MILWAUKEE, Wis. – For the fifth consecutive year, the Milwaukee Athletic Department held its "For the MKE" Giving Challenge and the Panthers are proud to announce their most successful campaign to date.
 
The challenge is aligned with the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's campus-wide "414 for UWM Giving Days", which is held annually on April 14.
 
This year, the athletic department raised a record $120,441 thanks to contributions from 297 total donors, it's highest totals in each category since the inception of the event.
 
"Each and every year, the department relies on the support from the Panther community – especially in today's growing athletic culture," Panther Fund Director Zach Beaschler said. "We, as a department, thank everyone for their support and look forward to closing this school year strong so we can hit the ground running into next year."
 
The Panthers' baseball team earned bragging rights for the year, raising $27,200. Swimming and diving finished second ($19,920), while women's basketball was third ($15,223).

"Any time you can break two records in one giving day, it means it was a good day," Beaschler said. "As always, Panther fans from across the country stepped up for the entire athletic department!"
 
The department also raised $27,402 for the Panther Excellence Fund, which provides support to all our student-athletes, teams, and coaches. Overall, Milwaukee Athletics made up 15 percent of total donors and 11 percent of monetary donations from all of campus.
  
This friendly giving challenge was created to help drive support for Panthers' student-athletes and enhance specific areas of each program. 
 
For more information on how to support Milwaukee Athletics via a gift to the Panther Excellence Fund or to an individual program, please contact Zach Beaschler (beaschle@uwm.edu) or Chris Roche (rochec@uwm.edu).