PUEBLO, Colo. – Colorado State University Pueblo Athletics hosted its 20th Annual Pride of the Pack Scholarship Fundraiser on Wednesday evening at the Occhiato Student Center Ballroom on the CSU Pueblo campus.
 
The event drew about 450 people and raised over $140,000 thanks to a silent auction, a "Text to Give" campaign, the Diamond Raffle, which was an $8,900 diamond bracelet that was once donated by Carleo Creations and ticket sales. The Pride of the Pack event was once again sponsored by UC Health.
 
Wednesday's silent auction featured 74 items, which included numerous gift certificates to local restaurants, tickets to Denver Broncos and Colorado Avalanche games, an autographed baseball from former Air Force Academy and Pittsburgh Pirates rookie pitcher Paul Skenes and other items that generated between about $15,000, while the "Text to Give" campaign raised $101,371, the Diamond Raffle generated $10,000 thanks the selling of 100 raffle tickets that cost $100 each, and ticket sales raised $21,000. The goal for the "Text to Give" was $90,000 but was put over the top thanks to a $30,000 donation Jonathan Quenzer, who is the Chief Executive Officer of Rocky Mountain Turf Solutions.

Among the donors to the "Text to Give" were Kailyn and Morgan Fox, who donated $10,000, Steph and Ryan Jensen, who gave $15,000, Pepsi gave $5,000, Black Hills Energy gave $1,500, the Azteca Apartments and Simon Escobedo donated $15,000, Ted Hernandez gave $15,000 and Quenzer from Rocky Mountain Turf Solutions gave $30,000.
 
"On behalf of our 600 student-athletes, I'm honored to say that we surpassed our goal of raising over $100,000 at the annual Pride of the Pack Scholarship Fundraiser. Money raised at this event goes directly to student-athlete scholarships. In fact, we generate over $2.5 million annually to support our student-athletes," said Dr. Paul Plinske, CSU Pueblo Vice President of Intercollegiate Athletics and Strategic Partnerships. "We are grateful to our supporters for showing up tonight (and every day) to make this possible. We are especially thankful to our alumni who contributed to tonight's event. 'Pack giving back' is important as our student-athletes are dealing with many rising costs."
 

  
The Pride of the Pack event was attended by Pack coaches, student-athletes, athletic department employees, Pack Club members, and other special guests. The Pride of the Pack helped kick off a new season of ThunderWolves intercollegiate athletics and all the money raised at the event is used for athletic scholarships. In addition, Pack Club members who had already purchased their memberships for the 2024-25 school year received their Pack Club gear.

Wednesday's event was a Tour of Italy themed evening as the evening began with a social hour and cocktails and live music played by Pueblo, Colo., native Cody Cozz from 5-6 p.m., before Dr. Plinske welcomed the crowd, gave his State of CSU Pueblo Athletics Address and had the student-athletes that were in attendance stand to be recognized. Following Dr. Plinske's talk, the attendees were able to eat at one of the five food stations – Soup and Salad (Chicken Gnocchi Soup, Pasta Fagioli, Caesar Salad Station), Pizza (Assorted Pizzas, Lasagna), Entrée (Tuscan Grilled Chicken, Parmesan Polenta, Italian Green Beans and Dinner Rolls), Create Your Own Pasta and Desserts (Limoncello, Tiramisu, Lady Fingers, Puff Pastries, Vanilla Bean Panna Cotta, Gelato and Biscotti and Italian Rainbow Cookies).
 
About an hour later, a hype video that Tyler Lundquist created from the Media Center was played that ended with a ThunderWolf Howl. Then Dr. Plinske returned to the stage to announce the winner of the Diamond Raffle. The winning ticket was drawn by fifth-year senior transfer quarterback Roman Fuller (Decatur, Texas/University of Tulsa).
 
Following the Diamond Raffle winner, Dr. Plinske introduced each of the athletic department's head coaches and the athletic accomplishments of the past year and the then-assembled guests watched a video that featured Pack senior two-time All-American defensive back Daniel Bone III (Colorado Springs, Colo./Pine Ridge) and senior two-time All-American women's basketball player Alisha Little (Aurora, Colo./Northern Colorado). Bone and Little were two of the some 60-plus student-athletes in attendance at Wednesday's event.

 
After the videos, the evening wrapped up with closing remarks from Dr. Plinske and closure of the silent auction as the winning bidders of the items were announced and the items were paid for.
 
CSU Pueblo Athletics generates over $2.5 million annually in external funding sources (ticket sales, corporate sponsorships, camps and clinics, special events, NCAA postseason competition, sport-specific fundraising, and Pack Club memberships).
 
Anyone interested in still signing up to be a member of the Pack Club, there is still time before the start of the 2024-25 CSU Pueblo athletics season. For more information or to join the Pack Club, click HERE on this link that will take you directly to the Pack Club website.