May 17, 2012

In typical fashion, our Wildcats raced to a furious finish at the end of the fundraising year. Congratulations to all of our teams for your tremendous effort to support Davidson's athletic programs. Over 33% of former athletes made a gift to Davidson athletics through the DAF this year.

The final week of the Wildcat Top 21 challenge saw some steep jumps in participation from our teams. Women's soccer snuck up on all teams at the 11th hour with a remarkable 12% increase in participation to finish with an astonishing 50% participation rate. Congratulations to women's soccer for a well-deserved participation victory.

"I am extremely appreciative of all the former women's soccer players who have contributed to the program over the years and who now give back," said Head Women's Soccer Coach Greg Aston. "To win the Wildcat Top 21 is an amazing feat and you should all be extremely proud of this accomplishment. On behalf of the program I want to thank you for your continued support of women's soccer and the DAF."

Women's volleyball led throughout most of May and June, and ultimately won the greatest one-year improvement in giving, jumping a whopping 12.5%.

"As coaches, we take joy in seeing our teams improve throughout the season and realizing that our alumnae are doing the same through their contributions gives me joy and pride associated with such an outstanding group of individuals," Head Volleyball Coach Chris Willis said. "Your generosity will give our current athletes advantages they never realized. I can't express how much we appreciate your loyalty to Davidson and the volleyball program."

The top five teams all finished with participation above 40%, an unprecedented first. With 20 out of 21 teams surpassing their giving from last year, you have done all that Davidson, the DAF, our coaches, and student athletes can ask of you. Click here for the complete final rankings.

Again, thanks to all of you and your teams for a very special Wildcat Top 21 challenge. Thank you so much for your participation this year and we encourage you to participate again in the coming year! If you have some ideas as to how you can help your team can take the lead in next year's Wildcat Top 21 challenge, please call anyone at the DAF at 704-894-2396.

It's a great day to be a Wildcat!