NDSU’s fundraising group, Team Makers, provides the scholarship money for Bison student-athletes. But with the increase in membership and gifts, they have been able to afford financing and funding for some of NDSU Athletics’ largest construction projects.
Team Makers Executive Director Pat Simmers estimates 80 percent of Team Makers revenue goes toward scholarships, while 15 goes to operations, like special projects, and the final five goes to overhead.
Donations to Team Makers help fund projects that enhance the student-athlete experience in addition to scholarships.
Here are a few of the projects that they have helped finance and fund.
Team Makers' Athletic Fields
The football team practices on three fields located south of the Sanford Health Athletic Complex. For around $300,000 from Team Makers and gifts from other donors such as Gate City Bank, NDSU was able to purchase a turf surface in the center of the three fields at 30 percent of the cost. The discount was made possible by the faulty turf that was installed in the Fargodome for the first game of the 2012 football season.
SHAC - Furniture, Fixtures and Equipment
The state legislature approved the renovation of the Sanford Health Athletic Complex. The final number ended up being around $41 million. That cost was to renovate the already existing portion of the building. Furniture, fixtures and equipment will be financed to pay for things like the hoops and baskets in the Scheels Center and seats to surround the court. Team Makers will finance the furniture, fixtures and equipment for $1.75 million over a seven-year period.
Dacotah Field Bubble
NDSU financed the Dacotah Field Bubble, meaning they have five years to pay it off. Big donations helped spark the project and now other donors are pitching in each year until it’s all paid for.
Fargodome - Football Locker Room
Team Makers is also financing the locker room that will be finished in August. Much like the Dacotah Field Bubble, Team Makers wrote the final note, and by the end of the year, they will get all of the money back.
Interested in becoming a Team Maker? Get started today by following this link and you will help further the student-athlete experience at NDSU.
