Kyle Lowry pledges $1 million to Villanova campaign

Villanova alumnus and three-time NBA all-star Kyle Lowry and his wife, Ayahna, have shown their gratitude by making a $1 million pledge to the university's comprehensive capital campaign, "For the Greater Great: The Villanova Campaign to Ignite Change."

The donation by Lowry, who played two seasons at Villanova before being drafted 24^th overall by Memphis in 2006, is the largest single donation from a former Villanova basketball player.

"On behalf of the Lowry family — Karter, Kameron, Ayahna and myself — we are honored to be able to have this opportunity to give back to Villanova University in this form," said Lowry, the 2016 Olympic gold medalist who was recruited to 'Nova out of Cardinal Dougherty High School.

The men's basketball locker room at the renovated home arena that will reopen next season as the Willia B.Finneran Pavilion will be named the "Kyle Lowry Men's Basketball Locker Room."

"Kyle Lowry was a great teammate who took tremendous pride in the Villanova basketball program," said Villanova coach Jay Wright. "This gift is another illustration of Kyle's generosity to his fellow members of our basketball family. We're all very proud of the player and, more importantly, the man, Kyle has become."

Lowry, a native of Philadelphia, and Ayahna, also a Philadelphian, have been active philanthropists since he became an NBA player. They established the Lowry Love Foundation, which supports underprivileged and disadvantaged people in Philadelphia and Toronto, in 2013.

He will receive the Native Son Award from the Philadelphia Sports Writers Association at its annual banquet on Monday at the Crown Plaza hotel in Cherry Hill.

The Raptors and Sixers play Monday afternoon at the Wells Fargo Center.

"We are grateful to Kyle and Ayahna for including this important gift in their family's philanthropy," said Michael J. O'Neill, senior vice president for university advancement. "The student-athlete experience at Villanova University is life-changing — this profound contribution honors that experience while supporting a critical capital project that will impact future Wildcats for years to come."