SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. - In coordination with University of San Francisco (USF) Athletics, the Hilltop Club will present Rev. Paul J. Fitzgerald, S.J., president of USF, with the Jim Brovelli Award at the Dons Tip Off Gala this Saturday, Nov. 2 at the Conservatory at One Sansome in San Francisco.
 
The Jim Brovelli Award is presented annually to an individual who has demonstrated outstanding commitment, loyalty, dedication and service to USF's basketball program over the years. The award is named in honor of Jim Brovelli, whose Hall of Fame contributions to USF basketball as a player, coach and broadcaster spans six decades.

Fr. Fitzgerald has led the University of San Francisco as president, as well as dedicated supporter of USF Athletics, for the past ten years. With his leadership, USF completed its largest-ever comprehensive campaign that surpassed its goal to raise $312 million, expanded the campus footprint and overhauled facilities, developed a strategic plan for the university's future, and strengthened its mission to change the world from here.
 
Fr. Fitzgerald earned a B.A. in History from Santa Clara University in 1980, and two years later entered the Society of Jesus, beginning his religious formation at the Jesuit Novitiate in Montecito, California. After First Vows, he was sent to study Philosophy at the Jesuit-run Hochschule fuer Philosophie in Munich, Germany. He then returned to the U.S. to teach at Jesuit High School in Sacramento.
 
Fr. Fitzgerald earned the M.Div. degree in 1991 and a Pontifical Licentiate with an emphasis in Ecclesiology at Weston School of Theology, Cambridge MA in 1993. He attended the University of Paris - La Sorbonne, where he earned a D.E.A. (diplôme des études approfondies) and a Docteur ès Lettres (Ph.D.) in the Sociology of Religion. Concurrently he worked towards an S.T.D. (Pontifical Doctorate) in Ecclesiology from the Institut Catholique de Paris.
 
Fr. Fitzgerald serves on the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities Board of Directors, as well as the Board of Trustees of Seattle University. In the past, he has served on the Board of Trustees of Loyola Marymount, Loyola Chicago and Loyola University in New Orleans; the Board of Governors of the Commonwealth Club; and the Board of Regents of Archbishop Mitty High School. His prior board service also includes the Ecclesiastical Board of the School of Theology and Ministry at Boston College. He currently serves on the nonprofit board of Bay Scholars, a highly successful program that supports under-resourced students at Bay Area Catholic Secondary Schools.

We invite you to join us in celebrating Fr. Fitzgerald and the Jim Brovelli Award at the 2024 Tip Off Gala, which serves as the official start of the 2024-25 men's and women's basketball seasons. Tickets and further information are available here.
 
For updates and more information on the Hilltop Club, follow @HilltopclubUSF on Twitter and @HilltopClubUSF on Instagram. 

For updates and more information on USF Athletics, follow the Dons @DonsAthletics on Twitter, @DonsAthletics on Instagram, @DonsAthletics on Facebook and subscribe to our YouTube Channel @USFDonsAthletics.