On October 13, 2017, in a star-studded, orange and blue event at State Farm Center, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign publicly launched an ambitious $2.25 billion philanthropic campaign called "With Illinois."
The University challenged its Division of Intercollegiate Athletics to raise about 13 percent of that figure ($300 million) and, amazingly, with 18 months remaining until the campaign finalizes in 2022, UI's Office of Athletic Development has already accomplished 95 percent of its assigned goal.
That fundraising success, of course, is a key element in answering Champaign-Urbana residents' often asked question: "If Illini athletics is anticipating a loss of $12-$18 million in 2020-21 due to the pandemic, then why are so many construction projects popping out of the ground right now?"
Referring to those current projects – the Atkins Baseball Training Center ($8.5 million), the Martin Softball Training Center ($6 million), the expansion of the Demirjian Indoor Golf Complex ($2 million), and the expansion and renovation of the Ubben Basketball Complex ($40 million) – Director of Athletics Josh Whitman responded with three salient points.
"No. 1, moving forward on those projects was a strategic decision," he said. "A lot of people don't have a full understanding of the effort that's required to get those projects out of the ground. The construction is actually the shortest phase of one of those building projects. So, by the time the pandemic hit, each of those projects was far along the tracks. There had been a lot of time, energy and money invested in the planning, the design, and the fund raising, and it was imperative in our minds that we keep those projects moving forward.
"We have donors who have stepped forward to fund those projects. They have expectations about timelines and expectations that when they give money to support a project that the project happens. Similarly, our coaches and student-athletes have all developed their plans around the arrival of those buildings. We feel strongly that we need to deliver those roughly on the timeframe that we had originally promised them.
"Candidly, it's a chance for us to gain ground on our competition," Whitman continued. "When you go through an experience like this one, you have to make choices. You pull back in certain areas and hit the gas in others. For us, with some of these projects that we have in the pipeline, this was a chance for us to hit the gas and to look for a way to continue to try and put ourselves in the most advantageous position we could as we headed out of the pandemic. We certainly feel like we've done that."
"No. 2 is the quality of our fund raising," Whitman said. "I can't say enough good things about Howard Milton and our entire office of athletics development, our fundraising team. A part of the story that doesn't get told often enough is that we've raised nearly $200 million since 2016. The lion's share of that has been earmarked for these projects. We're very proud of the success we've had on the fundraising trail the last three years. We've raised more than $40 million for the first time in program history. We've had three consecutive years in excess of $40 million a year. If we're able to get over the $30 million number this year, in spite of the pandemic, it will be the first time we've ever gone over $30 million for four-consecutive years."
"The last point to make on the facilities and fundraising side is the logistics of how these things work," Whitman said. "What really matters to us isn't the cost of a project, it's the cash flow. Debt for us is really a tool to be used to make sure that your expenditures match your cash flow. It allows us to even those things up, to match them up over time.
"As we go out and raise money, that money is often pledged to us over a period of years," Whitman continued. "And when those gifts come in, they go to the University of Illinois Foundation. They're not reflected anywhere on our financial statements. They sit in an account at the Foundation until we're in a position to need to spend it, then we pull it over from the Foundation. Both the revenue and the expense are noted on our financial statements at the same time. So, if someone has pledged to donate $1 million for four years, those payments get deposited with the Foundation and they're not reflected anywhere on our financial statements. When it's time to actually pay something on that project, we'll pull over a portion of that."
In April, UI's $27 million Demirjian Park, home of the Illini soccer and men's and women's track & field and cross country programs, was opened to student-athletes, coaches and staff members.
"Demirjian Park was about identifying a void," Whitman said. "It wasn't about improving a facility, it was putting a facility where one hadn't been. We saw that as a glaring need. It represented over 25 percent of our student-athlete population that didn't have access to permanent locker rooms or permanent restrooms or permanent grandstands or concession stands. That facility jumped out both because of the level of the need and the number of student-athletes that would benefit from the change.
"To see their excitement when it was unveiled was one of those are days that I will never forget," Whitman continued. "Being able to host the Big Ten Track & Field Championships at the venue was another great opportunity. Having that event come to fruition in the way that we had imagined was meaningful for all of our staff. We opened it to rave reviews from across the conference and it was exciting to capture five Big Ten titles over the course of that three-day event."
The $79.2 million Henry Dale and Betty Smith Football Center, home of the Fighting Illini football program and the first project to be completed, opened nearly two years ago.
But there are even more athletic facility renovations on the horizon.
"We still have a number of sports that haven't been directly addressed, including wrestling, men's and women's gymnastics, and swimming," Whitman said. "The future of Huff Hall is something that we have to work through at some point in time. Obviously, the East and South of Memorial Stadium is something that needs attention. In my perfect world, I always wanted to unveil a fully renovated Memorial Stadium in time for the 100th anniversary of its dedication in 2024. At this point, I don't know how likely that is. As we transition into Phase 2, it will be a function of talking through the priorities. Sometimes those priorities are driven in part by donor interest and donor appetite. It happens often where a certain gift materializes and it moves a project from No. 3 to No. 1. That happens all the time."
