Univ. of Minnesota President Eric Kaler on Sunday said that the school's $150M athletic fundraising project to "improve facilities and build new football and basketball practice facilities is going fine, and there is no concern that the school will be unable to complete the project," according to Sid Hartman of the Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE. Kaler said that anyone "complaining about a lack of fundraising on the project needs to look at things differently." Kaler: "I think you need to put a little perspective on this. We have raised about $70 million in less than a year. Most places I know would be jumping up and down with a great story, instead we get rumors that we’re slowing down and we’re not committed." Kaler said that while the project is being financed entirely by private donations, there is "still the possibility that the athletic department could get a loan from the university" to have 80% of the cost of the project raised to "start construction on time." Kaler added that a loan "still would be counted toward the necessary" 80% of total money raised on the project "in order to go forward with construction" (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 2/9). UM Senior Associate AD/Strategic Communications Chris Werle said that a $6M gift "brings the total raised" to $65M. But UM CFO Richard Pfutzenreuter said the school still has a "big hill to climb." In Minneapolis, Joe Christensen reported a "complete financing plan must be ready for approval at the June 11-12 Board of Regents meeting in order to begin construction in October." That gives AD Norwood Teague four months to raise another $55M, "a fundraising pace that would need to be nearly twice as fast as what it has been" (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 2/7).
