The Oregon State Beavers are getting a boost to their basketball programs.
This past Tuesday, the university announced that alumnus Joth Ricci made a $3 million gift to further support the men’s and women’s basketball teams. The gift will be split into two $1.5 million endowed funds.
According to the press release, Ricci’s support “will generate expendable resources for the two programs in perpetuity.”
The gift comes at a pivotal time for the university. Oregon State and Washington State were the only two teams left standing in the Pac-12 once the realignment moved the remaining teams to other ‘power conferences.’
This will allow both the Men’s and Women’s teams to compete for top recruits and transfers with a larger NIL budget. “The steady, reliable funding provided by athletic endowments ensure long-term stability and growth, empowering our student-athletes to excel on and off the field, now and for generations to come.” Said OSU athletic director Scott Barnes in regards to the gift from the former Beavers student.
Ricci graduated from Oregon State in 1990 and was recently the CEO for Dutch Bros Coffee from 2019-2023, headquartered in Grants Pass, Oregon.
When making his commitment to the university, Ricci said, “I don’t think there’s ever been a better time to invest in OSU athletics. Anytime you are in an uncertain situation, you have a choice to make; you can wait and see what happens to you, or you can get engaged and build your narrative.”
He also discussed how it is crucial to get ahead of the ever-changing landscape of college sports.
“As intercollegiate athletics continue to change, at Oregon State, we have the chance to build and make our program even stronger.”
The Beavers women’s basketball program is coming off an impressive season in 2024. The team made it to the Elite Eight after a 27-8 regular season finish. Unfortunately, most of the team’s top players still eligible opted to enter the transfer portal for better opportunities this past offseason. It is clear that gifts like this will change the landscape for this program immediately and moving forward.
The same thing happened with the men’s team this offseason as they will look to replace some key contributors after a down 13-19 season in 2023-24. According to On3, the men’s team has yet to break the Top 100 for the 2025 recruiting class window.
With the added help from the former coffee leader, that could change in the coming months.
