Delany to speak at luncheon for donors

On Wednesday, the IU Varsity Club will kick off a new speaker series featuring Big Ten Conference Commissioner Jim Delany as its first guest.

Delany is in his 22nd year as Big Ten Commissioner and is credited with the expansion of the conference to 12 institutions, including Penn State in 1991 and Nebraska in 2011, and the creation of The Big Ten Network, according to the Varsity Club website. He also led gender equality initiatives that created more opportunities for women in the Big Ten, according to the IU Varsity Club.

Anne Crawford, the IU Varsity Club’s assistant director of development, said the speaker series was created as “a way to say thanks for all the continued support of the donors.”

Crawford said the Varsity Club serves as the fundraising body of IU Athletics and not only provides scholarships to IU’s athletes, but also provides exclusive access and benefits to its more than 58,000 donors.

“The speaker series is a new event to provide donors with access to these benefits,” Crawford said.

Crawford said Delany is the first guest speaker for the series. The series’ representatives hope to add four to six additional speaker events open to donors this school year, though no other guest speakers have been selected and no more events have been planned at this time. Crawford said the series will continue after the winter holidays.

The event is scheduled as a luncheon at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday in IU Memorial Stadium and will be exclusive to donors of the IU Varsity Club. IU Athletics Director Fred Glass will be in attendance and is also scheduled to speak, Crawford said.

“The luncheon with Delany will serve as a benefit (to Varsity Club donors), and invited donors can bring guests,” Crawford said.

Crawford said Delany will speak about his role as commissioner in the Big Ten Conference, as well as the conference’s recent expansion and its day-to-day operations.

The Varsity Club donors represent a majority of IU alumni and fans. With the support from its donor-members, the Varsity Club is able to support IU Athletics by “maintaining our tradition of excellence at IU,” according to the Varsity Club website.

Crawford said other benefits of being a part of the Varsity Club include access to sports games and special events with IU Athletics.

To become a donor or for more information on IU Varsity Club and the speaker series, visit varsityclub.indiana.edu.