This feature is one of three UAF gratitude series to Usibelli Coal Mine. You can view the others here >> School of Management | Chancellor's Report on Philanthropy (coming soon)

On a Thursday morning in November, a few members of the administrative staff in the University of Alaska Fairbanks Department of Athletics received an email from the UA Foundation, alerting us that the Usibelli Coal Mine Athletics Endowed Scholarship had officially been created.

The purpose? "To provide financial assistance for tuition and other related educational expenses to student-athletes at the University of Alaska Fairbanks."

"What a fantastic email to read first thing in the morning!" we all thought to ourselves. Like so many others, we were in need of some good news.

The truth is, COVID-19 hit the Alaska Nanooks hard this year, especially when it comes to honoring scholarships for several of our student-athletes. Since March, our usual revenue generation and fundraising efforts have been completely halted, including summer camps, season tickets and facility rentals.

In any other year, the first week of December at the Patty Center usually includes multiple events. The Alaska volleyball season has just concluded. Our 'Nooks are in the thick of conference play on the ice. The Nordic Cup has been awarded to our ski team (or in-state rival UAA) at Birch Hill. And the Mt. McKinley Bank North Star Invitational has just finished up over Thanksgiving weekend.

Although the Patty Center is eerily quiet at the moment, we still have a commitment to our student-athletes. Games may be on hold for now, but their education is ongoing, and we desperately need aid with scholarships this year.

Thankfully, under the leadership of Joe Usibelli Jr., our friends at Usibelli Coal Mine heard the call and asked what they could do to help.

This isn't the first time in recent history Usibelli has come to our rescue. Let's rewind to 2018.

No more garage weights

The Ernest N. Patty Building, lovingly known as the Patty Center, was dedicated at UAF in 1963. It houses the UAF Department of Athletics, as well as the Alaska Airlines Court, a 25-yard swimming pool, the E.F. Horton Rifle Range and more (you can read more about the dedication of the Patty Center HERE).
 

In 2018, the Patty Center underwent renovations for several of our teams' locker rooms, as well as the public swim locker rooms, to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Due to the restructure of the first level, our varsity weight room needed to be relocated and rebuilt. What's worse than trying to use a weight room built in the 1960s?
The biggest challenge wasn't figuring out where to put the new one. It was not having the funds to outfit it with updated and safe equipment for our student-athletes.

Then Usibelli Coal Mine stepped in. 

With their close ties to UAF, Usibelli Coal Mine had heard our dilemma and reached out to help support the construction and development of our new weight room, formerly the racquetball courts in the lower level of the Patty Center. UCM's generous gift of $75,000 helped remodel the 2,000-square-foot space, benefiting every Alaska Nanook student-athlete since 2018.

"The generosity of UCM has been game changing for Nanook athletics," head volleyball coach Brian Scott said. "It wasn't too long ago that I would do everything in my power to avoid showing recruits what we used to call a weight room. Thanks to UCM, it has been transformed from a household garage set of weights and benches to a true collegiate-caliber performance center."

A remodel began in June and ended in December. The new and improved weight room was able to add branded graphics, squat racks, benches, universal machines, training systems and more. Along with other generous donors, UCM's gift completely

reenergized our student-athletes, coaches and training staff. Proper weight-training equipment significantly decreases injuries to our student-athletes and immediately increases their strength and stamina throughout competition.

"When you sign student-athletes and make a commitment to their development, it is an empty promise without the adequate facilities," longtime head athletic trainer Mike Curtin said. "The Athletics Department has gone through a number of significant upgrades over the past eight or nine years, but I don't believe any single upgrade has had a greater impact to all of our student-athletes like the weight room renovation."

"It's hard to express just how import the gifts from Usibelli Coal Mine are, not only just to our student-athletes and coaches, but to me, as well," Curtin continued. "For a very long time, we just made do with what we had. But now, I'm able to walk into a weight room that I am proud to be a part of."

Beyond athletics
Since being founded in 1943 by Emil Usibelli, UCM has been a steady supporter and long-time partner to UAF and its various departments on campus. Through UCM's corporate social responsibility program, the Usibelli Foundation and personal gifts from members of the Usibelli family, more than $6.5 million has been donated to the university through scholarships, faculty awards, capital projects, event sponsorships and athletics.
 

Usibelli's generosity to other departments on campus still directly impacts our student-athletes' education and welfare here at UAF. For instance, during the inaugural UA Day of Giving (Oct. 20-22, 2020), UCM offered a $50,000 scholarship endowment challenge to the UAF School of Management.
Of our 108 student-athletes on roster for the 2020-21 season, 32 are enrolled in the School of Management. So those student-athletes may be among future recipients of the scholarship.

An example of a student-athlete who benefits from UCM's generosity outside of athletics is Alaska Nanooks hockey captain Max Newton, a senior forward from Vancouver, British Columbia. Newton was able to complete his bachelor's degree in three years thanks to scholarship funding for summer classes in both athletics and the School of Management. For the 2020-21 academic year, Newton is working to complete his MBA.

"Having been around for the old weight room and then seeing the new one, having the opportunity to complete my degree early within the School of Management, all of those things are due to the kindness people have shown to our university," Newton said. "I'm so appreciative for Usibelli's contribution and the opportunity to be an Alaska Nanook."  

Additionally, UCM recently donated $100,000 to SOM's homeland security and emergency management program. Two of our current 'Nooks are enrolled in the HSEM program, and one volleyball alumni is working on finishing her degree.

UCM President Joe Usibelli Jr. is a graduate of UAF's College of Engineering and Mines, earning a degree in civil engineering with a minor in business in 1981. UCM provides eight scholarships to UAF CEM enrollees. Currently, eight of our Alaska Nanook student-athletes are eligible.

Earlier this year, Joe Usibelli Jr. was named the SOM's 2020 business leader of the year.  The annual award-presentation dinner was postponed due to COVID but remains a standout occasion throughout the on-campus community. Many student-athletes take pride in assisting and volunteering at the event.

Relevancy matters
Usibelli Coal Mine's always-relevant philanthropic giving to UAF sets it apart from other generous supporters of the university.

Earlier this year, UCM donated $100,000 to HSEM to help UAF deliver a top-ranked education program to their students through online and in-person classroom options. The HSEM programs prepare UAF graduates to plan responses and manage first responders during man-made and natural emergencies. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the critical importance of training professionals in this field. UCM wanted to assist UAF in training the next class of HSEM graduates for the betterment of their chosen community.

Although we cannot speak for everyone here on campus, most of us can agree that Usibelli Coal Mine possesses a strong understanding of the needs in our state, community and university. That special characteristic — recognizing what is needed, adjusting and tweaking the plan continuously, and then quickly acting upon it — is very special and rare.

In 2018, we needed a new weight room. In 2020, we need help with scholarships.

During the 2020 UA Giving Day, Usibelli Coal Mine created a challenge for the Alaska Nanooks, in addition to their challenge for the School of Management. If 49 individuals donated to UAF athletics, it would unlock a $50,000 donation to establish the Usibelli Coal Mine Athletics Endowed Scholarship.

We had 49 donors within the first hour.

And on Thursday morning in late November, we received an email saying that a new endowment was officially open and ready to help a student-athlete in need.

"Their investment into scholarships this year is game changing," Scott concluded. "It transforms our ability to recruit and retain top-tiers student-athletes. Without scholarship dollars, it is very hard to convince the best talent to move to Alaska and stay throughout the entire duration. I am extremely grateful for the support of UCM."

Without Alaska companies like UCM and leaders like Joe Usibelli Jr., our student-athletes wouldn't be able to play the sport they are so passionate about, while receiving a world class education here at UAF.

As the next generation of leaders in their respected communities, we hope our student-athletes will have that exact same sense of relevant generosity that Usibelli Coal Mine embodies.