As we look to chart a course for the next generation of Tar Heel women, The Rams Club and UNC Athletics are excited to announce FORevHER Tar Heels − an initiative to build and inspire a Carolina community that champions and empowers our women student-athletes.
The rich history of Carolina women’s athletics boasts 35 national championship titles, 31 individual national champions and four active Hall of Fame coaches. Perhaps even more impressive than this, is the inspiring collection of career paths forged by our women student-athlete alumnae. From doctors to CEOs to teachers, Carolina women have demonstrated time and again that their accomplishments in competition are just the beginning of their impact on the world.
The Rams Club and Carolina Athletics aim to engage and activate a network of Tar Heels that will:
- - Offer opportunities to outstanding young women student-athletes to be part of the Carolina Family.
- - Provide resources for Carolina’s women’s sport programs to ensure success.
- - Participate in the development of student-athlete leaders who will impact their communities.
We are FORevHER Tar Heels
The Community of Carolina Women’s Athletics
As a charter member of the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (AIAW) for Women in 1971 and the first ACC school to offer a scholarship to a woman student-athlete in 1973, Carolina has long been a leader in women’s collegiate athletics. Throughout its pioneering history, student-athletes, coaches, and administrators representing women’s athletics have positioned themselves as valuable contributors to Tar Heel history.
We are FORevHER Tar Heels tells the stories of some of those pillars of Carolina Athletics and the community that supports women’s programs through this groundbreaking initiative.
Explore their stories below as we celebrate the history of women’s athletics at UNC and discover why the Carolina women student-athletes of today and tomorrow are relying on your support.
In celebration of National Girls & Women in Sports Day, Heather O’Reilly moderated a student-athlete panel discussion featuring four of our current Tar Heels: Ally Mastroianni (Women's Lacrosse), Jill Shippee (Track & Field), Brieanna Romney (Women's Swimming) and Eva Smolenaars (Field Hockey). These exceptional women discussed the role sports have played in their lives, the importance of representation in sport and the lessons sports have taught them that will serve them long after their time at Carolina.
Providing Opportunities
Support, Experiences, and Resources
This collaborative effort will not only enhance the Carolina student-athlete experience, but will also allow alumnae and Rams Club members to invest their talents and resources in some of the most formative years of these women’s lives.
For Student-Athletes and Coaches:
- - Our women student-athletes will have the opportunity to be mentored by successful alumnae and women members of The Rams Club.
- - This initiative will provide resources to enhance our career networking program and events.
- - FORevHER Tar Heels will add to our coaches’ arsenal of recruiting tools -- a powerful network of Tar Heel women supporting each other!
For Donors and Alumnae:
- - Our most supportive donors and alumnae of our women’s sport programs will have the opportunity to develop personal connections with our student-athletes so they can see their impact in action.
- - This initiative will provide an opportunity for donors to directly participate in the development of our women student-athletes.
Areas of Focus
Enhancing the Carolina Female Student-Athlete Experience
Scholarships
Tar Heel student-athletes choose to attend Carolina because of what our University offers — the opportunities to play for world-class coaches and win championships, to earn a degree from a nationally-recognized institution, and to be a member of the Carolina family for the rest of their lives. Contributing to the Scholarship Endowment provides women from any background who dream of competing in Carolina blue the opportunity to receive a UNC education.
Donors to women’s athletic scholarships directly participate in the development of our women student-athletes for years to come. The FORevHER Fund will also be a recruitment tool for head coaches to bring the most talented and determined women to Chapel Hill to represent Carolina in the classroom and in competition.
FORevHER Tar Heels Women’s Scholarship Fund
Gifts of any amount can be contributed to this fund and will be distributed to women across all 15 sports.
Give TodayEndowed Scholarship in Any Women’s Sport
For more information on endowed scholarships, please click here.
To learn more about endowing a scholarship, please contact:
Emily Stevens
Give Today Capital Projects
The importance of women’s athletics at Carolina is evidenced in the world-class facilities built for our women’s programs during the Campaign for Carolina Athletics. Since 2015, UNC Athletics and The Rams Club have provided new facilities for volleyball, softball, gymnastics, field hockey, women’s soccer, women’s lacrosse and women’s track and field. With each new facility, our coaches are better armed to recruit the best and brightest to Chapel Hill.
These facilities also highlight the storied histories of the programs that call them home—from Karen Shelton Stadium, the first Carolina Athletic facility to be named for a female head coach, to Dorrance Field at the new Soccer and Lacrosse Stadium, a name that honors a man who has championed women’s athletics at UNC for over forty years and brought 22 national championships home to Carolina.
Naming opportunities remain at Karen Shelton Stadium, the new Soccer and Lacrosse Stadium and the new Track and Field Complex. While these facilities may have already opened, we still need your support to complete funding at each site. Click on each link below to read more about each facility, take a virtual tour, and make an impact.
Team Support
Gifts of any amount can be contributed to this unrestricted fund for women's athletics. This fund will support:
FORevHER Tar Heels Women’s Excellence Fund
Gifts of any amount can be contributed to this fund, which will support
- - Women student-athlete and donor mentoring program
- - Annual career networking event for all women’s sports
- - Funding for individual women’s sport alumnae networking events
- - Any other needs for our women’s teams as determined by the Athletics Director
Baddour Carolina Leadership Academy
The Richard A. Baddour Carolina Leadership Academy, now in its 15th year, was the first leadership development program in collegiate athletics, and since its inception, has provided a unique training platform for student-athletes to take the leadership lessons learned on the field, and apply them beyond athletic competition—preparing them to lead in their careers and in their lives post-college.
Make a Pledge Make a Pledge (Decline Benefits)Friends account for any women’s sport
Friends accounts provide an immediate increase to coaches’ operating budgets to use at their discretion.
Give TodayOperating Endowment for any women’s sport
Sports Operating Endowments allow donors to help individual teams achieve the flexibility and autonomy they need to take advantage of unique opportunities in their sport.
How to Support FORevHER Tar Heels
How will you champion Carolina’s women student-athletes?
Through FORevHER Tar Heels, you can invest in Carolina’s women student-athletes by:
- - Making a gift to any area of focus.
- - Volunteering to serve as a mentor for current student-athletes.
- - Participating in a career-networking event for current and former student-athletes.
Endow a Scholarship
To endow a women’s sport scholarship, please contact Emily Stevens (contact information below).
Give to a Facility
Pledges of $1,000 or more to any capital project or team support fund can be paid over a five-year period. Please contact Emily Stevens (contact information below) to make a pledge to any fund.
Naming opportunities remain for each of the three facilities. Click the links below to view available spaces.
Give to the FORevHER Tar Heels Women’s Scholarship Fund or Women’s Excellence Fund
You can make a one-time or recurring monthly gift to the FORevHER Tar Heels Women’s Scholarship Fund or Women’s Excellence Fund by clicking the links below. Gifts can be made in any amount.
Already a Rams Club member? Log in to make your gift on your Rams Club account to the Scholarship Fund or Excellence Fund.To learn more or to give today, please contact:
Emily Stevens
Payment Options
Any gift can be made by phone, check, stock or wire transfer.
To give by phone, please call The Rams Club at 919.843.2000.
Checks may be sent to:
The Rams Club
P.O. Box 2446
Chapel Hill, NC 27515
Click here to learn more about stock or wire transfers.
Company Matching
Many employers offer a company match to any charitable gift you give. Consider making your gift even more impactful by using a company matching gift. Inquire with your company today to see if they will match your gift to FORevHER Tar Heels!
Estate and Planned Giving
You can support any opportunity within FORevHER Tar Heels with an estate or planned gift. Please click here to learn more or contact Emily Stevens at the contact information listed below.
