CALGARY – The University of Calgary is significantly increasing its investment into scholarships for student-athletes.

Beginning with the 2014-15 academic year, the Dinos Athletic Excellence Award program will distribute up to $250,000 annually to student-athletes and, by leveraging new investments from the community, the Dinos hope to bring that total as high as $500,000 – approximately 100 new scholarships for deserving student-athletes.

Dr. Dru Marshall, provost and vice president (academic), made the official announcement at the 47th Annual Night of the Dino, adding that her office was also committing funding for a full-time student-athlete academic coordinator for the athletic department.

"Both initiatives will be in place this spring to ensure our athletes have the resources to succeed both on and off the field next season," Marshall told the assembled group of more than 700 at the Olympic Oval. "At the University of Calgary we have a rich history of success and need to be well-positioned to continue to attract the very best student-athletes to our campus."

The increase essentially doubles the Dinos' scholarship offering and, when combined with the Jimmie Condon athletic scholarships funded by the Government of Alberta, will bring the total financial aid for student-athletes to $1.5 million in 2014-15.

"This is a historic announcement," said Ron Wuotila, director of athletics. "This commitment from the University of Calgary will allow our coaches to attract and retain more of the top student-athletes in Canada, allowing us to better contribute to the university's Eyes High vision by building a championship culture on this campus. Our mission is to build pride and engage with our communities while educating and developing tomorrow's leaders, and these additional resources will go a long way toward ensuring that happens.

"The funding for full-time support in the area of student-athlete academics is also incredibly valuable and will be a differentiator for our athletic department and our university. We are grateful to Dr. Marshall and the university for this commitment to our student-athletes."

Under Canadian Interuniversity Sport regulations, student-athletes can receive athletic-related financial aid to a maximum of their tuition and mandatory fees.

The University of Calgary fields teams in 19 varsity sports and nine competitive club sports, with more than 600 student-athletes representing the Dinos each year.

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