UConn announces transformational multimillion-dollar gift from Nayden Family to establish the Nayden Center for Academic Excellence

[huskymedic]

 

[huskymedic]

-> The eventually old and leaky, though always charming, Field House will re-open in January 2027 as the Bailey Student-Athlete Success Center, thanks to the 2022 anchor gift by alum Trisha Bailey. The Nayden Center For Academic Excellence will be a major component of the new facility, that portion of the project being funded by the Nayden Family’s $15 million donation. It is among the largest donations in UConn athletic history.

-> It's not the first time. A donation from Nayden, who earned an MBA in finance from UConn a year after completing his undergrad degree, made possible much of what is visible in the lobby of the Werth Champions Center through the windows facing Jim Calhoun Way. The front porch to UConn basketball, as it’s called, features displays honoring the best players and teams in program history, large video screens, interactive boards and more. <-

 

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[Chuck]

More stuff for athletes. I no longer have much tie to the University other than watching sports, but I still like to see the institution do well. Shouldn't the school try to focus on all students through growing its small endowment or other school-wide benefits rather than more support for students athletes that already get a lot of benefits?

I know this is Bailey and the Naydens' money and you let them decide how to allocate (rather than getting nothing). I also saw the school is starting a campaign to get the endowment up significantly, but I don't think I'd like this if I was a student paying some of the highest fees in the country and reading about budget cuts. As a parent of college kids, I think UConn has stagnated a bit compared to schools that it would consider its peers.