MILWAUKEE — As part of its first major fund-raising drive in several years, Marquette University will ask donors and alumni for as much as $25 million to build a sports training center for athletes, according to sources close to the school.
The project is expected to be part of a construction and academic expansion package that could total $300 million to $500 million. Most of that will be used to build a new library, fund dozens of new scholarships and possibly build a new dental school.
"Right now, what we have is a wish list," said John Hopkins, vice president of communications for Marquette. "Some of the items on it will fall off over time."
By the end of the year, school officials expect to have approval from trustees to start the fund-raising effort. The library and scholarships are definite components of the campaign, which probably will last five to seven years, Hopkins said.
Projects such as the athletic training center usually become high-profile fund-raising targets because they are appealing to alumni whose primary connection with the school after graduation continues through sports, said Rolf Wegenke, president of the Wisconsin Association of Independent Colleges and Universities in Madison. Donors who have never attended the school also are more likely to donate to athletic programs than to other on-campus projects because of the higher profile that sports teams command.
Marquette hasn't asked for contributions for new buildings since 1990, according to the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, a trade group in Washington, D.C.
One advantage the sports training center has over other requests on the school's wish list is that it can potentially raise revenue.
"Ultimately, we are interested in those projects that can move the university to a new level of achievement," Hopkins said. "That can take a number of different forms, and we are interested in pursuing all of them."
Brad Hoeschen writes for The Business Journal in Milwaukee.
