GRAND FORKS (AP) -- A University of North Dakota group is launching a new fundraising plan aimed at having as many athletic scholarships as possible privately funded as UND enters the period of transition to NCAA Division I.
The UND Alumni Association and Foundation will be asking businesses and individuals to support new "Impact Scholarships," which require a donation of $15,000 per year for five years.
"It's going to be a big challenge, but if we can do this, it will set us apart," said Dan Martinsen, a former Sioux football player who was hired as a special assistant to the president for the Division I transition.
"If we can get our athletic scholarships privately funded in five or six years, it will put us in a pretty exclusive group," he said. "We will have financial freedom to provide money for facilities, to upgrade salaries and to help with operations."
Supporters will be able to designate their scholarships for a certain sport.
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"If a couple of former Sioux quarterbacks get together and decide they want to make a scholarship for a quarterback, they can do that," said DeAnna Carlson, chief development officer of the Alumni Association and Foundation.
