While the semester is winding down, William & Mary's staff continue their work to ensure that operations across the university support our Athletics community in the best possible way.
 
One current project involves the William & Mary Athletic Educational Foundation, which most of us know as the Tribe Club and of which many of you are members. I appreciate more than ever how important the Tribe Club is in supporting our student-athletes.  Members' donations provide our student-athletes with scholarships and our teams with the equipment and resources necessary for success.
 
We have reviewed the structure of the Tribe Club in an effort to streamline operations and make it easier to ensure we are meeting the expectations of our donors in terms of how their gifts are managed and administered.  To achieve those goals, we will begin the process of moving the Tribe Club under the umbrella of the William & Mary Foundation, which supports all facets of the university's fundraising efforts.  
 
As we move into the new fiscal year on July 1, the formal name of the Tribe Club will change from the William & Mary Athletic Educational Foundation to the William & Mary Athletic Foundation.
 
A newly constituted Tribe Athletics Advisory Council will be charged with committee development, enhancing the culture of philanthropy, volunteer engagement, and the fan and game experience, continuing the proud tradition of the Tribe Club.
 
With the obligation to raise roughly $10 million annually for student-athlete scholarships, we need to grow philanthropic support. In the fall of 2020, the university established the Scholarship/Student-Athlete Support Fund, which advances our ability to meet the need for student-athlete scholarships, and the Excellence Fund for programmatic and operating support. Gifts to the William & Mary Athletics Foundation can be directed to either or both funds to support the 23 varsity sports programs.
 
Commencement will be held May 22-23 and include six ceremonies in Zable to allow us to safely celebrate the university's newest degree recipients. Among them will be 140 Tribe student-athletes. In my next From the Desk message at the end of the month, I will highlight several of these extraordinary individuals and their accomplishments. These men and women are the reason we do what we do, and I couldn't be prouder of them. As always, go Tribe!
 
All the best,
Jeremy
 
Jeremy P. Martin Ph.D. '12 MBA '17
Interim Director of Athletics
William & Mary