Longtime Western Carolina University supporters and friends have come together to honor the legacy and dedication of the university’s former sports information director, Steve White, a man many affectionately refer to as “the walking encyclopedia of Catamount athletics.”

WCU alumni David and Joy Wiggins have made a lead gift to the university’s “Fill the Western Sky” comprehensive fundraising campaign and chosen to direct their gift toward the naming of the football stadium’s new Western Skybox media center in White’s honor.

A planned gift from a longtime Western North Carolina economic development and marketing professional and his spouse has pushed Western Carolina University’s “Fill the Western Sky” comprehensive fundraising campaign past its minimum goal of $100 million in philanthropic support. 

Members of Western Carolina University fraternities and sororities contributed more than $1.5 million to the Catamount Club during the 2024-2025 edition of the Greek Challenge, an annual competition to see which organizations can raise the most money in support of the university’s athletics program. 

Western Carolina University officially kicked off the largest comprehensive fundraising campaign in the university’s 136-year history, an effort to secure $100 million in philanthropic support with a focus on increasing the financial resources necessary for long-delayed upgrades in facilities used by Catamount student-athletes. 

The Western Carolina University School of Nursing in Cullowhee is the recipient of a $2 million contribution from the Bedford Falls Foundation-DAF (“Bedford Falls”) that will provide scholarship support to undergraduate nursing students and enable the hiring of additional faculty to guide them in their clinical experiences.