$1 Million from UniWyo Federal Credit Union |
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UniWyo Federal Credit Union gifted $1 million to UW Athletics and the university’s scholarship and international programs.
According to UW Athletics, $750,000 of the gift is earmarked for intercollegiate athletics and $250,000 in support of the university’s scholarship and international programs.
In light of the generous gift, the Multipurpose Gym has become the UniWyo Sports Complex. The complex is home to the Cowgirl volleyball and Cowboy wrestling programs and will host numerous events and activities.
“With this donation, our board of directors recognizes the importance of both academics and athletics to the future of the University of Wyoming,” says Larry Knopp, president of UniWyo. “Many of our employees and board members are graduates of UW,” he says. “We feel a connection to UW, and we just wanted to give something back to reestablish our relationship with the university.”
“Without UW, the credit union would not be here,” says Knopp. “My hope is that the ties between UniWyo Federal Credit Union and UW will grow even stronger as we support the matching funds program for athletic facilities, a program that is particularly important to UW,” says Knopp.
The credit union was formed by nine University of Wyoming employees back in 1953. They each pitched in five dollars, and from that forty-five dollars, the credit union began to grow into what it is today.
“The University of Wyoming has always enjoyed a great relationship with UniWyo,” Barta says.
“This gift is a perfect fit. We’re thrilled to be able to add the UniWyo name to our facility offering. This gift is especially important to us because it essentially exhausts the match by the Wyoming legislature. All that remains
of the state match is the portion set aside for the Challenge Eight fund, which will help with construction of the new track,” he says.
“We have reached a lofty goal, and are very proud of that accomplishment,” Barta continues. “We sincerely thank everyone who helped us match the legislature’s generosity. But we need to continue to set new fund-raising goals to allow us to complete all of our projects.”
With the state match, Knopp says, a permanent fund of $500,000 will soon be available to fund scholarships to UniWyo members.
Posted on Friday, June 23, 2006
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