Ohio State announced Thursday that it is creating a Women’s Athletics Excellence Fund “to support and enhance the experience and development of Ohio State’s women student-athletes, coaches and staff” after receiving a $2.5 million commitment from Anita and Michael Goldberg of RiteRug.
“As a company, RiteRug has worked hard to cultivate a culture that values leadership and hard work,” RiteRug CEO Michael Goldberg said in a statement. “We strongly believe in the growth and development of women both within our organization and in our community. We have chosen to support Ohio State women’s athletics because we believe that nothing exemplifies our values more than a female student-athlete in one of the most competitive academic and athletic programs in the nation. Our hope is that our gift has a ripple effect on these women, the program, and the community. That the student-athletes we support can reach their highest potential as they share their talents and leadership skills with others on the team, in their classrooms and where they volunteer their time.”
The announcement came on the 50th anniversary of Title IX, which Ohio State celebrated with an event at the Ty Tucker Tennis Center on Thursday morning. Ohio State will continue to celebrate women’s athletics and the 50th anniversary of Title IX throughout the year with a series on its official website of 50 great moments, events, people and/or eras in OSU’s women’s athletics history.
