The campaign is over but fans can still contribute at any time by going online to ucdavisaggies.com/feature/champion-aggies-club. Photo courtesy of UC Davis Athletics

SACRAMENTO REGION, CA (MPG) - Contributing a record total of $550,744 during the Champion Aggies Challenge, University of California, Davis athletics' sixth-annual fall fundraising campaign, were 640 donors.

The total number of funds raised is the highest grossing fall fundraising campaign run by the department, besting last year's total of $401,627 by nearly $150,000.

The five-day event consisted of an email, phone and social media-driven crowdfunding effort from Sept. 16 to Sept. 20. Participants were encouraged to donate to the Aggie athletic program of their choice during the campaign to help them reach their individual dollar goals. The excitement of the event led up to the UC Davis football home opener against Southern Utah.
 
"I'm floored by the support we had this last week during our Champion Aggies Challenge," said Senior Associate Athletics Director, Chief Development Officer Liz Gullett. "The message was clearly received by our fans and alumni that this is an opportunity to financially set up the teams they care about for the year. Fundraising is never- ending but this is a great start to what looks like will be another great year for UC Davis Athletics as we head into the Mountain West Conference and require the next level of resources to compete. I'm grateful for everyone who stepped up last week and look forward to what we can do for our student-athletes as a result."
 
The overall fundraising goal was $380,000 for the week. Teams use these fundraised dollars for a variety of initiatives from enhanced student-athlete travel and team bonding activities to the latest equipment and technology. The fundraising also helps teams gain a broader recruiting advantage to find the best future UC Davis students.
 
Nine teams had extraordinary buy in and exceeded their fundraising goal for this year's campaign, including men's basketball, women's basketball, beach volleyball, equestrian, football, lacrosse, swimming and diving, men's water polo, and women's water polo.
 
"The Champion Aggies Challenge helped us share our excitement about the upcoming UC Davis women's water polo season with our alumnae, family and friends of our program," said coach Jamey Wright and Hodgens Family Director of Women's Water Polo Kandace Waldthaler. "This year we focused heavily on engagement and participation from our alumnae and we had great success with close to 50 percent of our 99 donations coming from alumnae. We are very grateful for the Aggie Pride that runs deep for our program."
 
The campaign is over but fans can still contribute at any time by going online to ucdavisaggies.com/feature/champion-aggies-club.