UNH Today

Danny Buzzell of UNH Athletics recently talked with UNH Today about his program and how donors help make it successful.

This past school year was a big one for UNH Athletics. What are you most proud of?

UNH teams appeared in several conference championships, the NCAA post-season appearance by the men’s basketball team, and track and field athlete Ellie Purrier.

We know donors are a huge part of why we have the new Wildcat Stadium and other facility upgrades, but in what other ways do donors support student-athletes?

Your Philanthropy Creates Possibilities

Explore the many ways you can support UNH at unh.edu/give/how-to-give.

Our development staff would be happy to work with you.

Donor support is critical to each athletic program’s ability to offset the costs of recruiting, team travel and equipment. And it’s so important in helping us achieve our goal of providing support necessary to allow student-athletes to succeed in competition and in the classroom. Donors are the reason we are able to provide more than 330 scholarships to our Wildcats.

How do you measure your success in such a broad program?

The most important thing this program does on a daily basis is allow UNH student-athletes to develop their talents through sport and provide opportunities for student-athletes to gain an education while also competing at a Division I university. Striving for and achieving that goal is how we measure our success.

UNH Athletics employs so many staff and coaches — what keeps everyone motivated?

Athletics provides an avenue for alumni, parents, staff, students, friends and fans to become connected. Our various athletic programs also allow our student-athletes to gain an education while forming bonds to their teammates, the University of New Hampshire and various alumni who participated in their sport before them, creating a natural networking opportunity for all UNH student-athletes.

The average annual gift to Athletics this year was $223. If you could speak to that "typical donor" what would you want him or her to know?

I would want to show them what they helped do — either show them a newly purchased piece of equipment or introduce them to a student who has received a scholarship. They should know that every gift makes a difference in Athletics.