From the desk of the Interim Director of Athletics…

Dear Wildcat Fans,

I am writing to ask for your support. Tomorrow, April 25, 2018, marks the second annual Daemen Day of Giving—our 24-hour fundraising campaign that seeks to mobilize the Daemen College community to support our school. Last year, the first-ever Daemen Day of Giving raised over $32,500 from nearly 200 donors. An invaluable part of this donor group were the student-athletes, alumni, staff, family, friends, and fans who earmarked their donation for Daemen Athletics. Based on the support Daemen Athletics received last year, I see no reason why we cannot meet this year's college-wide goal of 250 donors, who will help exceed last year's $32,500 benchmark.
 
Our Daemen teams have continued to show the true value of small college athletics and have made us proud in so many ways. As a group, we have made immense strides athletically, academically and in the community. The young men and women who represent our school in NCAA competition are the true definition of "student-athletes" because they are equally as committed to academics, athletics and community engagement.
 
Although Daemen Athletics has made great strides in the past year, we are far from our target fundraising goal, especially given the current realities facing small colleges and small college athletics departments in New York State.  Every bit of funding we receive goes directly into making the student-athlete experience the best it can possibly be. It allows us to strive towards our vision of empowering our student-athletes to become the best versions of themselves.

Our goal from the beginning has been to pursue an athletics program that inspires school spirit, enrollment growth and investment by alumni, charitable foundations and donors. Student-athletes, coaches and administrators alike are pursuing excellence across disciplines, and we need the financial resources to afford our people every opportunity they deserve. We are well aware that money can be tight and we often reach out for your help, but we also firmly believe that Daemen Athletics deserves your support because we are an athletics department that gives back to everyone who supports us.

Please know you can designate your gift to a particular team or initiative of Daemen Athletics by clicking here. Below is a short list of the accomplishments Daemen Athletics has earned during the 2017-18 school year that we hope inspires you to make a gift during this #DaemenDayOfGiving...

• Daemen Athletics has consistently been ranked in the top 15 in the country for volunteer hours performed
• 64% of student-athletes achieved at least a 3.0 GPA during the Fall 2017 semester
• The collective GPA for all student-athletes during the Fall 2017 semester was 3.05 - the 9th consecutive semester it's been above 3.0
• Daemen was named as one of three recipients of the NCAA Division II Award of Excellence for our work in developing the CAUSE program
• Men's Basketball was ranked as high as #5 in the region, and advanced to the ECC Tournament semifinals
• Women's Basketball earned their first-ever conference tournament berth at the Division II level
• Women's Bowling, Women's Tennis, Men's Soccer, Men's Tennis all either matched or established new team records for wins in a season
• Daemen hosted the 2017 NCAA Division II East Region Cross Country Championships and the 2018 East Coast Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships