UWM BUSINESS ALUM GIVES A SECOND $1 MILLION TO ATHLETICS, CHALLENGES OTHERS
 
MILWAUKEE – Milwaukee entrepreneur Fred Sitzberger has pledged $1 million to the UWM Foundation in support of Milwaukee Panther Athletics at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
 
This is Sitzberger's second million-dollar gift to the program since 2016, when he made a seven-figure contribution to the university's record-breaking fundraising effort, Made in Milwaukee, Shaping the World: The Campaign for UWM. He hopes the new gift will encourage others to support UWM as well.
 
"Fred is a standout alumnus, and I am deeply grateful to him for his enthusiasm, generosity and vision," UWM Chancellor Mark Mone said. "As a Division I university, UWM is committed to having a strong athletics program that will help us attract and retain students and energize our campus and community. Fred understands the importance of philanthropic support in making our teams the best they can be."
 
Sitzberger's gift will support the Panther men's basketball program and the Athletics Department Excellence Fund, an unrestricted fund that helps all Panther student-athletes. In recognition of his generosity, the university plans to name a space within the new Orthopaedic Hospital of Wisconsin Center in his honor.
 
"I am not an athlete, but I firmly believe that a strong athletics program can help shine a light on what a wonderful institution UW-Milwaukee is at the local, state and national levels," Sitzberger said. "UWM provided me a good education at a good price. It was a small-town, caring atmosphere where the professors took an interest in you. Because of that caring, I worked hard and received a great job at one the best companies in my accounting field. I attained a level of success I could not have imagined in college, and it was because of UWM. That is why I give back."
 
A U.S. Army veteran, Sitzberger earned his degree in accounting at UWM's Lubar School of Business in 1978. He began his career at Ernst & Young and went on to found Sitzberger & Company, growing it to the four-county region's 10th largest accounting practice through the acquisition of 22 firms. He sold the business and his payroll company, Payroll Care, while retaining his real estate and investment management firm, Bultman Investment Management.
 
Sitzberger has served many years as a volunteer for the UWM Alumni Association Board of Trustees and the UWM Foundation Board of Directors. In April, he was awarded the UWM Distinguished Alumni Service Award for his dedication to the university.
 
"As we can see from Fred's winning career of building businesses, he did not reach his level of success without setting goals and being driven; Fred is a competitor," Director of Athletics Amanda Braun said. "Fred also has a heart of gold, and his loyalty, commitment and desire to see UWM become better and better is unwavering. On behalf of Milwaukee Panther Athletics, I am sincerely grateful to Fred for his friendship and his transformational generosity."
 
About UWM
The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee has an ambitious mission as both a top-tier research university and an access institution, striving to ensure that students have equitable opportunities to earn a college degree. UWM educates a diverse student body of more than 24,000 students from 83 countries. About 35% of its undergraduates are first-generation college students. Its unique and top-rated programs include Wisconsin's only accredited schools of architecture and public health, the only North American school dedicated solely to freshwater sciences and a film program ranked among the top 50 in the world. It has the largest and top-rated online education program in Wisconsin. UW-Milwaukee partners with leading companies to conduct joint research, promote entrepreneurship, provide student internships and serve as an economic engine for southeastern Wisconsin. The Princeton Review named UW-Milwaukee a 2021 "Best Midwestern" university based on overall academic excellence and student reviews.

About the UWM Foundation
Since 1974, the UWM Foundation has endeavored to advance the mission of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) through requests of philanthropic gifts to support students, faculty, campus programming and the community. The foundation manages a portfolio currently valued at approximately $225 million and distributes these funds to the university pursuant to donor wishes. The foundation has three affiliate organizations: the UWM Real Estate Foundation, which develops and manages property for the benefit of the campus and its students; the UWM Research Foundation, which fosters a culture of innovation through a growing portfolio of patents and license/option agreements; and the UWM Alumni Association, which maintains a network of more than 200,000 alumni living in 110 countries.

About UWM Athletics
The Milwaukee Athletics Department is recognized as one of the top programs in the Horizon League. Since joining the League in 1994, the Panthers have won seven McCafferty Trophies, which are awarded annually to a member institution with the most performance points in the League's 19 championship sports. UWM has claimed 98 Horizon League Tournament championships and 52 regular-season titles, while its teams have made 65 different NCAA Tournament appearances since joining the ranks of the NCAA Division I level in 1990. In addition, its student-athletes have posted a 3.0-or-higher GPA for 43 consecutive semesters and have had three National Academic All-Americans honored in the past two academic years.

For more Information, contact:
Kari Pink, pinkkj@uwm.edu; 414-229-7413
University Relations and Communications
1900 E. Kenwood Blvd., Milwaukee, WI 53211