Dear USF Community,

As we come to the close of our men's and women's basketball seasons, we hope you, your family, and friends are doing well. At USF Athletics, we are deeply grateful for the passion and generosity of the Dons community. Your support - both philanthropic and personal - plays a vital role in helping our programs succeed.

We are writing to share the path we are taking in this new era of college athletics and why your continued engagement is so important. Recent changes in NCAA policy now allow institutions to share resources directly with student-athletes for the first time in more than a century. Beginning last year, athletics departments can distribute up to $20.5 million annually to support student-athletes, creating new opportunities for universities to recruit, develop, and retain top talent.

In response, USF Athletics has brought these efforts fully in-house. The university now directly enters agreements with student-athletes to license and commercialize their name, image, and likeness (NIL) as part of a comprehensive program supporting recruitment, retention, and student-athlete development.

Many of our supporters played a critical role during the transition to this new model through The Hilltop Club. Your generosity helped position USF basketball to remain competitive as the national landscape evolved, and we are grateful for the foundation you helped establish.

To continue that momentum, USF Athletics is launching new, institutionally administered avenues for supporting student-athletes: the Bridge to Excellence Funds.

The Bridge to Excellence Funds will serve as USF's centralized funds supporting student-athlete revenue share (compensation) and competitive excellence across our programs, with particular emphasis on men's and women's basketball. The funds includes two program-specific funds - the Men's Basketball Bridge to Excellence Fund and the Women's Basketball Bridge to Excellence Fund - and builds on the strong foundation established through prior NIL efforts. Contributions are made directly to the University of San Francisco and are tax-deductible.

Supporting our student-athletes through the Bridge to Excellence Funds represents a critical investment in the future of USF Athletics. As college athletics continues to evolve, the engagement of the USF community will help ensure our programs remain competitive and our student-athletes continue to thrive.

Finally, we would like to share a quote from President Salvador Aceves: "By investing in this fund, we affirm that competitive excellence and Jesuit values go hand in hand, empowering our student-athletes to pursue greatness on the court, in the classroom, and in their lives beyond USF."

Thank you for your continued belief in USF Athletics and for the many ways you support our student-athletes and programs. GO DONS!

With gratitude,




Stephanie Shrieve-Hawkins, Interim Director of Athletics

**All gifts to the Bridge to Excellence Funds through March 26, 2026 will be included as part of the university's day of giving - Day of the Dons**