‘Out of this world’: Here comes Ole Miss football’s new-look Manning Center
In this edition of Talk of Champions, Ben Garrett of the Ole Miss Spirit is joined by Denson Hollis, the Chief Development Officer/Associate A.D. for Development at the Ole Miss Athletics Foundation (OMAF).
Among the topics covered in their extended conversation is the soon-to-be-unveiled, new-look Manning Center — the multi-use indoor facility for Lane Kiffin’s Ole Miss football Rebels.
“Fundraising-wise, we had a record year last year, and we’re having a really good year this year,” Hollis said.
The Ole Miss Athletics Foundation is the fundraising arm of Ole Miss Athletics, currently comprised of over 16,000 members.
Hollis continued, “NIL is a factor that plays into fundraising now. There’s other areas of interest to give, but (Ole Miss) donors have stepped up and supported both causes. We’re doing well. We’ve raised about $56 million now towards our $175-million-dollar campaign, CHAMPIONS. NOW.
“Our first project will be done in July, the Manning Center.
“It’s gonna be out of this world. It’s so awesome. ICM (Construction) has done a great job with that building. It’s going to be a real difference-maker for the Ole Miss football program.
“And when softball concludes, we’ll start on our new softball stadium. It will be in the same footprint as the current stadium, but it’s going to be a different vantage point. Home plate will move kind of towards where right field is now and it’ll line the street. Baseball Phase 1 will start this summer, too. We’re going to start with the terraces and the outfield. It’s going to be awesome.
“Everybody’s really excited about all of our coaches and teams and the donors are stepping up as they always do to support our programs. We’re about 30 percent to our financial goal (for CHAMPIONS. NOW.), and we’re about 24 percent into the timeframe. So, we’re tracking ahead of the timeline of the campaign, which will end at the end of (fiscal year) ’27.
“We’re doing great.”
RELATED: Denson Hollis and the Ole Miss Athletics Foundation had a banner year ($$$) in 2022
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