Rider Athletics fundraising challenge sets record for second year in a row

The ninth annual Raise Your Game Athletics Fundraising Challenge continued to grow and break records in 2019 in terms of both dollars raised and overall participation rate. The $192,000 raised was $9,000 more than the previous record set just last year and the participation rate has continued to grow every year of the challenge.

"I continue to be impressed by and am extremely appreciative of the support our athletic alumni show to their respective programs," Rider Director of Athletics Don Harnum said. "They play a huge part in our ability to compete and to provide a quality student-athlete experience."

A new Raise Your Game Champion was crowned in 2019 as the men's soccer team earned the distinction for the fifth time since the inception of the challenge. The men's soccer team saw nearly 43 percent of alumni participate with 123 former student-athletes donating. Six of Rider's teams hit their individual goals and the field hockey team saw a perfect 100 percent participation for the Class of 2019.

Following men's soccer in the standings were wrestling in second-place and the swimming and diving teams in third. Women's basketball and field hockey rounded out the top-five. Wrestling and swimming and diving both had 85 donors apiece. The swimming and diving teams and the golf team both saw a seven percent increase from last year.

All money donated goes directly into each team's booster club. Additionally, the Raise Your Game Challenge utilizes a scoring system that promotes regular giving from donors and awards bonus points based on the amount of each donation. Teams are also rewarded by meeting individual goals established at the beginning of the competition if they continue to "Raise the Game." The first, second and third-place teams are each awarded additional prize money for their booster club. In the nine years of the Raise Your Game Challenge, more than $900,000 has been raised.

"Our alumni really get into the Raise Your Game Challenge and they know they play a huge part in the success of our team," Rider Head Men's Soccer Coach Charlie Inverso said. "I love those guys and I love catching up with them. It's pretty cool to hear how many of them attend games or watch them online. It was also a great feeling to see how many young guys from our recent championship teams contributed. Our soccer alumni group is awesome and we are very grateful.