Priorities Women's Athletics
At the University of Miami, we help develop women student-athletes into leaders in competition and in life, believing that providing athletic and leadership opportunities will empower women to achieve excellence well beyond their time at UM.
Playing sports increases confidence, teamwork, and leadership skills. Women who play sports have a more positive self-image—allowing them to rise in their games, careers, and communities. Together, let's create more opportunities for women to play, earn, give back, and contribute to our scoreboards and our communities.
Your gift to the Miami Women's Athletics Campaign will go directly toward scholarship support, leadership development, and career coaching for our talented young women, as well as help fund nutritional programs and facility enhancements.
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Edna C. Shalala Fund
The Edna C. Shalala Fund for Women's Athletics was created to honor UM's 5th President Donna E. Shalala's mother, Edna, on the occasion of her 100th birthday.
Edna Shalala passed away in December 2014 at the age of 103. The fund is used to enhance women's athletics and supports the continued success of Miami's women's athletic teams. A once nationally ranked amateur tennis player, Ohio-born Edna Shalala graduated from college in 1933 and worked as a physical education teacher.
During the summer, she won several big tennis tournaments and qualified for the national championships three years in a row. Ever the competitor, she played in her last national event just before going on her honeymoon. Eleven years after her twin daughters Donna and Diane were born, Edna graduated from law school. She had a long and successful career as managing partner of a busy probate firm and practiced law well into her nineties. Edna also played competitively on the senior amateur circuit—earning a ranking of No. 1 in the Middle West—until 1996.
Edna Shalala was tremendous proponent for women's athletics both nationally and within the University of Miami athletics community. Your kind donation is a fitting and meaningful way to memorialize Edna Shalala, while also supporting the University of Miami's continued tradition of excellence in women's sports.
Celebration of Women's Athletics
The signature event in support of Women's Athletics is the Celebration of Women's Athletics presented by adidas held annually in the spring.
The CWA was founded in 2015 by University of Miami Board of Trustees members Hilarie Bass, Barbara Havenick and Laurie Silvers. The proceeds from the CWA are used to provide UM female student-athletes with first-class opportunities to compete, study and become the next generation of leaders.
Click below to read more about the 11th Annual Celebration of Women's Athletics held on April 27, 2025.
Read More About the Celebration of Women's Athletics