UWF to build new football stadium thanks to $9 million donation
by Brent Kearney
Thursday, Apr 11th 2024
Courtesy UWF
PENSACOLA, Fla. — The University of West Florida is getting a new football stadium on campus thanks to a $9 million donation from the Gooden family.
UWF President Martha Saunders made the announcement Thursday night at a gala held at the Field House on the Pensacola campus.
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The $9 million donation from Darrell and Debbie Gooden — which will help fund the construction of a new football stadium — is the largest gift from a living donor in the history of UWF.
The new stadium will be named Darrell Gooden Stadium.
“I am thrilled and honored to be able to give this donation on the ‘Capital Campaign Launch’ and towards the new football stadium to be built on campus,” said Darrell Gooden, a Pensacola native who studied accounting at UWF. “Today is a fun and great time to be an Argo with the new football program and now our very own stadium. It is an honor to have the new stadium and field named after me, and I also would like to thank all the numerous people that have worked so hard in getting football to this point! Again, I am very blessed today to be able to give this gift to the University to give back what they have given me. Thank you and Go Argos!”
Gooden contributed his first gift to help start the football program in 2016 and became a Platinum UWF Football Founder.
Additionally, in 2018, University Park Center was renamed the Darrell Gooden Center following a gift from the Goodens.
At Thursday’s gala, President Saunders launched the public phase of UWF’s “Here for Good” capital campaign — the largest campaign in University history.
UWF enters the campaign already having raised $65 million. The fundraising goal is $90 million.
“The ‘Here for Good’ campaign is a proclamation — a promise to expand the passion of our people and unleash the best of UWF,” Saunders said. “We are telling our community and our world that UWF is here today and here to stay.”
Howard Reddy (vice president for the Division of University Advancement), James Hosman (UWF Foundation Board Chair) and Gail Dorsey (former UWF Foundation Board Chair) all spoke at the gala. Inspiring videos played during the event and showcased how far UWF has come since 1967 while promoting its future success.
According to UWF, key focus areas of the campaign include people, programs, place and community. UWF leadership shared how meeting the fundraising goal would impact each area of the campaign:
- People – Every undergraduate student at the University of West Florida would have access to a scholarship.
- Programs – UWF would bolster or create more high-impact programs for students and continue to earn national recognition for academic achievements, athletic accomplishments and groundbreaking research.
- Place – UWF would enhance its physical environment through named facilities and new technology.
- Community – UWF would make an even greater impact on Northwest Florida. With a successful campaign, UWF would have the opportunity to grow a larger footprint in the area such as expanding the UWF Historic Trust offerings, making more archaeological discoveries along the Gulf Coast and expanding the reach and resources of WUWF.
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2024-04-12 00:01:22
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