Athletic Financial Awards

Give the gift of empowerment.

You can support merit-based athletic financial awards (AFA) and assist in lessening the financial burden of our leading student-athletes. Coaches in designated sports are able to recommend identified individuals for an AFA. A student-athlete can receive a maximum amount of $4,000 for awards with an athletic component. By supporting the General AFA fund, you strengthen our ability to recruit top student-athletes and provide financial support to students who can’t squeeze part-time work between studying and training!

Basketball

Men’s Update

The McMaster men’s basketball program is not about an individual player, trainer, fan or coach – the Marauder name represents close to 100 years of commitment to excellence. We can no longer hide from the reality that increased resources directly relate to continued success. Please join our team, be proud to wear maroon, and compete alongside our team – knowing that you contributed a legacy of greatness.

With only two guaranteed bids to nationals from our conference, we have to constantly evolve to stay in the hunt. Ontario teams are travelling internationally, hiring full-time assistant coaches, and finding meaningful employment for their student-athletes, in order to close the scholarship gap that exists compared to other conferences. Awareness of this reality isn’t enough – we have to make the decision that we want to compete at the highest level.

Women’s Update

The McMaster women’s basketball program has a rich legacy of excellence both on and off the court. This is a result of the calibre of young student-athletes that have studied and played at McMaster, who have become outstanding representatives of the University and our basketball program in their lives after graduation.

It gives all of us tremendous pleasure and pride to be able to continue to provide our young student-athletes with an opportunity to pursue their academic and competitive goals as Marauders, and we are so very grateful to our alumnae who choose to support us in this.

Learn more about the Men’s Basketball Team and Women’s Basketball Team and consider making a gift to support these dunking dynamos!

Cross Country & Track

The first time you competed in maroon and grey, you inherited the traditions, legacy, and expectations of the student-athletes who went before you. You ran at Churchill Park, on the rail trail, in the Dundas Valley and on the back forty. The fine tradition of great running continues at McMaster as our Men and Women were both bronze medalists at the conference cross country championships last fall and were fourth and sixth in the country. Our current team includes the Marauder men’s record holders for 3000m and 1000m, two all-Canadians and both our men’s and women’s captains won the top academic/leadership awards for varsity athletes at McMaster. Our incoming recruiting class includes the top male junior 5k and 10k runner in the country and the top Canadian female orienteer.

We remain committed to providing memorable experiences to roughly forty student-athletes each year but we need your help. We hope you’ll make a gift to support the student-athletes following in your footsteps. We face a difficult financial reality, and rely on fundraising to cover a large portion of our operating budget on a yearly basis. Every little bit of alumni support goes a long way in that effort.

Learn more about McMaster’s Cross Country and Track teams and consider making a gift to support these speedy superstars! You can also follow the Marauder runners at http://mactrackvids.blogspot.ca or on Twitter.

Football

There is no question that the landscape of Canadian university football has undergone massive changes over the last several years, and it takes more resources that ever before to compete at the highest level. As coaches, we always consider our team as a family, and that includes the extended family of the institution, the community and the alumni. McMaster football has always enjoyed tremendous support, which has been a vital part of the program’s success.

The upcoming season has the potential to be another championship campaign. Although we will have a younger group of players, this year’s recruiting class shows great promise. As always, the OUA schedule will be a stern test. We believe we have what it takes to make a run at the Yates Cup, but to keep us moving forward, we need the help of alumni like you.

Learn more about the McMaster Football Team and make a gift to support our Mac Men.

Women's Rugby

McMaster Women’s Rugby is one of the premier rugby program in Canada, winning OUA Championships in 2 of the last 3 seasons and capturing national championships in both the sevens and 15s formats 2015. These results are the product of outstanding work put in by every student-athlete on the roster and each of the coaches and and support staff.

Your financial contribution will allow our program to build on the successes of the past few years by supporting our current and future student-athletes with increased scholarship opportunities. This support will ensure that our current student-athletes continue to have the opportunity to pursue representative rugby with Rugby Ontario and Rugby Canada programs, and will allow us to continue to recruit players with this potential.

Learn more about the Women’s Rugby Team and make a gift to support these special scrummers.

Soccer

The McMaster men’s soccer program has experienced a resurgence in the last few years by becoming a top OUA competitor, appearing in the national USports tournament along with beomcing a mainstay in the national rankings.

Our women’s soccer program continues to excel across the board and is providing student-athletes an amazing opportunity to play a game they love while representing McMaster.

Your contribution will go a long way toward assisting our student-athletes and providing them the opportunity to be successful both on the pitch and in the classroom, while having a positive experience during their time at McMaster.

Learn more about the Men’s Soccer Team and Women’s Soccer Team and make a gift to support these dribbling daredevils.

Swimming

When we attended McMaster, every event meant alumni support. There were loud, boisterous fans in the stands and our family was always around us. It made us feel special. We felt we were a family. The swimmers felt like they could reach for their dreams on the shoulders of those that went before them, and this is how we won championships. This feeling has carried on for the last 20 years, and with your needed support, we can carry this on for the next 20.

We are hoping to enlist your help in supporting the current members of Mac’s swimming team. You can make a gift to support the student-athletes following in your footsteps. Financial support from alumni helps provide the resources we need to build and sustain a strong program, while also showing our current swimmers that the influence of the Mac student-athlete experience continues long after graduation.

Learn more about the Swimming Team and make a gift to support these aquatic all-stars.

Volleyball

The Women’s Volleyball program competes for the OUA Championship every year. Pushing beyond that level and competing at the USports level is possible with your support. By making a gift you will enable this team to improve its training regiment and push themselves to compete with the best programs across the country.

The Men’s Volleyball team has now won 6-straight OUA Championships and has medalled in each one of their appearances at the USports national tournament. Support for this team will help attract the best young players to this program and will propel them to reach their goal of a National Championship.

Learn more about the Men’s Volleyball and Women’s Volleyball teams and make a gift to support these expert spikers.

Wrestling

One of McMaster’s most storied and successful varsity programs, the Marauder wrestling team remains among the top competitors in CIS. A year after claiming the OUA title, McMaster’s men climbed the conference podium again in 2016, winning silver. Protecting this legacy of exemplary student-athlete ambassadors and maintaining a wrestling program that McMaster can be proud to call its own requires help from those — like you — who have been part of the Marauders past glory and can help create that same experience for a new generation in maroon and grey.

Donations are integral to the continued success of Marauders wrestling, with the top funding priority being the maintenance of scholarships for McMaster student-athletes. Financial assistance helps to make postsecondary education, and varsity sport, a more affordable goal for young student-athletes, while allowing promising students and competitors to focus solely on their education and athletic aspirations. By removing the deterrent of financial need, we can clear the way for the continued success of the wrestling team at McMaster.

Learn more about the McMaster Wrestling Team and make a gift to support these tustling titans.

Athletics Excellence Fund

Teams put everything they have into developing excellent student-athletes. They invest in coaching staff, pay for practise time, outfit their teams with quality equipment, and ensure teams have access to the best training and fitness regimen. So when all this hard work pays off, and teams reach the championship level of their sport, sometimes the funds aren’t there to make that experience amazing.

The Athletics Excellence Fund is there to ensure that when teams and individual student-athletes reach the goal they’ve worked so hard to achieve – a chance at a national title – they can focus on what matters. The Fund helps with all the additional costs attached to national competition: transportation, accommodation, staff support, additional training, and more. This way, our teams can go from gym to podium without stressing about the details.

To help our elite athletes through the Athletics Excellence Fund, simply add the fund name when prompted on the giving page.

Facilities Fund

Our student-athletes can be the best in the world, but they need quality facilities to truly excel. This fund helps McMaster ensure that facilities on campus are up to the standards of training world-class athletes.

From consistent and quality upkeep to planning for substantial upgrades or additions, the Facilities Fund is critical to the ongoing success of McMaster’s Athletics and Recreation programming.

To make a gift to support the Facilities Fund, enter the name of the fund when prompted on the online giving page.

Recreation at McMaster

Recreation at McMaster serves many communities in Hamilton with a wide range of offerings: classes open to students and the public alike, intramural leages, summer camps, certification courses, the ALTITUDE centre, the Pulse Fitness Centre, special events and more.

Learn more about the myriad recreation offerings at McMaster and make a gift to support these programs (on the giving form, enter “Recreation” in the field for funds not listed.

Sport Medicine & Rehabilitation

The David Braley Sport Medicine and Rehabilitation Centre is a state-of-the-art facility located on the McMaster University Campus in the David Braley Athletic Centre. The 4700 square foot centre is open to McMaster athletes and students, faculty and staff, and the surrounding community.

Learn more about the David Braley Sport Medicine & Rehabilitation Centre and make a gift to support the excellent work happening at this clinic.