When Steven “Steve” W. Valentin ’83 reflects on his time playing club volleyball at Syracuse University, he speaks of the fun, camaraderie and deeply satisfying sense of belonging. He also speaks of the challenges: “Club sports were not funded by the university at the time. I remember that each member of our team had to chip in $5 to play at the University of Rochester. When we went to Philadelphia, we would take sleeping bags to my parents’ house and sleep there.”
These memories helped lay the foundation for the latest donation from Steve and his wife, Beth (Schumann) Balletine (Class of 1983), who share a love of sports and their alma mater. The nearly $2 million donation is part of the Forever Orange Campaign and will be used to create a dedicated, lighted arena for club sports and an endowment to support club sports programs and participants in need of assistance with fees, equipment and travel. In honor of this transformational gift, Syracuse University’s club sports programs have been named the Balletine Club Sports Programs.
Steve, an investment advisor by trade, and Beth, an author and essayist, describe sports as “very important to our family.” Both have played on sports teams their entire adult lives; Beth played on the girls’ ice hockey team for nearly 20 years, and Steve is a tennis player. “We’ve made lifelong friends through sports,” Beth says. “To me, sports is about physical fitness, connection and sisterhood.”
The couple have maintained strong ties to their alma mater through service and philanthropy. They made a major gift to establish the Ballentine Investment Institute at the Whitman School of Management and have supported other initiatives in the Martin J. Whitman School of Business and Athletics. Beth graduated from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications with a degree in advertising. Steve earned a degree in business administration with a double major in finance and accounting from the Whitman School and is a member of the school’s advisory council. He has been a member of the university’s board of trustees since 1998 and currently serves on the Executive Committee, Investment and Endowment Committee and Athletics Committee.
“Steve and Beth’s support will create an even more incredible experience for the hundreds of students each year who find a home at Syracuse through club sports,” says Chancellor Kent Syverud. “Their generosity will help foster student success beyond the classroom and will inspire more students to incorporate fitness, teamwork and leadership into their Orange experience. We thank Mr. and Mrs. Valentin for their gift that will improve our students’ well-being and enhance the student experience.”
Steve, who chairs the Board of Trustees’ Sports Committee, especially appreciates the impact sports have on student life. “Growing up, I played every sport I could until I wasn’t good enough to play on the varsity or junior teams. Then I moved on to other sports, from baseball and basketball to volleyball and bowling. There are a lot of young people like me who weren’t sports superstars but played sports in high school. When they get to college, they really miss those times. Sometimes finances can be an obstacle to participating in club sports. Beth and I felt that we needed to address that issue.”
Currently, the university has 45 club sports teams, with more than 1,500 students participating. Most teams are organized by student leaders and supported by club sports staff in the Student Experience Department. The Baltins met with student leaders of the club sports teams to better understand how their financial support can make the biggest difference. “It was an incredibly eye-opening and impressive experience,” Steve says. “They are entrepreneurial leaders, raising funds to book transportation for their teams, sharing ideas and learning from each other.” Beth was impressed by their passion for helping others and that “they are essentially working part-time, unpaid jobs while also juggling full-time classes.”
The Valentin Club Sports Program Endowment Fund, established through this gift, will help ensure that teams have the resources to strengthen their participation in postseason competition and playoffs, and that team leaders have the tools to more effectively manage their programs. “We’re committed to teaching people how to fish, not just handing them the fish,” Steve says. This idea was also the basis for the earlier founding of the Valentin Investment Center, which provides students with the tools, training and resources to prepare for careers in finance. Steve’s own career in finance began as an equity analyst and portfolio manager for Prudential Life Insurance Company. In 1989, he founded his own investment management firm, Valentin Capital Management.
Balltine Field, for club sports, will be located on the property across from the South Campus Tennis and Ice Skating Pavilion. “It will have irrigation and lighting so players can practice and compete after class, even after the sun has gone down,” Steve said.
The Boultins are excited to see club sports grow, which they say provide “great opportunities for students from all walks of life to come together and excel beyond the classroom.”
About Syracuse University
Syracuse University is a private research university that advances knowledge across disciplines to drive breakthrough discoveries and groundbreaking leadership. Our collection of 13 schools and colleges with more than 200 customizable majors bridges the gap between education and action, empowering students to take on the world. Inside and outside the classroom, we connect people, perspectives, and practices to solve interconnected challenges with a multidisciplinary approach. Together, we are a powerful community that makes an impact across ideas, individuals, and possibilities.
About Forever Orange: The Campaign for Syracuse University
Orange is not simply our color. It is our promise to leave the world better than we found it. Forever Orange: The Campaign for Syracuse University is poised to do just that. Built on more than 150 years of bold pioneering efforts, together we can advance academic excellence, transform the student experience, and expand unique opportunities to learn and grow. Forever Orange aims to raise $1.5 billion in philanthropic support, inspire 125,000 individual donors to join the campaign, and engage 1 in 5 graduates actively in university life. Now is the time to show the world the power of orange. For more information, visit foreverorange.syr.edu.