Redbird Athletics raises $160,000 during Support Your Sport

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NORMAL, Fig. – Over 1,000 donors participated in the third annual Support Your Sport Challenge, a six-day campaign that ran December 5-10 and raised $160,000 for Illinois State athletics programs. This figure surpassed the last two campaigns when the ISU raised $41,000 (2020) and $105,000 (2021).

Fans, family, friends, staff and alumni were encouraged to donate in support of ISU’s 15th Athletics Program. The fundraising contest awarded two prizes of $1,000 to the teams with the most donors and most dollars raised. 1,153 donations were made, with gifts ranging from $5,000 to $7,000, including 17 Challenge gifts and 22 donations from ISU Athletics employees.

Softball won the top two prizes of $1,000 from a total of 247 donors and $39,584.

“We are so incredibly grateful to everyone who donated and supported our program during the Support Your Sport campaign,” commented Head Softball Coach Tina Kramos. “Every donation will help improve our student-athlete experience at Illinois State, and we wouldn’t be the programs we are today without that kind of support. From Redbird Softball, thank you!”

Gifts made during the week are used for improvements beyond the normal operating budget of the ISU sports team. Gifts help in the following areas: equipment, training trips, nutrition/meals, mental health, recruitment and ancillary program needs.

“I want to thank our donors, coaches, staff and student athletes for their hard work and generosity. Every day we build momentum at ISU and this is just another example,” said ISU Athletics Director Kyle Brennan.

If you missed out on Support Your Sport, there’s still time to give a gift. Although the contest has ended, we will continue to count final donations as gifts come in. To make a gift for your favorite Redbird team, please call Aidan Hartman at (309) 438-2753.

The final standings for the remaining sports are:

Most dollars collected

1. Softball
2. Volleyball
3. Men’s Golf
4. Men’s Basketball
5. Women’s Basketball
6. Gymnastics
7. Soccer
8. Soccer
9. Women’s Golf
10. Baseball
11. Cheerleading
12. Swimming and Diving
13. Women’s tennis
14. Athletics
15. Men’s tennis

Highest number of donors

1. Softball
2. Cheerleading
3. Gymnastics
4. Volleyball
5. Women’s Basketball
6. Soccer
7. Swimming & Diving
8. Women’s Golf
9. Women’s tennis
10. M-Golf
11. Baseball
12. Men’s tennis
13. Men’s Basketball
14. Athletics
15. Soccer

GoRedbirds.com and the Illinois State Redbirds App: Your source for Illinois State Tickets, Weisbecker Athletic Fund Gifts, Multimedia, Redbird Merchandise, Photos and more.