WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – Within one 24-hour span, over 2,500 alumni, friends and fans of the William & Mary Athletics department contributed a record-total of $808,944 during the university's annual One Tribe One Day event last week.

"I am overjoyed and deeply thankful to the entire Tribe community for their unrelenting and unwavering support of W&M Athletics," said William & Mary's Senior Associate Athletics Director for Advancement Jarrad Turner. "The incredible generosity, spirit, and investment in our student-athletes never cease to amaze me. It is truly humbling to witness the remarkable accomplishments of the W&M Athletics community as they go All In for a common goal."

The 2023 OTOD event marks the third-straight year that Athletics broke its own single-day of giving record. The previous standard was $571,862 from 2,248 donors a year ago.

Included in this year's total was over $46,700 of gifts that went directly to the Athletics Impact Fund, while an additional $66,700 went towards the Athletics Complex Fund, which are two critical areas of emphasis for the $55,000,000 All In campaign, which will be winding up later this fall.

This year's record number was achieved through the gifts of 2,518 individuals. Included in the record total was a $5,000 stipend earned by attracting the most new donors among W&M departments. It was one of five awards provided as part of the The Gerdelman School & Unit Challenge, sponsored by Sue Hanna Gerdelman '76, P '07, P '13 and the late John Gerdelman '75, L.H.D. '19, P '07, P '13.

"William & Mary's Athletics Department is in many ways a second home to our family," said Sue Gerdelman, the chair of the All In Campaign. "John and I met while he was playing football for W&M and our two children grew up attending Tribe Athletics events. We are thrilled to support its mission of providing our student-athletes with skill sets that will allow them to thrive in life after graduation."

In total, 11,376 alumni, students, parents, faculty, staff and friends collectively gave more than $4 million to nearly 800 areas across William & Mary — making it the biggest and most successful giving day yet for total dollars raised on OTOD.
 
"Ten years ago, One Tribe One Day launched as an imaginative concept: a day for giving back and paying it forward. It is awe-inspiring to see how this tradition has evolved, uniting our community worldwide," said President Katherine A. Rowe.

All told, W&M Athletics has raised more than $3 million in critical funding for its student-athletes during the 10 years of OTOD events.   Because of this steadfast generosity of alumni, parents, fans, and friends, William & Mary Athletics can provide the resources for student-athletes to pursue championships and develop as individuals who are prepared to live lives of impact.