Acing His Assignment

Men’s head tennis coach serves up big effort to help university’s record-setting fundraising event

BY JONATHAN SMITH

uan Nunez (’09) wanted to set a bold goal for the men’s tennis program during ACU Gives, the university’s annual giving event.

Someone recommended he set his fundraising goal at $15,000. But the head coach believed in the generosity of his program’s supporters, and he was willing to put in the work to raise more than twice that amount.

“I kept telling people I’m good at breaking records and making a fool of myself, so I’m going to do one of those two things here,” Nunez said. “Maybe both.”

No one is laughing at his results now. Supporters stepped up in a big way for the men’s tennis program, raising $37,377, more than any other sport. Out of 42 participating funds from across campus during ACU Gives, the 124 gifts to the tennis program represented the second-highest number of donations.

Nunez’s efforts were part of a record-breaking event for the university. During ACU Gives on

April 25-26, the ACU community gave 1,714 gifts for an overall total of $670,118 – surpassing 2021’s then-record totals of 1,351 gifts and $670,118.

This year’s event marked a shakeup of a traditional Day of Giving, which had previously been held during a single 24-hour timeframe annually since 2017. This year, it was extended to 1,906 minutes –just under 32 hours – in honor of the year Abilene Christian was founded. The new timeframe required a new name, and ACU Gives was born.

Previous giving events included three to nine funds that donors could give toward.

ACU Gives offered 42 options from across every college and Athletics.

“ACU is blessed to have so many generous supporters,” said Samantha (Bickett ’01) Adkins, director of donor relations and annual giving.

“Expanding the options made it easier for everyone to give to the programs they are most passionate about.”

The results bear that out. In addition to the record-breaking overall totals, 20% of donors were making their first gift to the university.

ACU Gives also invites giving at any level, and Nunez wanted to highlight that in his efforts.

“I wanted anybody who wanted to support the tennis program to be able to be a part of this, so we wanted to have levels accessible to anyone,” he said.

To achieve his goal, Nunez created a chart containing 300 squares – each representing a different dollar amount from $1 to $300 – and he asked supporters to fill the chart by claiming one or more of them.

Nunez remembers seeing his creation printed for the first time on a 2-foot-by-3-foot roll of paper with no squares claimed yet.

“I remember thinking, ‘Oh boy, I might’ve bitten off a little more than I can chew this time,’” he said.

But his players jumped on board right away to claim the first squares and get the ball rolling. That made it easier to start reaching out to others for support.

In the weeks leading up to ACU Gives, it was not uncommon to see Nunez crisscrossing campus to visit faculty and staff to secure pledges with his rolled-up chart underneath one arm. The chart – which earned nicknames like “the scroll,” “the Declaration of Independence” and “the periodic table” – usually elicited a laugh from those he would visit. More often than not, it would also produce a pledge.

“It worked on me!” said Dan Macaluso, vice president for advancement, about a persuasive visit from Nunez. “Juan’s enthusiasm and creativity are just what we want to see from the groups participating in ACU Gives. Who better to share the story of all the good work the donations can do than the people putting those funds to use?”

Nunez is grateful for the support. The funds raised during ACU Gives have allowed him to purchase necessary training and recovery equipment and nutritional supplements to keep his players healthy and performing their best. This type of funding does so much to build on the success that men’s tennis has already achieved, having won the university’s first Western Athletic Conference championship in 2022.

Adkins said next year’s ACU Gives will likely follow a similar format. Nunez is ready, too. Though not quite every square was claimed this year, he’s already thinking of ways to tweak his method to make it another winning year.

“This program will continue long after I’m gone, and I want to leave it even better than I found it,” he said. “I’m so grateful to our donors for making that possible.” 