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For decades, a devoted group of donors has quietly shaped the success of University of Tampa Athletics programs — without fanfare, nameplates or public recognition. These behind-the-scenes champions have shown unwavering commitment, year after year, helping to fund facility upgrades, team travel, meals and more. Their consistent generosity has made a lasting impact not only on the student-athletes who benefit directly, but also on the broader campus community that rallies around their teams’ achievements. Here are just a few of the unsung heroes who cheer on the teams beyond the bleachers.

THE SPARTAN SUPERFAN

Although Mike Leding did not attend the University as a student, he has an infinite supply of Spartan spirit. Leding was introduced to the men’s basketball team around 1984, while working in radio broadcasting, when his network started putting Spartan games on the air. A few years later, he became the PA announcer for the home games and started giving small amounts to the Sword & Shield Club. Since then, he’s also become a valuable contributor and cheerleader for women’s basketball, softball, baseball and volleyball.

Meanwhile, he was the vice president of business and finance and the vice president for institutional advancement at UTampa for several years in the ’80s, when the University was struggling to thrive. Leding’s firsthand witness to the University’s rebound gives him a special appreciation of where it’s at today. “I was standing up in the trustees’ dining room (for a recent event) looking out over the campus,” he said. “Tears came to my eyes, thinking of what it is now compared to then.”

After leaving the VP position, Leding stayed on as the announcer for men’s basketball, and soon he lent his spirited commentary to the women’s basketball, baseball, lacrosse and softball teams, too. He does the same job at Jesuit High School, northwest of campus, and “between University of Tampa and Jesuit, I said ‘Good evening’ 81 times in this past season,” he cited off the top of his head.

He’s built a strong rapport with the coaches and trainers of each team, who remain some of his strongest motivators when it comes to giving every year. Leding kept a note from former volleyball Coach Chris Catanach ’83 that the latter sent shortly after his retirement last spring, which fondly mentioned their post-game handshakes, win or lose, and gratitude for sponsoring the airfare for team trips when individual players couldn’t afford tickets.

Tom Jessee started as head coach of women’s basketball one year after Leding became a PA announcer for the team. He says that Leding’s greatest gift is his willingness to get to know the players and the staff. “He is always willing to help a player get a job or find a way to provide a graduate or current player with any help he can,” said Jessee. “Programs like women’s basketball would not be able to make it without the Mike Ledings of the world.”

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FOR THE LOVE OF THE GAME

John Hanna ’62 was a student-athlete at UTampa, but not in the sport he’s involved with today. Hanna was a wide receiver for the Spartan football team, before he picked up tennis in his 50s.��

“University of Tampa was a life-changing opportunity for me,” Hanna, now 90, said with pride. He remembers stories from his football coaches, Marcelino Huerta and Sam Bailey, and he takes any chance he gets to shout out the owners of the Valencia Garden restaurant, which stood where the Daly Innovation and Collaboration Building is now, who fed him almost every day. He met his wife, Mimi Hanna ’63, during his sophomore year, and then, over the summer after junior year, they got married in between shifts at their summer jobs in Pennsylvania.

His career in the housing industry brought him to Kansas, where he picked up tennis as a hobby. He joined a league in the United States Tennis Association in 1999, and his team made it to nationals 15 times over the next 16 years.

When he got the idea to start giving back to his alma mater, he reached out to now-retired tennis head Coach Al Dufaux to see how he could chip in. Dufaux informed him that the men’s team had just been cut, but the women’s team would benefit from some extra funds. The deal was sealed, and for the next couple of decades, the team could always count on an extra boost from the Hannas.

Dufaux says the steady donations allowed the team to upgrade supplies like shoes, uniforms and equipment every year, taking the burden off the team’s budget. And when adding them up to a cumulative total, Dufaux said the moderate donations have amounted to a huge impact. While Hanna describes their relationship as “phone call friends,” meeting only a handful of times over the years, they hold major respect for each other.

Even though Dufaux retired at the end of the 2024 season, Hanna said he is happy for the new coach and team and will continue his donations as usual, as he enjoys knowing that he’s making a difference for the players.

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A RIPPLE EFFECT

Chad ’98 and Sara ’98�� (Costantini) Sundermeyer met at the soda machine on their first day at UTampa after both received swimming scholarships. You could say they got along swimmingly.

They got married in 2003, then shortly after that, they thought about how important the swimming program had been to them. “Something that really touched us was that the sport of swimming is less funded than many sports,” said Chad Sundermeyer. “We got to travel a little bit in those four years, and we really enjoyed having that experience.” They wanted to ensure that swimmers then and now could make similar memories.

A few of those memories include a freshman year trip to New Orleans, going to North Carolina for competition, and one meet that was so cold that the concessions stand was selling hot chocolate. “I think it was, like, 39 (degrees),” said Sara Sundermeyer. “You couldn’t see the other end of the pool because of all the steam.”����

The Sundermeyers swam under head Coach Ed Brennan, who was succeeded by current head Coach Jimi Kiner ’01 in 2016. Both Chad and Sara Sundermeyer credit Brennan as a huge inspiration in their lives, but they’ve known Kiner for almost as long. “Actually,” Chad said with a smile, “I hosted Jimi on his recruiting trip, back when he was an incoming freshman, and we were seniors.”

Kiner recalls that Chad Sundermeyer was the first swimmer he met on campus, and he’s grateful to the couple for making his transition to the University welcoming and unforgettable. “Thanks to their generous donations, our swimmers have enjoyed better resources, more opportunities, and a better overall college experience,” said Kiner.

Now living outside Orlando, all four of the Sundermeyer kids are swimmers, with one of them swimming for University of Alabama, and the others on the swim team that Chad Sundermeyer started at their high school seven years ago. The Sundermeyers still keep in touch with many other swimming alumni and try to come back to campus for meets at least once a year.