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That makes fundraising tough and the school was afraid it would lose money on the first two rounds of the tournament because they had to pay travel expenses for non-essential people associated with the team like coach's wives.
This week, FGCU sent out an email to its fans asking them to donate $16, $160 or $1,600 to athletic department in recognition of the team's run to the Sweet 16.
"We still need a lot more resources," [the athletic director] said. "We have to try to make up for the fact that our oldest alum is 37 years old."
The school only started accepting students in 1997.
That's not even close to enough time to cultivate the sort of rich booster base that help fund many big-time programs.
FGCU plays Florida tonight in Dallas.