University of Rhode Island football gets $2 million pledge. What we know

SOUTH KINGSTOWN – The victories continue for the University of Rhode Island football program – this time off the field. 

The Rams announced the largest fundraising gift earmarked for the gridiron in a Tuesday morning release. The $2 million pledge will establish the Mark and Sue Cruise Endowed Scholarship Program and rename the practice fields on campus in their honor. 

Cruise was a defensive standout during the previous golden age at URI in the 1980s. This modern edition has seen the Rams snap a four-decade FCS playoff hex and win or share each of the last two Coastal Athletic Association titles. Continued financial momentum and support will be paramount if URI hopes to make deeper progress in the postseason than its consecutive Round of 16 berths in 2024 and 2025. 

“This is a significant contribution that’s going to have a huge impact for our football program and our athletic department in general,” URI interim athletic director Brittney Miles said. “We’re just really excited to keep building on the momentum we have going right now.” 

Cruise is an athletic Hall of Fame inductee at the school who eventually signed professional contracts with the Cowboys and Patriots. He’s a founder and partner at The Virtus Group, a financial and insurance enterprise based in Providence. The gift will allocate $1.5 million to the scholarship and another $500,000 to Meade Stadium improvements and home locker room renovations. 

“I don’t think there’s a magic recipe as to why today or why this donation is coming at this moment in time,” URI football coach Jim Fleming said. “Certainly I think it is a tribute to the university – what that education provided him as a young man, the football experience he had.” 

Cruise is a Brockton native who served as a co-captain with the Rams in 1980. He was a three-year starter who helped lay the foundation for a program that reached the playoffs in 1981, 1984 and 1985. URI captured Yankee Conference championships in each of those three seasons after steadily working its way to contender status. 

“It just shows you how significant people are and relationships are and how important the threads of college athletics are,” Miles said. “It shows how important the student-athlete experience is.” 

Miles credited former athletic director Thorr Bjorn and associate athletic director for development Garrett Waller with helping securing Cruise’s pledge. An annually funded scholarship will help the Rams stay at or near the FCS limit of 63 – that allows depth on the roster at multiple positions. URI generally employs a salary cap model that balances aid given to out of state students with less costly in-state options. 

“The donation is more along the lines of being able to provide opportunity for a young man who might be coming from a blue-collar town,” Fleming said. “A place like Brockton – I know he’s very proud of where his roots are.” 

The Rams have closed above .500 in each of their last five full seasons, including consecutive 11-3 overall marks and a combined 15-1 record in CAA play. URI was able to retain several key pieces into the 2026 season – quarterback Devin Farrell, receiver Marquis Buchanan, hybrid linebacker Rohan Davy, linebacker Moses Meus and defensive lineman Case Mankins are among the all-CAA selections who declined to enter the transfer portal.  

“I believed we could win a championship here when I walked through the door,” Fleming said. “It took quite some time and a lot of effort, but where we are right now, I think, is as good a position as URI football has ever been in.” 

bkoch@providencejournal.com 

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This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: University of Rhode Island football gets $2 million pledge from ex-player