'Heritage Initiative' Campaign Concludes, Transforming USC Athletics

According to USC press release, Thanks to the generosity of its loyal supporters, USC Athletics' Heritage Initiative raised $748 million for athletic facilities, student-athlete scholarships, student-athlete academic support and programming, and community outreach as part of the eight-year-long Campaign for the University of Southern California. The USC athletic department's initiative raised more than double its original fundraising goal of $300 million. A remarkable 29,175 donors contributed to Athletics' total.

When launched in 2011, the Campaign for USC had the largest fundraising goal ever announced in higher education -- $6 billion. After exceeding its goal 18 months ahead of schedule, the Campaign for USC continued to draw unparalleled support for the university's mission, achieving a final total of $7.16 billion raised. Said Lynn Swann, holder of the Charles Griffin Cale Director of Athletics' Chair: "I am grateful for every one of our supporters. The success of the Heritage Initiative speaks to their passion and dedication to USC. I am also particularly proud of our staff. The effort is a collective one. Pat Haden, Steve Lopes, Ron Orr and so many more, including our coaches, played important roles in this outstanding achievement."

Former USC student-athletes contributed $44 million to the Heritage Initiative, including record-
setting donations from a former student-athlete, female athlete and Trojan football player. Because gifts from former student-athletes are especially meaningful, USC Athletics recently launched the Heritage Association to recognize their support.

The Heritage Initiative helped completely transform USC's athletic campus through state-of-the-art facilities such as the John McKay Center, Uytengsu Aquatics Center, Buntmann Family Tennis Center and Merle Norman Stadium, as well as the renovation of Heritage Hall, the Loker Track Stadium and the forthcoming completion of the iconic home to USC Football—the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

One of the Heritage Initiative's notable achievements was the creation of the Stevens Academic Center, a 25,000-square-foot space in the McKay Center dedicated to academic support for student-athletes. Academic achievement for student-athletes has improved since the Stevens Academic Center opened in 2012. In 2018, USC Athletics posted its best-ever cumulative 21-team NCAA Academic Progress Rate of 981 as well as its highest-ever Graduation Success Rate of 86%.
The Heritage Initiative also added $81 million to the athletic department's endowment, which primarily supports student-athlete scholarships, but also improves the Greater Los Angeles community. In 2015, the Otis Booth Foundation gave $5 million to endow USC Athletics' community service program, Trojan Outreach, through which student-athletes collectively provide 5,000 hours of volunteer service each year. Trojan Outreach was selected by the National Association of Collegiate Athletic Directors (NACDA) as the winner of the 2018 Community Service Award, which recognizes NACDA member institutions in Division I that make volunteerism and community service a way of life.

"We have a lot to be grateful for and proud of the past eight years," said Ron Orr, senior associate athletic director in charge of the Trojan Athletic Fund. "Each gift is a true investment in our student-athletes."

Of the success of the Heritage Initiative, Swann added: "We are immensely grateful to our Trojan Family who helped us achieve the greatest fundraising effort in the department's history. But we still have work ahead of us. Our ambitions are nothing short of ensuring USC Athletics' excellence in perpetuity. This means increasing our endowment to $400 million to cover all of our scholarships and continuously upgrading our facilities and support for our student-athletes."