Virginia Men Tennis | Gift to UvA Mens Tennis Charts New Path for financing Olympic sports

The University of Virginia announced the establishment of a fund on Friday (April 4) to permanently support its championships Tennis program, a first step in the direction of a future in which UvA proposes self -sufficient operations for all Olympic sports.

The new Lockhart Family Head Mens Tennis Coach Endowed Fund reflects a creative solution for collegial sports, modeling an approach for athletics programs that share uncertain, rapidly changing futures and limited financing, in particular for Olympic sports, according to UvA president Jim Ryan.

The new architecture for the financing of Olympic sports at the University of Virginia is an innovative reaction to the unpredictable landscape of university athletics, Ryan said. Thanks to the generosity and partnership of our alumni and friends, such as Terry and Gene Lockhart, UvA creates a future in which our successful and beloved Olympic sports can fully focus on student athletes and competition, thanks to the permanent support for business needs of Endowed Funds.

Enabled by old UvA leaders

The Lockhart Family Head Mens Tennis Coach Endowed Fund was founded by a gift from H. Eugene Gene Lockhart Jr. and Terry J. Lockhart. The couple has long been supporters of many areas of UvA and in particular of the tennis program, where Gene mentors and advises players weekly and they have generous fairs.

Gene Lockhart obtained his UvA engineering degree and an MBA from UVAS Darden School of Business. Terry Lockhart graduated from the College of Arts & Sciences. Both Terry and Gene have been involved on the site and the Commonwealth for decades, and strong proponents of higher education.

The fund establishes a donation that will forever provide money for the annual costs of the Herentennis programs. The first gift offers a foundation together with a number of exhibition shifts that are financed by the Lockharts and other UvA donors to hopefully donate the entire men's tennis program in the future.

Terry and I are pleased to collaborate with the University of Virginia, UvA Athletics and head of tennis coach Androso to forge a new path that benefits the team and the university, said Gene Lockhart. UvA Mens Tennis is an incredibly successful program that is known for the development of championship teams and excellent people, especially under the inspiring leadership of Andres. Were grateful to be involved in a new approach that helps to support that excellence and solidify Virginias Place as one of the top programs in the country.

Focus on student athletes

The gift from Lockharts immediately draws up a mechanism to produce extra financing for stock exchanges of student athlete, coaching staff salaries, operating budget supplements and facility improvements. In a donation, a basis of funds is invested, and income offers continuous financing while the original amount remains untouched.

In the future, when the program is fully endowed, the collective donations must generate sufficient income to cover most players, program alares and annual operating costs without making an annual fundraising or using the UvA Athletics budget.

In recent years and due to the generosity of UvA alumni, the main coaching positions for men's tennis, men's golf, football and men's basketball have been endowed. UvA wants to give all his head coaching positions and to put a greater emphasis on fundraising in the coming decade through the Virginia Athletics Foundation.

Every Olympic sports program in America shares the challenge to compete for limited funds, while the highest ambitions for his athletes and teams are being pursued, Pedroso said. This approach enables our coaches to fully concentrate on attracting and developing student athletes at UVA. It is incredibly exciting to be part of a new movement. I am grateful to Gene and Terry Lockhart for their vision.

Since he became UVAS Head Mens Tennis Coach in 2017, Pedroso has led the program to Atlantic Coast Conference Team Championships in 2021, 2022 and 2023 and Back-to-Back NCAA championships in 2022 and 2023. At the same time, his team is consistently an academisch in UVLETTICIVING.

Respond to changing dynamics

A number of developments have introduced new dynamics and uncertainty in university athletics, where traditional models and approaches are disturbed for how university athletics programs and individual teams are financed and managed.

This financial pressure and uncertainty have led to all athletics programs of Division I consider how they can best support their programs, support student athletes and remain competitive. This is especially important for UVAS Olympic sports programs, which depend on multiple sources of financing, including institutional support, to remain viable and competitive, because they do not generate sufficient income to fully cover student fairs, coaching salaries and operational and capital costs.

We could not even consider these creative solutions without the generosity of our supporters, who not only support our Olympic sports, but also our entire athletics program, said Virginia Athletics Director Carla Williams. The generosity of donors such as Gene and Terry enables us to compete at the highest level and also lead more energy to the development of student athletes who will lead an impactful life long after they are ready here.

The Virginia Athletics Foundation supports 27 Division I teams for men and women and individual sports. Cavalier Olympic sports programs are among the most successful in the country.

Under recent achievements: five consecutive NCAA championships for women's swimming and diving, a number 1 ranking for the first time in program history and the best preseason ever for softball (no. 24). Herentennis is number 6, while both Lacrosse programs are in the top 20. Men's and women's job and field athletes continue to set UVA and NCAA records, and the Golf for Men and Women are in the top 15.

Story by Mark Luellen, vice -president for Advancement, University of Virginia