The University of Virginia, the Department of Athletics and the Virginia Athletics Foundation today announced an anonymous gift of $5 million to support both the Athletics Master Plan and the new Student Health & Wellness Center. The commitment includes a $4 million gift to the Athletics Master Plan and a $1 million gift to the Student Health & Wellness Center.

“This very generous gift is a great boost for the master plan, and for that we are thankful,” Director of Athletics Carla Williams said. “We need gifts of all sizes to make this project a reality for UVA and our athletics community. While the donor for this gift wishes to remain anonymous, it is important for us to acknowledge how grateful we are for their tremendous support.”

The first phase of the master plan was initiated last fall, and more than 400 student-athletes, coaches and staff have moved out of University Hall and Onesty Hall and into the new Training Grounds area. University Hall, Onesty Hall and The Cage have been demolished, clearing the space for two grass practice fields for the football program.

The new Athletics Master Plan complex will provide support facilities for more than 70% of the University’s sport programs and include:

• A football operations center.
• An Olympic sports center.
• Three natural grass practice fields.
• A pedestrian promenade for improved connectivity between North and Central Grounds.
• A renovated McCue Center.

The complex will also include space to provide programming for career development, academic support, leadership development, personal development and community engagement, benefiting all 27 UVA varsity sports programs.

“We are thankful for the tremendous generosity shown with this commitment,” Dirk Katstra, executive director of the Virginia Athletics Foundation, said. “The master plan is about constructing the facilities to meet the needs of our student-athletes and creating a long-term culture of excellence, a cause close to this family’s heart.”

The Student Health & Wellness Center will be located on Brandon Avenue near the South Lawn and the newly named Julian Bond House. Groundbreaking for the center, which will feature four stories, expanded parking and 156,000 gross square feet, took place last fall. The center is expected to be completed in spring 2021. In addition to providing critically needed space for clinical services, the light-filled center will reflect wellness and offer areas for students to meet or conduct programming around health-related topics.

“Health and wellness form the foundation for students to thrive in all areas of their lives,” Patricia M. Lampkin, UVA’s vice president and chief student affairs officer, said. “I am grateful to the donors for their generosity in supporting an initiative so central to the student experience. As needs have changed and demands increased for various medical services, the new center will not only help meet those needs but also embody the larger message of cultivating good health as a foundation for living a good life.”

More information about the master plan is available here and through the video series, “Here We Go.”