Since 1964, the Dinos have represented the University of Calgary at the highest stage of Canadian University sport. For 60 years, the Dinos have been champions and leaders on the field, in the classroom and the community. I want to thank you for your interest and investment in the Dinos.
Countless athletes who donned the Scarlet & Gold have become leaders in the community and beyond. Student-athletes have an extra edge as they can utilize the skills and experiences they acquire while playing their sport at an elite level and apply them to other experiences. Their success, as well as the success of future Dinos, would not have been possible without the support of the entire University of Calgary community.
We have identified multiple areas of focus that will take our program to the next level. These include operating endowments, athletic scholarships, sport science & mental health resources, student-athlete leadership development, coaching resources, and facilities. Each of these areas will benefit our student-athletes and allow Dinos Athletics to strive toward being the top varsity athletic program in the country. With your help, we can continue developing the next generation of champions and leaders.
Athletic Scholarships
Athletic scholarships allow Dinos student-athletes to meet the academic and athletic demands placed upon them while representing the University of Calgary. Between their time spent in the classroom, studying, training, and playing, our student-athletes cannot maintain part-time employment like other students, which is why athletic scholarships play a critical part in a student-athlete’s time at UCalgary. Additionally, athletic awards are essential for recruiting the best and brightest student-athletes to UCalgary.
- Endowed award funds are vitally important to the University of Calgary Dinos as they provide a permanent and stable source of funding for student awards. A gift of $50,000 will allow us to establish a named athletic award that will directly support Dinos student-athletes in perpetuity.
- Athletic Awards can also be funded through donor gifts on an annual basis with a minimum commitment term.
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Sustainability (Operating Endowments)
Contributions to a current and/or newly created endowment brings Dinos Athletics that much closer to fully funding our teams’ operations – meaning these Dinosaurs won’t become extinct. By supporting Dinos operating endowments, donors can provide a self-sustaining source of funding that supports operational expenses including, but not limited to:
- Travel within Canada and worldwide for unique exposure in elite competitive environments.
- Recruitment of athletes with competitive student-athlete aid packages.
- Equipment and Uniforms are essential for every athlete’s preparation, performance, and recovery.
This means that our varsity programs can focus less on fundraising for day-to-day operations and provide insulation from potentially volatile external forces.
Each year, a portion of the endowment fund’s earnings are used to support the Dinos, while the principal is retained for future growth of the endowment. The University of Calgary Board of Governors, under the guidance of its Investment Committee, carefully monitors the impact of current market conditions and the performance of the university’s endowment.
All contributions, large or small, will make a significant contribution toward our goal of endowing the cost of operations for our teams. Your gift will be used to support the ongoing needs within the varsity program of your choice.
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Sport Science & Mental Health Resources
The University of Calgary’s Faculty of Kinesiology is consistently ranked as a top institution in North America for Sport Science. With your help, we can leverage the world-class research happening under our roof and give the Dinos an edge. By supporting sport science initiatives, you will provide:
- Resources for student-athletes to not only enhance their performance but gain an understanding of the role that strength and conditioning, nutrition, sports psychology, and training/sports medicine plays in their journey as elite athletes.
- Kinesiology students & researchers studying sport medicine, sport psychology and sport physiology the opportunity to advance their knowledge and skills in these specialties while applying their findings to help our student-athletes continue to perform at their best.
Potential support in this area could include the purchase of wearable technology that provides Dinos coaches and researchers with valuable information on how to monitor performance, equipment to measure movement or additional research capacity for Faculty and students.
Balancing academics, sport, and their personal lives can be an extremely difficult challenge for our student-athletes. While the Athletic Therapy team is dedicated to treating physical injuries, we have the opportunity to expand our capacity to proactively provide mental health resources to our student-athletes.
Recently, a framework has been established which would provide student-athletes with the necessary resources should they need mental health support. These resources include access to a clinical psychologist and proactive mental health care sessions to ensure student-athletes know when to access the support available. Gifts to mental health resources would allow more student-athletes to access support, cover costs of additional sessions, and implement additional proactive mental health programs.
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Student-Athlete Leadership Development
It takes more than winning games to develop leaders. Our aim is to give Dinos student-athletes opportunities to grow outside of competition, through unique community partnership programs, academic support programs and conferences geared specifically to the abilities of a student-athlete. With your help, we can foster the next generation of leaders who will bring the best of themselves into the community.
Student-athletes are sought after by employers because of inherent skills learned through sport. With your support, we envision being able to enhance and refine those skills through a comprehensive curriculum that will continue to set them apart when they enter the workforce.
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Coaching
Dinos Athletics is committed to attracting, developing, and retaining the best university coaches in Canada. Coaches that are not only talented instructors of their sport but passionate and knowledgeable leaders for Dinos student-athletes. With your support, we can provide our coaches with an unparalleled coaching and leadership development program tailored for each member of the Dinos coaching staff. However, no coach should go at it alone, which is why we are also focused on expanding the number of on-campus assistant coaches. A head coach for our varsity teams wears many hats – recruiter, teacher, fundraiser, and mentor. The head coach of any Dinos program has a very big job, and we want to support them the best we can by hiring qualified assistant coaches who can enhance the development and performance of our student-athletes on and off the field.
One of the most significant relationships for our student-athletes is with their coaches. With your help, we can ensure they are being led and taught by those at the top of their game.
We intend to take another step to ensure the longevity of our coaching positions by focusing on financial security. Endowing coaching positions ensures we maintain the best coaches with competitive salaries year after year and have a stable source of funding to do so. By endowing our coaching positions, we preserve top-tier coaches and reward their expertise accordingly. The preservation of top-tier coaches will aid in the long-term success of our Dinos programs.
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Facilities
The legacy of the 1988 Winter Olympics provided the University of Calgary and the Dinos with facilities that were once the envy of the country. While the spirit of the ’88 Games continues to resonate throughout the campus, the facilities that continue to serve elite athletes and the Calgary community are now in need of upgrading.
Modernizing our sport facilities allows the University of Calgary to continue serving the community and the Dinos. With needs ranging from a new high-performance training space to locker rooms and academic spaces, your financial support will allow the University of Calgary to be a centrepiece of the community and enable Dinos student-athletes to continue flourishing in the classroom and in competition.
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Building a financially stable athletics program that can invest in the future success of our student-athletes and continue to attract top talent.
By investing in our student-athletes and the future of Dinos Athletics, the University of Calgary continues to create economic value, generate local investment, and foster a sense of community pride. As we celebrate the tradition of giving, we remain committed to supporting the growth and success of our Dinos, and in turn, elevating our community.
Donors may choose to make one-time gifts, annual gifts or even make a monthly contribution.
