About Zips Athletic Club

Throughout the last four decades, the Zips Athletic Club has played an instrumental role in providing financial support to Zips student-athletes. These resources aid our Zips in their pursuit of education and championships. Through the generosity of our fans and supporters, our organization can provide scholarship support, enhance sport specific budgets and construct the best facilities in the conference.

THE HISTORY

Founded in 1986 the Zips Athletic Club was established by faithful fans that wanted to support men’s basketball head coach Bob Huggins during the school’s transition to Division I Athletics.

In early 2008 the organization was rebranded to the Z-Fund to align with a scholarship fundraising model more closely. Today’s Zips Athletic Club continues to fundraise for student-athlete scholarships, our current model focuses specifically on sport specific needs, capital projects, and endowments. The reason for the shift is evolving donor preferences, and each year more gifts are being directed to sport specific programs in lieu of the scholarship fund.

In addition to changes in fundraising needs and donor preference, the athletics brand has moved away from the “Z” logo and back to the “A” logo that has been historically used as the official mark of the Zips throughout its 100-year history. The Zips Athletic Club more closely aligns with the department’s new branding standards.