Former UF Student-Athletes (39 so far) Have Contributed $17.9 Million as Gators Continue Fundraising for Facilities

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The University Athletic Association, in the midst of one of the most comprehensive revamping of facilities in its history, has received significant support from those who once called Florida's athletic venues home.

As the UAA continues a fundraising campaign for the construction of the Florida Football Training Center, a stand-alone facility to modernize and provide adequate space for the football program, and Florida Ballpark, the future home of the UF baseball team, 39 former UF student-athletes have contributed nearly $18 million of the current $90.9 million committed over the course of the three-tiered UAA Facilities Master Plan.

AT A GLANCE

Thirty-nine former student athletes have contributed $17.9 million to UAA's Master Facility fundraising efforts thus far
The UAA is currently seeking gifts of $65 million by June of 2020 to fund the remaining projects in Phases 2 and 3 of the Master Facility Plan, most notably the Football Training Center.
Current gifts in the Master Facility Plan fundraising efforts have helped fund the Hawkins Center at Farrior Hall, Exactech Arena, Indoor Football Practice Facility and Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium
For more information how to support the projects in the Facilities Master Plan visit GatorBoosters.org

Phase I of the project launched in 2015 with the $65 million renovation of the O'Connell Center, construction of an indoor practice facility for football and the Otis Hawkins Center for Academic and Personal Excellence at Farrior Hall. The first part of Phases II and III was the $15 million renovation of Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium, home to UF's two-time national champion softball team. The Gators moved into their state-of-the-art facility last month.

In addition, the UAA held a groundbreaking ceremony last month on the future site of Florida Ballpark, scheduled to be completed in June 2020, with the Gators taking the field in the new stadium for the 2021 season.

An undertaking as massive as the UAA Facilities Master Plan is impossible without the financial support of boosters, alumni and philanthropists with an interest in the University of Florida and Gators Athletics. In all, the UAA has sought to raise $155 million during the three phases. The latest push is to reach the $120 million mark by June, $140 million in December, and finally the $155 million plateau in June 2020.

Facilities Master Plan Fundraising Goals

A wide-range of former UF student-athletes from different eras has chipped in financially to upgrade Florida's facilities, including current Chicago Bears tight end Trey Burton, who played for the Gators from 2010-13.

The experience has been an eye-opening one for the 27-year-old Burton, who became involved with Gator Boosters as a board member in recent years.

"Being an athlete, I only knew of the football part of it. I didn't know behind the scenes and how it all worked and how special of a group there is on the Booster Board,'' Burton said. "I had no clue what I was getting into. The passion that these men and women on the Booster Board have for the university, you would have thought they were actually playing in the games."

Some, of course, have.

However, unlike Burton, they did not go on to have successful careers in professional sports. They went into private business to find financial, professional and personal fulfillment.

David Thomas grew up in Orlando and attended Boone High School. He arrived at UF in 1967 to play baseball and study engineering. He eventually earned a master's degree and job at IBM. Thomas built a successful career that included heading up IBM's sales and service efforts in Asia-Pacific and later North America.

With financial success came an opportunity to give back to his alma mater, something he has done on the academic and athletic side over the years. As a former baseball player, Thomas understands the need to invest in athletic facilities in the ultra-competitive modern era of college athletics.

"I think it certainly helps in terms of recruiting,'' Thomas said. "When I was there we actually shared a locker room with the track team. It wasn't quite as visible as it is now. If you are going to have a world-class program, it's obviously important that you give the athletes the facilities they need to do their best."

Another former UF baseball player who has provided significant financial support to UF academics and athletics over the past three decades is Gary Condron, whose name is attached to the field inside the football team's indoor practice facility.

Condron's reasons for his philanthropy are multi-faceted. He was diagnosed with cancer in 1998 and at the time had a goal to become a Bull Gator. He made it happen when his health improved.

"It kind of opened your eyes to how short life can possibly be," Condron said.

Condron founded the Conlan Company in 1987, which has grown from a small commercial contractor based in Atlanta to a national contracting firm with offices in Atlanta, Dallas and Jacksonville, where Condron lives.

As the company grew and acquired construction projects from coast to coast, Condron started to get more involved as a UF donor and has contributed considerably to the UAA's facilities upgrades.

"I've always had a passion for the Gators,'' Condron said. "My wife Nancy and I have always had a philanthropic side to us. We need people to step up for sure."

Baseball Stadium Conceptual Rendering (Field, Feb 5) — A recent rendering of Florida Ballpark, set to open for the 2021 season.

Tommy Shannon is a familiar name to longtime Gators fans. He played quarterback in the 1960s and was MVP of Florida's victory over Penn State in the 1962 Gator Bowl. Shannon met his wife Kathy while in college and they have remained closely connected to the university ever since.

Shannon lived in Boston until he was 11 before his family relocated to Miami. He developed a rooting interest for the Gators and played baseball and football at UF, not realizing at the time how much the university would become a part of his life through his financial contributions.

"It was a way to stay involved," Shannon said. "A guy like me, I probably would have played pro baseball right out of high school. My mom and dad really didn't have a whole lot of money to go to college, so having a full scholarship in both football and baseball was really big for us."

After college, Shannon embarked on a real estate career and later founded Village Development Company, a real estate development firm based in the Tampa Bay area. He parlayed that into another successful career when he and his wife formed T-Bird Restaurant Group, which had exclusive franchise rights to California's Outback Steakhouse and at its peak owned 63 restaurants and employed more than 4,000 people.

Shannon is passionate about providing financial support to UF and encourages other former student-athletes to do the same. Shannon's experience has taught him that you get back more than you give.

"You've got to pay if forward. If people would just practice a little bit of philanthropy, they would realize it gives them a piece of the action and they are involved in the successes of education, not just athletics,'' he said. "It makes you feel a lot better, that's for sure.

"I don't think these kids really think in terms of that. I don't think they think philanthropically until they get a little older and that's the shame, because when they get older, they are not making the income anymore."

Burton is a recent graduate among the younger generation who has a grasp on how an organization such as Gator Boosters plays a vital role in the success the Gators experience in the arena of athletics. He helped the Eagles win the Super Bowl during the 2017 season, throwing a touchdown pass in Philadelphia's victory over New England.

Burton went from a player who said he thought he had no chance of playing for the Gators when he first visited campus following his freshman year of high school, to one who signed a four-year, $32 million contract with the Bears prior to last season.

"The university has done so much for many of us, especially for the guys who have gone into the league, kind of shaped and molded us to get where we are right now,'' he said. "The SEC is obviously the toughest conference in college football. All of that, as well as the student body and the fans and facilities we did have, all that played a big part in who we are today."

Steve Spurrier, perhaps the most famous Gator of all, has contributed to the UAA's latest fundraising efforts. No one has enjoyed a more prominent connection to the Gators than he has the past six decades.

As a player, he won Florida's first Heisman Trophy. As a coach, Spurrier led the football team to its first national championship and remains the school's all-time winningest coach.

Being a student-athlete at UF made him famous and opened many doors, including his return as Gators Ambassador in 2016.

"I'm extremely thankful for everything that has happened in my life and realize I owe it to Florida and Florida Athletics," Spurrier said. "Fortunately, I've been in position to give to Gator Boosters and help with the new facilities that we're trying to raise a whole bunch of money. If you're in position to give, I encourage you to do so."

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