Fort Lewis College Athletics

Skyhawks Club Casino Night and external support reach new heights

8/12/2024 1:00:00 PM

By: Angela Roberts, Associate AD-Communications

DURANGO, Colo. – Another year has come and gone, capped off by the annual Skyhawks Club Casino Night, and it's time to reflect on the accomplishments of the 2023-24 campaign.

"I'm incredibly proud of our coaches and staff for their commitment to our external goals," said Director of Athletics, Travis Whipple. "This has been a complete team effort. Also, I would like to recognize and thank the FLC Foundation for being such a great partner in this important work."

Casino night is fresh in everybody's minds, an evening of laughs, competitiveness, and community that raises funds for student-athlete scholarships and program enhancements. This year, the event raised approximately $60,160—surpassing last year's amount and totaling over $110,000 raised since the event's inception.

"Our Skyhawks Club Casino Night is turning into a tradition that you don't want to miss. It has quickly become a premier social event committed to raising support for scholarships and program enhancements," said Whipple. "The energy from this event sets the tone for the year ahead, and it's awesome to see the support at an all-time high for our Skyhawks."

Over the last year, the department saw increased support in multiple key areas. The external relations team broke the two-million-dollar mark in overall support for the second consecutive year, aided by the Giving Tuesday campaign that raised over $270,000 from 200 donors. The campaign total was the largest in the FLC Athletics history. Furthermore, the Sports Performance Center campaign generated another $483,506 from 18 donors. This state-of-the-art project is expected to be completed and opened in January 2025.

The student-athlete experience is also consistently improving, as evidenced by top-10 finishes in attendance at the NCAA Division II level throughout the winter. Corporate partnerships and ticket sales experienced a 10% growth as well. Outside of competition, the Skyhawks student-athletes are committing to excellence in the community. In total, our programs contributed over 3,000 hours of service to Durango and the surrounding areas in 2023-24.

The Skyhawks Club plays a crucial role in helping support student-athlete scholarships, facility improvements, and program enhancements. Contributions are the key to enhancing the student-athlete experience and the competitive success of Fort Lewis College athletic programs. For more information or to join the Skyhawks Club, call 970.247.7224 or click here.

"Thank you to our generous donors, corporate partners, fans, alumni, and friends for ensuring that we can continue graduating champions. Every gift matters and makes a difference as we continue to build a program of excellence that can serve as a rallying point for all involved," recognized Whipple.

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