While many are so focused on messaging to recruits or future students when designing facilities, we need not forget those who already have a deep connection with your story — donors.

Minnesota’s Athletes Village is a transformative facility for the Golden Gophers. The 340,000 square foot facility is a cutting edge complex that announces Minnesota as a Big 10 powerhouse.  Athletes Village tells the story of Minnesota’s core values of inclusivity and diversity through the mantra “We All Belong.” The facility is the centerpiece of a program that opens doors and provides opportunities for all who step through the doors.

Although the Minnesota team was forward-thinking in their approach to developing this project from an academic and athletic standpoint, their leadership was intentional to embrace history and those who helped make history—alumni and donors.

“We’ve been so fortunate to have donors support this facility. When they have the chance to come in here and see the story we are telling, it reignites their passion and solidifies why they made a commitment to support our student athletes,” Mark Coyle, Director of Athletics. “You see people smile because of the story we are telling. It shows what a great foundation we have and it challenges us to leave the foundation better than we found it. ”