital component of our athletic program."
It will also provide upgrades to portions of the building in the form of carpet replacement, the replacement of lighting with more energy efficient LED fixtures, as well as smaller remodeling projects throughout the facility. These improvements will result in more efficient and expanded office areas for the growing administrative and coaching staffs for Fighting Illini Athletics.
The building houses the Athletics Department administration, many of the Fighting Illini coaching staffs and Fighting Illini Productions video team. It also holds the locker room and training facilities for the Illini women's soccer team.
"Through their unwavering loyalty and selfless generosity, certain families have left an indelible mark on the proud tradition of Fighting Illini Athletics," said Whitman. "Gary and Carlotta Bielfeldt, along with their children and now their grandchildren, have ensured that the Bielfeldt family legacy will live forever and that the impact of their giving will be felt by generations of Illinois staff, coaches, and student-athletes. We cannot thank the Bielfeldt family and the Bielfeldt Foundation enough for their support of our vision for the bold future for Illinois Athletics."
"We continue to be amazed by the incredible generosity of our Illini faithful," Senior Associate Athletics Director Howard Milton said. "Over the last two years we've seen an increase in transformational giving. Thanks to the Bielfeldt Foundation and others for their loyal support."
The gift is included in the $300 million fundraising goal for the Division of Intercollegiate Athletics, which is part of "With Illinois," the recently announced $2.25 billion University-wide fundraising campaign.
