The Citadel Brigadier Foundation (TCBF)

TCBF does not manage its own portfolio. Its assets are pooled with The Citadel Foundation's endowment for investment in The Richmond Fund, the institution's long-term investment pool. The Citadel's central investment office oversees asset allocation and manager selection, with TCBF's proportional share of returns allocated annually to fund athletic scholarships. This shared-cost structure gives the relatively small athletic foundation access to institutional-scale investment management and alternatives programs it could not sustain independently.

TCBF funds scholarships across The Citadel's full NCAA Division I varsity athletics program. The military college fields teams in football, basketball, baseball, wrestling, soccer, track and field, cross country, rifle, tennis, golf, and volleyball. All cadet-athletes on athletic scholarship are eligible for TCBF support. The foundation's model covers the full cost of attendance — tuition, fees, room, board, and books — for each recipient, making it a critical recruiting tool for coaches competing for talent against non-military institutions.

TCBF does not maintain a separate investment committee. Asset-management decisions for the commingled pool in which TCBF participates are made by The Citadel Foundation's investment committee, which includes alumni with institutional investment experience and professional staff. TCBF's board, led by President K. Wayne Wicker — a Charleston banking executive — governs the foundation's fundraising strategy, donor stewardship, and scholarship-disbursement policy, but delegates portfolio construction and manager selection to the central TCF team.

The Citadel Brigadier Foundation and The Citadel Foundation are legally separate 501(c)(3) entities with distinct missions and boards. TCF raises money for academic programs, professorships, and capital projects, while TCBF raises money exclusively for athletic scholarships. Operationally, however, the two foundations' assets are commingled for investment purposes within The Richmond Fund, and they collaborate on donor recognition programs and facility projects. Athletic Director Mike Capaccio serves as an ex-officio TCBF board member, linking the foundation directly to the athletic department's operational leadership.

Yes, TCBF can accept gifts of real estate, securities, and planned-giving instruments such as charitable remainder trusts. The Citadel Real Estate Foundation, a separate entity, collaborates with TCBF on athletic facility projects and real estate donations. Donors making planned gifts of $25,000 or more are recognized in The Citadel Legacy Society, a recognition program jointly administered by TCBF and The Citadel Alumni Association.

The Citadel does not publicly break out TCBF's annual scholarship distributions as a separate line item from overall athletic-department spending. However, the foundation reported a record-setting fundraising year exceeding $5.5 million in total contributions in 2023 (per the foundation's public reporting), which provides a rough upper bound for annual scholarship support. The actual distribution each year depends on both donor contributions and the spending policy applied to TCBF's share of the pooled endowment within The Richmond Fund.

As a federally tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization and a South Carolina nonprofit corporation, TCBF is governed by the Uniform Prudent Management of Institutional Funds Act (UPMIFA) as adopted by South Carolina. The foundation's board carries fiduciary duties for donor-restricted scholarship funds. Because its assets are invested through the pooled Richmond Fund vehicle, TCBF relies on The Citadel Foundation's investment staff and outside counsel to ensure compliance with state nonprofit-investment statutes and the terms of donor gift agreements.