Student-Athlete Excellence Fund, Basketball Victory Fund among supported initiatives

Special to UM News

CORAL GABLES, Fla. (September 7, 2015) – University of Miami Board of Trustees member and alumnus Michael J. “Pete” Piechoski and his wife, Jeri, have made a $1 million commitment to Hurricanes Athletics as part of a generous University-wide pledge.

Piechoski, who earned his bachelor’s degree in accounting from Miami in 1976, is a member of the Athletic Director’s Advisory Committee and was the founding member of the Champions Level ($55,000+) of annual giving with the Hurricane Club.

“I am thrilled to be able to invest in the University that invested in me,” Piechoski said. “I have the highest regard for all University officials at Miami, including the educators, athletics staff and coaches that make it such a special place. They have the utmost regard for integrity and professionalism.”

The $1 million commitment will help support the Student-Athlete Excellence Fund, which provides operational and scholarship support for Miami Athletics, the Schwartz Center for Athletic Excellence, and the newly created Basketball Victory Fund, established to enhance the BankUnited Center, the locker rooms for men’s and women’s basketball, as well as additional support areas.

“I want to express my sincere gratitude to Pete for his unwavering commitment to UM Athletics and for his continued leadership and service to our University,” said Director of Athletics Blake James. “As a trustee and alumni leader, Pete always answers the call to help provide the resources needed to ensure our student-athletes have the resources to compete at the highest level, academically and athletically.”

Piechoski is the former senior vice president and chief financial officer for Peter Kiewit Sons’, Inc. in Omaha, Nebraska, one of North America’s largest construction and engineering firms. Additionally, Piechoski serves as Board of Directors Chairman of the Team USA Bobsled and Skeleton committee, on which he recently began serving a four-year term.

In addition to their strong support to athletics, the Piechoskis also established three endowment funds: the Piechoski Family Endowed Graduate Business Fellowship Fund; the Piechoski Family Endowed Graduate Engineering Fellowship Fund; and the Piechoski Study Abroad Endowed Fund.

Residents of Tempe, Arizona, and Coral Gables, the Piechoskis have two children: Alexandra, a graduate of Villanova University, and Brad, a 2012 graduate of UM’s College of Engineering who is currently enrolled in the M.B.A. program at Miami.