University of Delaware Athletics
11/11/2026 12:00:00 PM | Field Hockey, Softball, Women's Basketball, Women's Cross Country, Women's Golf, Women's Soccer, Women's Swimming & Diving, Women's Tennis, Volleyball, Women's Lacrosse, Rowing, Delaware Athletics, Track & Field, Cheer, Dance, Ice Hockey
NEWARK, Del. – University of Delaware Department of Athletics & Campus Recreation (DACR) has launched Flock Together, an initiative focused on supporting Delaware women's athletics, the department announced Wednesday.
"We are excited to launch Flock Together, an initiative focused on supporting the holistic development of our female student-athletes," University of Delaware Director of Athletics & Campus Recreation Jordan Skolnick said. "As we work to develop champions here at UD, continuing to amplify our female sports programs and student-athletes is imperative to their success. I hope this important initiative encourages our alumni, fans, and community to engage with our Fightin' Blue Hens in new ways, like coming out to watch a new team compete, getting involved in our career readiness programming, philanthropically supporting your favorite program, sponsoring a community group to come to a game, or exploring opportunities to advertise with our student-athletes or programs. There are numerous opportunities to support our incredible athletes. As we continue to tell the stories of our student-athletes and programs through this initiative, I hope you are as inspired as I am by all the incredible things our women's teams are accomplishing and want to get involved to help us develop these student-athletes into the best versions of themselves in all facets of their lives."
The Fightin' Blue Hens sponsor 14 varsity women's sport programs, and Blue Hen women compete on all three of our spirit squads. Over the past three years, significant investments have been made in the women's sport programs, including a major renovation of the Delaware Softball Diamond, a renovation of Rullo Stadium for field hockey, and the launch of women's ice hockey as the 22nd varsity sport offering – totaling over $20 million.
Delaware women's sports programs are also experiencing great success – field hockey has won a conference championship in 12 of the last 14 seasons, women's swimming & diving won its conference championship last year, dance hip hop and all-girl cheer finished top five in D1A Nationals in their first year at the highest level, and women's lacrosse won its conference regular season title in 2025. Women's golf and women's tennis both took runner up in their inaugural CUSA seasons last year. This fall, cross country completed its fastest-ever finish at conference championship, and women's soccer finished its regular season in second place. The department's goal is for Flock Together to help build on this momentum and grow additional support for UD women's sports programs.
Flock Together prioritizes holistic support of female Blue Hen student-athletes with three pillars: career readiness and mentorship opportunities, community engagement events and initiatives to inspire the next generation of Blue Hens, and philanthropic support for our women's sport programs.
In each of the last three academic years, Delaware boasts an impressive 95+ percent rate of student-athlete graduates who are employed or pursuing further education within six months of graduation. The Flock Together campaign seeks to continue to create additional career mentorship, internship, and networking opportunities for female student-athletes among UD alumni networks and local companies.
Blue Hens are role models, and already make an incredible impact in the community. Each year, Delaware hosts 300+ local girls on National Girls and Women in Sports Day for a clinic to educate young girls in a variety of sports. The Blue Hens visit local classrooms to read to students, volunteer with local organizations, interact with local girls through the Future Hens Club, and with camps, clinics and youth days. The goal is for Flock Together to help expand DACR's reach to more local girls, continuing to build on the great work already happening in the community, and partnering with local businesses and organizations to join in making a difference.
Philanthropically, DACR has an aspirational goal of fundraising $1 million to keep this momentum going. While UD women's sports programs receive about the same number of external philanthropic gifts as men's sports programs, giving amounts to women's sports programs significantly lag behind men's sports programs, and the goal for the Flock Together campaign is to help close that gap. Donations will fund sport specific needs for each program, as well as support holistic student-athlete support for all Fightin' Blue Hens, including health and wellbeing support (athletic training, sports medicine, strength & conditioning, performance nutrition, sport psychology), student-athlete success support (academic advising, tutoring, career readiness, leadership development, BLUE programming), sport science and analytics (technology systems, software programs, wearables), and program operational support (equipment, travel, uniforms, meals, facilities, and more).
To learn more about Flock Together, how to get involved, and follow along with the program's progress, visit the Flock Together page. You can make a gift in support of University of Delaware Women's Athletics programs or talk to Casey Macdonald (individuals) or Gabby Hahn (businesses) from the Development and Alumni Relations team to learn more. If you or your business are interested in being involved or partnership opportunities to support or sponsor the Flock Together campaign, please fill out this form.
We look forward to a celebratory event to kick off the women's initiative around an upcoming women's basketball game this winter. Please stay tuned for more information and follow along on the Flock Together website.
