U.Va. receives $50M gift from Breeden Co. founder

Ramon W. Breeden Jr., founder and chair of Virginia Beach-based developer The Breeden Co., has given $50 million to his alma mater, the University of Virginia, to support business education and athletics.

University President Tim Ryan announced the gift during a U.Va. Board of Visitors meeting Friday, according to a news release.

The gift will be divided between the university’s McIntire Expansion Project and the Virginia Athletics Master Plan. It is matched by the university with $25 million for the McIntire project, which is a renovation and expansion of U.Va.’s commerce school. Breeden is a 1956 graduate of the McIntire School of Commerce. Pending approval from the school’s board, spaces within McIntire, as well as a new athletics complex, will be named for Breeden.

“U.Va. is the heart and soul of my education. It was truly the pinnacle of my education,” Breeden said in a statement. “The McIntire School prepared me to go toe-to-toe with Ivy League graduates. U.Va.’s business school didn’t just teach me about business practices, the school also taught me to have the confidence to speak. I learned how to be actionable in business because of my time at McIntire.”

Breeden, an avid sports fan, also said he believes athletics “play a crucial role in teaching and promoting camaraderie.”

The McIntire expansion includes construction of a new building, Shumway Hall, on the southeast corner of U.Va’s lawn as well as a renovated Cobb Hall and a host of outdoor meeting areas, expanded walkways and green spaces. Construction of the new building is underway, with opening projected for February 2025. Renovations to the 106-year-old Cobb Hall include completion of its portico installation of a new slate roof as well as two new classrooms, a double-height solarium, study rooms, staff office and added seating areas.

The Virginia Athletics Master Plan calls for a new athletics complex, including a 90,000-square-foot home for U.Va’s football program, an Olympic sports center to support to more than 750 student-athletes and the Center for Citizen Leaders and Sports Ethics. Construction of the new football operations center began in June 2022 and is expected to be completed in spring 2024; McCue Center, the program’s current home, will be renovated to support U.Va. sports programs including field hockey, cross country, track and field, lacrosse, rowing and soccer with new locker rooms. The Olympic sports complex is scheduled to open in summer 2025, and will include the Center for Citizen Leaders and Sports Ethics.

“I am deeply grateful for Ray’s far-reaching investment in our athletics facilities and McIntire’s growing presence on Grounds,” Ryan said in a statement. “Our student-athletes and commerce students, among others, will have terrific new spaces in which to practice and learn for many years to come.”

Breeden founded his company in 1961 and served as a member of the McIntire Foundation Board from 1994 to 1996 and also served on its advisory board. He stepped down as president and CEO of his company in January 2022, naming Timothy Faulkner as his successor. Breeden also co-founded Commerce Bank, which was purchased by Branch Bank & Trust, and he then served as a state director of BB&T, now part of Truist Financial Group.

The Breeden donation is among several large gifts U.Va. has received in recent years. In January, U.Va. announced a $100 million donation from Charlottesville investor Paul Manning and his wife, Diane. The university is putting that money toward a biotechnology institute as the region aims for a biotech revolution.