{"id":86899,"date":"2013-12-06T09:19:48","date_gmt":"2013-12-06T14:19:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=86899"},"modified":"2013-12-12T06:54:57","modified_gmt":"2013-12-12T11:54:57","slug":"naydens-donate-3-million-to-basketball-facility-scholarships","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2013\/12\/naydens-donate-3-million-to-basketball-facility-scholarships\/","title":{"rendered":"Naydens Donate $3 Million to Basketball Facility, Scholarships"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Alumni<\/a>
Alumni Denis and Britta Nayden were honored for their $3 million commitment to the UConn basketball program during the women’s game at the XL Center on Dec. 5. From left: Coach Geno Auriemma, Denis Nayden, Britta Nayden, UConn Board of Trustees Chairman Lawrence McHugh, Director of Athletics Warde Manuel, President of the UConn Foundation Joshua Newton, School of Business Dean John Elliott, and SNY analyst and former UConn Husky Meghan Pattyson-Culmo. (UConn Foundation Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Denis and Britta Nayden, alumni and longstanding donors to the University of Connecticut, have donated $3 million towards the new UConn Basketball Champions Center and for scholarships for student-athletes. A key feature of the gift is a challenge match to all former UConn Husky basketball players who contribute to the new center.<\/p>\n

The Nayden gift has three parts \u2013 $1 million for the new UConn Basketball Champions Center currently under construction on the Storrs campus; $1 million in scholarships for student-athletes and trainers enrolled in the School of Business or the physical therapy or kinesiology programs of the Neag School of Education; and a challenge match of up to $1 million for gifts from former UConn Husky basketball players. UConn has 58 Huskies \u2013 34 men and 24 women \u2013 who went on to play in the NBA or the WNBA, among the highest of any program nationally.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are proud UConn grads and this is our way to share and give back, which we both believe in,\u201d says Denis Nayden ’76 (CLAS), ’77 MBA. \u201cOur donation to the basketball center is an investment in a great program. Our challenge grant is meant to encourage participation by former players who fully understand the spirit of competition, and our scholarship gift is designed to support student-athletes who share our interest in business, physical therapy, or kinesiology. It\u2019s support for a great program and for giving young people a shot at a great education, wrapped up in a big UConn bow.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Naydens graduated from UConn in 1976, Denis with a BA from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and Britta with a BS from the School of Allied Health, now part of the Neag School of Education. Denis received his MBA from the School of Business in 1977 and went on to a successful career with GE and Oak Hill Capital Management, where he currently serves as managing partner. He has been serving on UConn\u2019s Board of Trustees since 2001.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are incredibly grateful to alumni and friends like Denis and Britta Nayden for their support,\u201d says UConn President Susan Herbst. \u201cWith their help, we are providing a great new home for basketball and student-athletes. It helps celebrate the excitement our student-athletes bring to the University, and ensures they have the support they need to be successful on the court and in the classroom.\u201d<\/p>\n

The new 78,000-square-foot UConn Basketball Champions Center is under construction and scheduled to be completed this spring. It will feature practice gyms for the men\u2019s and women\u2019s basketball programs, along with locker rooms, coaches\u2019 offices, and areas for academic support, video analysis, sports medicine, and strength training.<\/p>\n

\u201cSuccess doesn\u2019t happen by accident, and, with this gift, the Naydens are helping us ensure UConn will continue to enjoy athletic and academic excellence for years to come,\u201d say Warde Manuel, director of Athletics. \u201cTalent, dedication, and investment are needed for this type of achievement \u2013 not only from student-athletes and coaches but also from passionate and caring donors like Denis and Britta.\u201d<\/p>\n

Coach Geno Auriemma says, \u201cFriends and donors like the Naydens understand what it takes to be successful. Their gift to the basketball facility helps us provide a setting for student-athletes\u2019 practice, training, and studying that promotes excellence.\u201d<\/p>\n

The $35 million construction costs of the facility are being funded entirely through private donations. With the Naydens\u2019 gift, pledges and donations for the project total $27 million.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur basketball family, which includes wonderful people like Denis and Britta Nayden, are a large part of our success,\u201d says Coach Kevin Ollie. \u201cThe new facility will help provide our student-athletes with the support they need to be successful academically and athletically, and keep our programs among the national elite.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Naydens and their gift in support of UConn basketball were celebrated at the UConn women\u2019s game Dec. 5 and the UConn men\u2019s game on Dec. 6, both at the XL Center.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The three-part gift includes a challenge match to former UConn Husky players.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":60,"featured_media":86921,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[147,2224,1],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[132],"class_list":["post-86899","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","category-cahnr","category-uncategorized"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-08 19:23:14","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86899","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/60"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=86899"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86899\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":86926,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86899\/revisions\/86926"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/86921"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=86899"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=86899"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=86899"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=86899"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=86899"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}