New Gifts Support Continued Success for Lacrosse Program

With the addition of two new gifts, there are now eight endowed scholarship funds within The University at Albany Foundation for the Men’s Lacrosse program.

ALBANY, N.Y. (June 27, 2018) – A history-making season for men’s lacrosse ended with the team’s dramatic run to the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament, the program’s first. Now, the University at Albany has received two generous gifts to support the continued success of the Great Dane lacrosse student athletes.

Ronald Frasch, a 1970 graduate of UAlbany, is providing $50,000 to fund the Frasch Family Lacrosse Scholarship.

Frasch is operating partner at Castanea Partners, a private equity firm based in Newton, Mass. He previously served as president and chief merchandising officer at Saks Fifth Avenue until the sale of the company to Hudson's Bay Co. in 2013. He was also CEO and president at Bergdorf Goodman, and has held executive positions at GFT USA, Escada USA and Neiman Marcus.

“Georgie and I have become big lacrosse fans thanks to our son Christian’s engagement and love of this sport,” said Frasch. “We are extremely proud of the successful program that Coach Marr has developed and the quality of the young men he has attracted to men’s lacrosse at my alma mater. We are thrilled to help the program achieve continued success.”

In addition, William Drewry, founding partner at Pursuit Advisory LP, is providing $50,000 to create the Jack Drewry Endowed Scholarship. Drewry’s son Jack, for whom the scholarship is named, attended UAlbany’s Lacrosse Camp in 2017.

An alum of Old Dominion University, Drewry is a founding partner at Pursuit Advisory LP, which provides strategic guidance for innovative media and technology companies. The firm was founded with the mission to provide clients with a differentiated set of capabilities to address the rapidly evolving media and technology landscape. Drewry also serves as the chief financial officer of Modern Media Acquisition Corp. since February 2017 and serves as its principal financial and accounting officer. Drewry previously served as the managing director of RBC Capital Markets LLC.

UAlbany Athletic Director Mark Benson formed a lasting friendship with Drewry during his tenure as the senior associate athletic director at Old Dominion, the post he held immediately prior to becoming UAlbany’s AD in 2014.

"On behalf of our administrators, coaches and student-athletes, I’d like to express our sincerest gratitude to Ronald Frasch and Bill Drewry for their generous commitments to our lacrosse program," said Benson. "These gifts will help make it possible for future Great Danes to achieve the same level of success, both on and off the field, that the program enjoyed during this remarkable run to the Final Four. We truly appreciate their investments in our student-athletes.

The gifts come at a transformative time for both the men’s lacrosse team and the University. The 2018 season saw a string of firsts for UAlbany, including becoming the first State University of New York school to achieve a No. 1 ranking in Division I athletics in any sport and the earning program’s first Final Four appearance.

But the accolades were not limited to the field, as several players were honored for the academic success, including Josh Egan, who was presented with the NCAA’s Elite 90 award during championship weekend, and Kyle McClancy, who was honored with a Scholar-Athlete award by SUNY Chancellor Kristina M. Johnson. The accolades have continued for McClancy, who recently become the first University at Albany student to earn America East Man of the Year honors, a recognition of his on-field heroics, his classroom success, and his commitment to serving others.

"On behalf of our men's lacrosse program and our student-athletes, I would like to thank the Frasch and Drewry families for their tremendous generosity to our program," said Men's Lacrosse Coach Scott Marr. "Games are not only won on the field, they are also won off the field with the support of our alumni and friends. I am deeply grateful to both families."

“Receiving not just one, but two new scholarships supporting our MLAX student-athletes is the ultimate compliment to an historic and exciting season," said UAlbany Vice President for University Advancement and Executive Director of the University at Albany Foundation Fardin Sanai. "We are grateful to the Frasch and Drewry families for their generosity and team spirit.”

With the addition of the Frasch Family Lacrosse Scholarship and the Jack Drewry Endowed Scholarship, there are now eight endowed scholarship funds within The University at Albany Foundation for the Men’s Lacrosse program.

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