John A. ’82 and Laura Lally cut the ribbon to officially mark the opening of the John A. Lally Athletics Complex entranceway.
The John A. Lally Athletics Complex entranceway is complete. The first milestone in the ongoing multimillion dollar, multi-year capital campaign to build a new home for the Orange will welcome all visitors to the Lally Athletics Complex. When completed, the John A. Lally Athletics Complex will stand as a state-of-the-art academic and athletics village serving all 20 Syracuse University teams and more than 600 student-athletes.
On Friday afternoon in front of more than 100 esteemed donors, coaches, student-athlete and University leaders, Syracuse University Chancellor Kent Svyerud, Director of Athletics John Wildhack ’80 and lead donors John A. ’82 and Laura Lally cut the ribbon to officially mark the opening of the John A. Lally Athletics Complex entranceway.
“The John A. Lally Athletics Complex is an Athletic and Academic Village,” Wildhack said. “It represents our commitment to provide every student-athlete with the tools to reach their full potential, both academically and athletically. We will provide best-in-class services in academic support, sports medicine, nutrition, strength and conditioning, career counseling, and personal support for every student-athlete at Syracuse. It will enable us to recruit the brightest and best student-athletes. It will help us compete and win at the ACC and national level. The success of our student-athletes, both academically and athletically, will bring great pride to our University, our community, our alumni, and Orange fans around the world.”
A key priority of Forever Orange, Syracuse University’s comprehensive capital campaign, the Lally Athletics Complex will elevate the student-athlete experience and provide a first-rate facility to help the department continue to develop, recruit and retain high caliber student-athletes. Thanks to the leadership support of Lally, a three-time Orange football letterwinner, and his wife, Laura, this vision is steadily becoming a reality.
“Being a Syracuse Football player was formative for me,” Lally said. “I took what I learned on the field and applied it to business and life. I am very excited about where we are with the project at this time. But we’re just beginning—we need to do everything we can to support it and continue to make this great facility a reality.”
Lally, a graduate of the Martin J. Whitman School of Management and an offensive guard for the Orange from 1977-82, made a $25 million gift commitment in 2019 to jumpstart the campaign and help inspire fellow alumni, fans and donors to support.
“The John A. Lally Athletics Complex is the physical embodiment of Syracuse University’s promise to our student athletes,” Syverud said. “Here our students will see the investment Syracuse University is making in their development as a whole person —academically, athletically and personally.”
Friday’s ribbon cutting marked the completion of construction on a new front entrance and expanded meeting space that features engaging interactive technology and state-of-the-art video boards. The entranceway will be the central entry for all alumni, friends, staff, coaches, student-athletes and prospective student-athletes and their families to enter into the home of Syracuse Athletics. Future plans for the complex call for the second level of the entranceway to be expanded into a student-athlete academic success center serving all Syracuse student-athletes.
Momentum for the campaign is building as the ‘Cuse Athletics Fund (‘CAF) and Syracuse University continue to fundraise for the next phases of the John A. Lally Athletics Complex. The $150 million campaign includes the creation of a new Football Operations Center and the ‘One Team’ Olympic Sports Center, which will be utilized by all Olympic sports teams and house updated dining and nutrition facilities, renovated locker rooms, medical training and strength and conditioning facilities, and modernized displays honoring the history of Syracuse Athletics.
“John and Laura, your support, commitment and passion inspire all of us,” Wildhack said. “Thank you for believing in us, thank you for trusting us. Your generosity will enable tens of thousands of young women and men to come to Syracuse University to learn, to grow as people, to thrive, to compete, and to win at the highest level. Today, our collective vision and dream is being realized — and we’re just getting started.
“What does today represent? It represents the official beginning of the multi-phase vision for the John A. Lally Athletics Complex. It represents a new era in Syracuse Athletics.”
To date, the Phase 1 fundraising goal to continue construction on the John A. Lally Athletics Complex is 90% complete. In just two years, the Legends Society, a leadership group of fans, family and alumni who join in a shared vision to provide current and future student-athletes with a championship experience through philanthropy, has grown to almost 170 donors who have made major gift commitments to support Syracuse Athletics and the John A. Lally Athletics Complex.
To learn more about the John A. Lally Athletics Complex capital campaign and how to support, please visit the Legends Society webpage.
Orange isn’t just our color. It’s our promise to leave the world better than we found it. Forever Orange: The Campaign for Syracuse University is poised to do just that. Fueled by more than 150 years of fearless firsts, together we can enhance academic excellence, transform the student experience and expand unique opportunities for learning and growth. Forever Orange endeavors to raise $1.5 billion in philanthropic support, inspire 125,000 individual donors to participate in the campaign, and actively engage one in five alumni in the life of the University. Now is the time to show the world what Orange can do. Visit foreverorange.syr.edu to learn more.
