Kent State’s athletic department celebrated a record-breaking fundraising mark as its Golden Flashes Club raised more than $1 million during the 2012-13 fiscal year.

The Golden Flashes Club, which includes former student-athletes and other donors who financially support the department’s 18 sports, collected a total of $1,045,703 in donations between July 2012 and June 2013, passing the $1 million mark for the first time in club history. The 2012-13 total is a 38-percent increase from the previous fiscal year, in which the club raised $756,075.

“This is definitely a high point in our department’s history, and we are thankful for the support of outstanding student-athletes,” Director of Athletics Joel Nielsen said.

A donation by Dick Yamokoski, former Kent State men’s golfer, officially put the Golden Flashes Club over its $1 million goal. Yamokoski graduated from Kent State in 1967.

More than $75,000 of the overall total was raised as part of the Golden Flashes Club’s “110% Challenge.” In a video on the Golden Flashes Club’s official website, a group of former Kent State student-athletes encouraged donors to support varsity sports at Kent State by donating at least 10 percent more than they had the previous year. As a result, 213 donors participated in the initiative and increased their donations.

The Golden Flashes Club works with donors with the mission of furthering athletic and academic opportunities for current and future student-athletes, according to its website. Money raised from donations goes toward scholarship assistance for athletes, as well as funds to support the various Kent State sports and improve practice facilities and playing fields.

Tim Dorst is the sports editor at the Daily Kent Stater