Moon Township, Pa. – The RMU Department of Athletics announced Monday the creation of the Joe Walton Legacy Fund to help celebrate the contributions of the first head football coach in program history.
The intention of the Joe Walton Legacy Fund is to continue the tradition and values that Walton established and ingrained into the RMU football program, alumni and campus community. It was Walton's goal to have a positive impact on RMU student-athletes, and by continuing to improve the student-athlete experience at RMU, his legacy will continue to be synonymous with student success, a world class student-athlete experience and the competitive excellence of the program.
Money raised through the Joe Walton Legacy Fund will be used to enhance high priority needs at Joe Walton Stadium and capital projects, which includes facility enhancements, continued branding and deferred maintenance. Examples include, but are not limited to, graphics and branding throughout the stadium, renovations to the locker room and athletic training facilities and a future videoboard.
In advance of
RMU's annual Day of Giving, which coincides with the University's centennial anniversary celebration, the Joe Walton Legacy Fund will be a featured part of the Centennial Day of Giving and will help cap off the RMU100 capital campaign. To ensure support of the fund, a group of anonymous donors has already pledged to contribute a matching gift of $19,120 (1921 being the year RMU was founded) to entice donors to continue to support Walton's memory and legacy at RMU.
RELATED: Joe Walton Legacy Fund
Thanks to nearly $20,000 already raised for the Joe Walton Legacy Fund, it is the University's goal to double that amount this fall through additional donation campaigns, including an upcoming department-wide fundraising "Leave Your Mark" locker room campaign for all varsity sports. All donations to the football locker room campaign will be deposited to the Joe Walton Legacy Fund.
In addition to the new fund, Walton has been immortalized by the fact that the Colonials have played their home games in a stadium that bears his name since 2005. Joe Walton Stadium hosted its first game Sept. 17, 2005, a 49-13 victory over Butler, and the Colonials will open their 16th season in the facility Saturday, Sept. 25, by hosting Howard.
Additionally, the Joe Walton Endowed Scholarship has been funded by the generous gifts from donors who supported Walton's induction into the RMU Athletic Hall of Fame in 2013 and ensured the scholarship reached endowment within five years of launch.
To support the Joe Walton Legacy Fund during
RMU's Day of Giving Tuesday, Sept. 21, you can give directly beginning today on the
official campaign giving platform.
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