The fundraising arm of the William & Mary Athletics Department, the Tribe Club, saw record participation among former student-athletes for the 2017-18 academic year.
 
Overall, athletics hit a new high of 33.2% of all athletes giving back to athletics (a total of 2,980 donors).  Additionally, another giving standard (45.9%) was set among the cohort of donors considered "young alumni"  (former student-athletes who have been graduated 11 years, or less).
 
"It was a great year for the Alumni Athlete Giving Challenge," commented Bobby Dwyer, the Tribe's Sr. Associate Athletics Director for External Operations.  "The record totals are a direct reflection of the hard work and passion our volunteers have for their respective programs.  (Associate Director of Development) Al Albert does an incredible job of organizing the initiative and has developed it into one of our more successful programs."
 
For more than a decade, the Tribe Club has provided incentive based giving challenges among the individual sports programs for men and women in the areas of highest % of total donors, highest % among the young alumni and most improved over last fiscal year.   Mark Boddy '87 and Northwestern Mutual Financial is the presenting sponsor for the men's overall giving challenge award.
 
Ten different programs were awarded some level of bonus among the $15,000 in available incentives. A complete break down and final standings can be found HERE.
 
The men's gymnastics program had the top overall participation rate of 70.5%.  Another milestone was reached, as two women's programs, soccer and gymnastics, topped the 50% mark.
 
A single donor decided several categories in the incentive races on the final day, including the overall winner for the women's program.   Additionally, 13 of our programs improved from last year's percentage and 12 achieved all-time highs in percentage of participation.
 
Here are the incentive prizes and the standings:
 
Men's Overall (sponsored by Mark Boddy and Northwestern Mutual)
1. Gymnastics, $2,000
2. Soccer, $1500
3. Basketball, $1,000
 
Women's Overall
1.  Gymnastics, $2,000
2.  Soccer, $1,500
3. Swimming, $1,000
 
Men's Young Alum
1.  Gymnastics, $750
2.  Basketball, $500
3.  Soccer, $250
 
Women's Young Alum
1.  Gymnastics, $750
2.  Soccer, $500
3.  Lacrosse, $250
 
Men's Most Improved
1.  Tennis, $750
2.  Baseball, $500
3.  Basketball, $250
 
Women's Most Improved
1.  Swimming, $750
2.  Gymnastics, $500
3.  Basketball, $250