NCAA

During the 2018-19 academic year, Division II schools raised $398,000 for Make-A-Wish as part of their ongoing partnership. Division II schools have raised more than $6.2 million and granted more than 740 wishes since 2003.

Schools in all 24 Division II conferences participated in fundraising, including every school in both the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference and the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference.

For the fifth consecutive year, the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference was the top fundraising conference, bringing in $54,904. For the fourth consecutive year, North Georgia was the top fundraising school, raising $23,929.

“Across Division II, we continue to see our schools fired up to support Make-A-Wish and celebrate the amazing life-changing impacts each year,” said Alex Shillow, chair of the Division II SAAC and a student-athlete who plays football at Texas A&M-Commerce.

SAAC continued to use an allocation model adopted four years ago, which earmarks money collected from Division II championships and enforcement fines as a supplement to institutional fundraising to help schools host a wish reveal celebration on campus. Last year, five schools raised more than $10,000 — the national average cost of granting a wish — and automatically earned a wish reveal celebration. An additional nine schools received money from the allocation model to help them meet the minimum fundraising requirement for hosting a wish reveal.

Division II’s ongoing support for the Make-A-Wish Foundation aligns with the division’s mission of ensuring student-athletes live a life balanced among academics, athletics and community engagement.

“Through this partnership, we see the value of what being a servant for others can do,” Shillow said. “That is the exciting part, where we see everyone work so hard to bring happiness to people they don't know because we all believe in the same cause. We want to grant wishes so kids have the opportunity to make it theirs, just as we make it ours.”