Athletic department at Tacoma university receives $1M gift. Here’s what it’s for

Women’s sports are having a moment in the United States right now. Locally, the University of Puget Sound received a gift that times nicely with the momentum.

UPS announced it recently received a $1 million gift from the Offutt Family Foundation to support women’s athletics wellness and leadership.

“There’s so much hype right now around women’s athletics in terms of national attention and success,” UPS athletic director Amy Hackett told The News Tribune on Thursday. “We’ve had a number of successful programs with our women’s athletic teams.

“With the recent 50th anniversary of Title IX, we wanted to lean into where it is currently, but knowing we need to do more and be more focused on attending to particular needs and meeting those needs.”

The donation will offer support in areas like mental health, nutrition, injury prevention, leadership development for student-athletes and professional development for coaches. Hackett said they’ll survey women’s athletes on the Tacoma campus to figure out where specifically to allocate the money, which will become available in the 2025-26 school year.

“We want to make sure we have the voice of our student-athletes involved,” she said.

The donation comes from 1991 UPS graduate Christi Offutt, who played soccer for the Loggers during her time at the school. Offutt serves as the chair of R.D. Offutt Company, a family-owned international business, with a range of entities including agricultural equipment, farming operations and food production.

Founded in 2008, the Offutt Family Foundation aims to help build strong communities.

Hackett, who expressed gratitude and excitement for the gift, said she hopes to continue to see the growth of women’s athletics happen locally at UPS. In her 22 years in the position, she has seen a transformation in how women’s sports are perceived and supported.

“It really is a significant shift that’s happened,” she said. “I think women are stronger being able to voice their concerns. Their voice is developing. People are paying attention. There’s a market out there now.”