VILLANOVA, Pa.—A new milestone in support of Villanova Women's Basketball was reached today with the announcement of a leadership gift to the program. Villanova University Vice President and Director of Athletics Mark Jackson revealed a $500,000 gift by an anonymous donor which will go towards the Villanova Women's Basketball Davis Center Office Suite Renovation Project. This is the largest gift that an individual has ever made to the women's basketball program.
"This is a very exciting day for Villanova Athletics," Jackson said. "I am both humbled by the generosity of an individual donor and incredibly proud of the success our women's basketball program has had which helps bring to fruition landmark days such as this one. This gift goes beyond supporting the office suite renovation project and is an investment in the bright future of Villanova Women's Basketball under the leadership of
Denise Dillon."
The donation announced today is the lead gift that will make possible a complete renovation to the women's basketball office suite located on the first floor of the Davis Center. The building has been home to Villanova Basketball since its opening in November 2007 and the upcoming renovation project will provide the women's basketball program with enhanced spaces for meetings and film review along with new state-of-the-art amenities that will be available to the Wildcats student-athletes and coaching staff.
"Today is a day of celebration shared by everyone connected with Villanova Women's Basketball. I want to express my sincere gratitude for this extremely generous gift to our program," said Dillon. "The office suite renovation project is an important step forward as we continue to strive for success and championships at the highest level. While I look towards the promising days ahead for Villanova's Women's Basketball, I'm also reminded of the women who paved the way for days like this. Your generous gift has simultaneously honored our proud past and provided for our bright future."
The timing could not be better for Villanova Women's Basketball to reach the milestone of a $500,000 individual gift. The Wildcats were picked to finish third in a highly competitive BIG EAST race this season and are a team on the rise fueled by a 9-2 start to the 2022-23 season. Villanova has been ranked in the national polls in each of the last four weeks and already features a road win over a nationally ranked foe (No. 25 Princeton) and impressive victories over Belmont and USF at the Gulf Coast Showcase. Last season in her second year as head coach at her alma mater, Dillon guided the Wildcats to the NCAA Tournament and an upset first round win over #6 seed BYU on a neutral court. Villanova went on to give #3 seed Michigan all it could handle in a second round game on the Wolverines home court and finished the 2021-22 campaign with a 24-9 overall record.
Maintaining the Wildcats place of national prominence has helped the Wildcats attract top talent to come to the Main Line. This year's squad is led by
Maddy Siegrist, the reigning BIG EAST Player of the Year and an All-America selection by the
Associated Press and
U.S. Basketball Writers Association last season. Siegrist became the third Villanova women's basketball player ever to reach 2,000 career points in a win over USF on Nov. 27. She begins play this week ranked fourth in the country in scoring at 27.4 points per game.
Villanova has made 12 NCAA Tournament appearances in its history and has advanced to national postseason play in 19 of the past 22 seasons. The program has won three regular season BIG EAST titles and three BIG EAST Tournament crowns in its history to go along with nine NCAA Tournament wins and 18 WNIT victories. The Wildcats are the winningest team in the history of Philadelphia Big 5 women's basketball with 128 all-time wins in City Series play.
