Title:Welch Family Current Use Fund

Supporting the wellness and success of Georgetown student-athletes

• Supports men’s basketball and invests in NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness)
• Includes naming of the practice gym
• A prior 2021 gift prioritizes mental health

Ambassador David Welch (SFS’75) and Gretchen Welch are longtime supporters of Georgetown Athletics and decades-long season ticket holders for Georgetown Men’s Basketball. In 2024, a $4 million gift created a current use fund to support the priorities of Lee Reed, Francis X. Rienzo Director of Intercollegiate Athletics, and to bolster men’s basketball initiatives, including naming the men’s basketball practice gym the David & Gretchen Welch Gym.

Committed to supporting Georgetown Men’s Basketball

The Welches’ current use gift was timed to support the efforts of men’s basketball head coach Ed Cooley, the 2020 Naismith Coach of the Year, who was hired in 2023. They continue to increase their support for the highest needs of the program, which is currently Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL)—the top priority for Georgetown Men’s Basketball and an important focus for Georgetown Athletics and the university as a whole.

New laws and NCAA policy now make it possible, and necessary, for schools to invest directly in individual student-athletes. NIL is central to a school’s ability to compete at the highest level, and allows Cooley and his staff to recruit and retain players that will help return Georgetown Men’s Basketball to its rightful position in the national spotlight. Investors like David and Gretchen Welch are helping do just that.

“I grew up with Hoya basketball, and got my then-girlfriend, now wife, to be a fan,” said David Welch. “We are loyal, focused, and proud. We support Georgetown University, Coach Cooley, and our men’s basketball team because together we need to invest to get back to where we want to be—the top!”

“We are immensely grateful to David and Gretchen for this significant display of support for the future of our men’s basketball program under Coach Cooley’s leadership,” said Reed. “Their generous gift makes a profound statement to our student-athletes, coaching staff, and the greater Georgetown community.”

Ambassador David (SFS’75) and Gretchen Welch dedicated more than 32 years to distinguished careers in the U.S. Foreign Service. David, a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the School of Foreign Service, rose to the most senior rank as Career Ambassador, served twice as Assistant Secretary of State, and served as Ambassador to Egypt. He later went on to a successful career in private business with Bechtel. Gretchen, a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Stanford University, also rose to the senior ranks as a Foreign Service Officer. 

In 2021, the Welches established the Welch Family Athletics Health and Wellness Current Use Counselor Fund to add a second mental health position for the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics. The gift continues to have an impact on the more than 750 student-athletes at Georgetown.