Saint Mary's College in Moraga has a new corporate sponsor for its athletics program, with Modern Woodmen of America signing on as the school's Official Recruitment Partner.
The deal, announced Tuesday, Sept. 22, by SMC Athletics, will put student-athletes from the college's Department of Business Administration and Economics to work as campus ambassadors. Those athletes will represent Modern Woodmen, a fraternal financial services organization founded in 1883, at campus recruitment events and on social media.
Modern Woodmen will also sponsor the Gael Force student section at University Credit Union Pavilion, home to the Gaels' men's basketball program.
The partnership carries a homecoming angle. Bennett Lee Sperber III, a managing director at Modern Woodmen, played soccer at Saint Mary's and graduated in 2009.
"As an alum and former SMC student-athlete, it's a bit surreal to come back to where it all started for me," Sperber said in the announcement. "We're incredibly grateful for this partnership and excited about the opportunity to work alongside Saint Mary's in developing future leaders throughout the Bay Area."
Mike Matoso, vice president for intercollegiate athletics at Saint Mary's, said the school looks forward to collaborating with Modern Woodmen on improving the experience for the campus community.
David Drutz, general manager of Saint Mary's Sports Properties, the Learfield unit that manages the school's sponsorships, said the partnership creates opportunities to engage student-athletes and support the department.
No financial terms were disclosed.
The sponsorship follows a 2025-26 season in which Saint Mary's won three West Coast Conference (WCC) team championships in men's basketball, softball and baseball, for the second straight year. The Gaels are the only Division I school in the country to win back-to-back conference titles in all three sports in the same year, according to a year-in-review published by the college.
The men's basketball program has reached the NCAA Tournament five straight years, from 2022 through 2026, each time as a single-digit seed. The softball team has won three consecutive WCC titles. The baseball team has made two straight NCAA regionals.
In a June year-in-review interview published by the college, Matoso described the program's approach to the changing financial landscape in college sports, including the $20.5 million revenue-share pool established by the House settlement in June 2025. He said the school "stayed the course" rather than cutting sports or scholarships.
Saint Mary's fields 22 NCAA Division I sports with more than 400 student-athletes competing in the WCC.
The 2026-27 men's basketball season at University Credit Union Pavilion is expected to be the first with Modern Woodmen branding in the Gael Force section.
