Cullen Trust Hits One Out of the Park

The University of St. Thomas received a generous gift of $3 million from the Cullen Trust for Higher Education with $1.5 million slated for athletics.

With UST’s transition to NCAA Division III, St. Thomas athletics has grown at a very rapid pace and has more than doubled the number of teams and student-athletes over the last two years. With the addition of softball and track & field, UST now has 15 teams and 250 student-athletes on campus.

“The Cullen Trust gift will enable us to provide first-class facilities and care for our student-athletes,” Athletic Director Todd Smith said. “This gift allows us to break ground to build a hitting facility that will act as a home base for our baseball and softball teams. The soon-to-be on campus facility will allow these student-athletes more time to devote to academics and campus involvement.

“It will also give us an opportunity to add new programs and continue to grow,” Smith said. “This gift will positively impact the lives of our student-athletes for many years.”