About the Michigan Athletics Champion’s Fund
The Champions Fund provides unprecedented support in the most meaningful areas for student-athletes at the University of Michigan. This includes providing more than 2,000 individual student-athlete counseling appointments every academic year.
Why Michigan Athletics Champion’s Fund?
I like to say that I was born bleeding maize and blue. My father was a University of Michigan student when I was born. I grew up looking forward to annual pilgrimages to the Big House. And naturally, when it was my time to go off to college, I chose Michigan. I could go on about why I love the Wolverines and the university itself, but I’d love to highlight someone who has made a tremendous impact on athletes at U-M and in the world’s largest arenas. Someone who I deeply respect and who I am proud to call a friend, Greg Harden.
For 34 years, Greg counseled U-M athletes and prepared them for life at Michigan and beyond. He listened, empathized, and taught students how to become experts on themselves—many of which credit Greg for allowing them to emerge from their inner struggles and accomplish the goals they hoped to achieve. Greg’s skill and passion helped the university retain its standing as one of the top college athletic programs in the nation and influenced U-M’s commitment to investing directly into student-athlete welfare initiatives. This includes medical care, training, leadership and career development, and most importantly mental health care. With numerous studies pointing to higher-than-average rates of depression and anxiety among student-athletes, this program has never been more important.
The athletic department receives zero funds from the state and university operating budget, so the vast majority of the funding for this much-needed initiative comes from private support. Inspired by the work of my dear friend, I feel blessed to be able to have the means to give to the Michigan Athletics Champions Fund to help ensure that fellow Wolverines for years to come receive the support and care that they need.
