March 9, 2000
LAS VEGAS - UNLV women's athletic programs will receive more than $3 million in gifts from
four generous Las Vegas donors, according to University President Dr. Carol Harter.
The announcement was made during a press conference held Thursday at the Thomas
& Mack Center prior to UNLV's first game of the Mountain West Conference men's
basketball tournament.
Donors are Donrey Media Group, James Rogers, president of Sunbelt Communications, Jerry
and Sue Lykins, and the Las Vegas Founders Club.
The private financial support will provide $1,850,000 of a total construction cost of
$2.1 million for a new softball stadium and a $1 million endowment to establish a
women's golf team, as well as operating support for that program.
"This tremendous support for softball and the new women's golf team is vitally
important and will help us move UNLV even closer to true equity between men's and
women's athletics programs," Harter said. "These gifts are another indication of how
UNLV's strong partnerships with this community are helping UNLV become a
world-class teaching and research university that offers a wide variety of quality
academic and athletic programs for women and men."
The Donrey Media Group, a subsidiary of the Stephens Group Inc. of Little Rock,
Ark., is making the largest gifts for the two programs. Those donations include $1.25
million for the softball stadium and a $1 million charter gift to establish a women's
golf endowment.
"Community involvement is a priority with Donrey, and we view this as an extension of that
involvement," said Sally Tracey, general manager of Donrey Outdoor
Advertising in Las Vegas. "For this community to grow and excel in a traditional manner,
education must be at the forefront, and we are thrilled to be a part of that."
James E. Rogers and the Rogers family have also provided $500,000 in support of
the construction of the softball stadium. The Rogers' family has been extremely generous
to UNLV and particularly the William S. Boyd School of Law. Rogers, a prominent Las
Vegas attorney, founded Valley Broadcasting Company in 1971 and has served as CEO
of KVBC-TV (Channel 3) in Las Vegas since 1979. The Rogers' gifts and pledges of
future support to UNLV academic and athletic programs now exceed $29 million.
"You can only create exceptional academic and athletic programs if you have the
money to develop the infrastructure necessary to attract outstanding student athletes,"
Rogers said. "It is our pleasure to play a role and join the other financial supporters
who are helping to build a women's softball stadium that we all can be proud of and that
reflects this community's dedication to providing quality facilities for women and men."
The new softball stadium will be located on the northeast corner of Harmon Road
and Swenson Street on the west side of the UNLV campus. The facility is being designed
by KGA Architecture of Las Vegas and is expected to be completed in time for the 2001
softball season. The facility will be built by the UNLV Foundation, to whom
these gifts are being made.
"This is a monumental event not only for our women's programs but for all
women in intercollegiate athletics," said UNLV athletic director Charles Cavagnaro.
"This is one of the largest gifts in the country in the history of women's
athletics. It also demonstrates the advantage of cooperation between the athletic
department and the UNLV Foundation."
"This new stadium has been a long time coming, and we are very thankful to
these friends and supporters who are making it happen," said UNLV softball coach Shan
McDonald. "The stadium is something the current players worked hard for, and they are
excited that they will have the opportunity to play there. It will also help us improve
recruiting for the program by giving UNLV facilities that equal or exceed our
competition."
Jerry and Sue Lykins are longtime donors to UNLV academic scholarships and
athletic programs. "We have been active supporters of women's softball for many years
and think very highly of coach Shan McDonald and how she has developed UNLV's
program," said Jerry Lykins of Las Vegas. "We are proud to be able to help build an
outstanding softball facility that will be very beneficial for the women's team and set a
new standard of quality for the entire women's intercollegiate athletics program at
UNLV."
The Las Vegas Founders Club will provide additional funding to the women's
golf program. "The Las Vegas Founders Club is strongly committed to enhancing golf in
Las Vegas with support for the PGA Tour, Junior Golf, and men's golf at UNLV," said
Foundation president Chris Byrd. "The foundation plans to extend that same level of
support to the new UNLV women's golf program."
