Last week, UPS, the world’s largest package delivery company and a leading global provider of specialized transportation and logistics services, announced a $5 million commitment to University of Louisville Athletics.
“Our hope is that when someone is watching a game from the UPS Flight Deck, they’ll not only think of our beautiful aircraft flying overhead, but realize we’re connecting global communities with everything from medical supplies to e-commerce,” said Brendan Canavan, UPS Airlines president. “Continuing the relationship with the University of Louisville helps us educate a future workforce with the benefit of a tuition-free education at UofL. That’s a true team effort.”
The $5 million gift extends a strong relationship with Cardinal Athletics. UPS committed $3 million toward the expansion of Cardinal Stadium in 2009, with the upper deck of the football stadium named the UPS Flight Deck. This new gift will extend those naming rights for an additional 13 years.
The gift will also establish the UPS Leadership Academy within UofL Athletics. The UPS Leadership Academy is intended to support sophomore student-athletes as they develop their leadership framework by examining and reflecting on their individual leadership style and moving into a collective leadership model as part of a team, classroom and community.
“We have established a terrific partnership with UPS over the last 20 years,” said Vince Tyra, UofL vice president and director of Athletics. “We are now excited about the level of support and array of programs designed to strengthen this partnership over the 13-year term of our agreement. We’re particularly delighted about the long-term benefits that our student-athletes will gain through the UPS Leadership Academy through the coming years.
The first Academy will consist of a keynote speaker and five workshops covering topics such as leadership styles and roles, emotional intelligence, leveraging athletic experiences to enhance career opportunities, servant leadership, goal getting/setting and will include a networking lunch of former student-athletes from varying career fields.
The program will also include the UPS Executive Speaker Series, exposing UofL student-athletes to some of the top leaders throughout the world in a variety of fields including management, aviation, human resources, sales, public relations and other areas. The program will also seek to create more high-level internships for UofL student athletes at UPS. UPS’ main Global Air Hub is located in Louisville.
