UVA Athletics seems to be going cheap on lacrosse. The University of Richmond is going all in.
The school announced on Thursday that UR alums Paul and Anne-Marie Queally have donated $10 million help build a new facility dedicated to men’s and women’s lacrosse.
The facility will be located at the north end of Robins Stadium, with construction slated to begin this summer, and the stadium projected to be ready in 2029.
The facility will include locker rooms, strength and conditioning space, meeting rooms and office space.
The Queallys, both 1986 graduates of the University of Richmond, previously led the creation of an endowment to help launch the men’s lacrosse program at the school, and provided the lead gift, in the amount of $7.5 million, for construction of the Queally Athletics Center, a state-of-the-art practice facility for Spider men’s and women’s basketball.
“This latest gift builds on the Queallys’ unwavering commitment to advance competitive excellence in Spider Athletics,” said John P. Hardt, vice president and director of athletics. “The tremendous momentum of our lacrosse programs has captured the attention of the entire country, and this new facility, made possible thanks to Paul and Anne-Marie’s generosity, will serve to further strengthen both our nationally recognized men’s and women’s lacrosse programs.”
This is the time to try to build on momentum in terms of lacrosse at the University of Richmond, where the men’s team rode the momentum of an early-season win over UVA to the #1 spot in the national rankings in April – the first time any Spider program has ranked No. 1 at the top level of collegiate competition.
ICYMI
UR had 6,805 fans in a packed Robins Stadium on May 9, as the Spiders faced off against Duke in the first round of the NCAA Tournament – the Spiders’ first NCAA home game in program history, the highest attended University of Richmond lacrosse game ever, and the highest-attended first-round game in D1 NCAA Tournament history.
“This is another extraordinary gift to the University from Anne-Marie and Paul Queally. They have contributed in so many ways to make Richmond an even better place,” said University of Richmond President Kevin F. Hallock. “Their gifts in support of athletics, academics, and student experiences, including Career Development, are remarkable. We owe a deep debt of gratitude to Anne-Marie and Paul and are so grateful for their continued exceptional support of the University’s excellence.”