Brandon Leimbach Joins UC Irvine As Executive Director Of Development
May 11, 2022 | General, Anteater Club
IRVINE, Calif. – Brandon Leimbach has been named Executive Director of Development at UC Irvine, Athletic Director Paula Smith announced Thursday.
Leimbach came to UCI after serving as the Director of Athletics at Fort Lewis College but is no stranger to Irvine after serving as an Assistant Director of Recreational Sports from 2000-02.
"I'm excited that Brandon has rejoined our Anteater family," Smith said. "He will be a valuable addition to the UCI Athletics fundraising effort with his diverse background in Division I and II athletics."
While at FLC, he facilitated a $101,000 increase in Giving Day donations in 2020 and then helped double that to $233,531 during the 2021 Giving Tuesday campaign. He also secured the largest gift in the history of the College to construct an 11,000 square foot strength and conditioning center and closed a major gift to erect new lights at historic Dirks Field, FLC's soccer stadium.
"I'm excited to join the Anteater Athletics family and serve our student-athletes by collaborating with our Anteater Athletic Fund members to provide opportunities for athletic success, academic excellence and personal development for a lifetime of achievement beyond collegiate athletics," Leimbach said.
Leimbach was instrumental in also securing funds for a new Health Exercise Science facility at Fort Lewis, which housed new women's locker rooms, visiting locker rooms, official's locker rooms, as well as a renovated lobby in addition to an auxiliary practice court beginning in the 2022-23 school year.
Under Leimbach, FLC Athletics raised more dollars through major gifts and capital projects from 2019-2022 than any other three-year stretch in the history of the program.
Prior to Fort Lewis, he was the Director of Development for the Buff Club, the fundraising arm of the University of Colorado Athletics where he secured the largest gift in the history of the CU football program and was responsible for managing the Southern California Buff Club from San Diego to Santa Barbara. He also spent three years on the CU campus working for Learfield as Senior Manager, Business Development for Buffalo Sports Properties where he managed a list of nationally recognized corporate partners.
He has previous served as the Director of Athletics at NCAA Division II Dominican University of California from 2013-2015 following a stint at the Colorado School of Mines, where he served as Associate Director of Athletics from 2002-2013.
He started his career in recreational sports at Notre Dame after attending Saint Mary's College of California where he earned his bachelor's degree in Kinesiology and his master's degree in athletic administration. He played football and rugby for the Gaels.
A native of Southern California, Leimbach is a member of the Fountain Valley High School Sports Hall of Fame in football and basketball, was named FVHS's Male Student-Athlete of The Year as a senior in 1994 and honored as the MVP of the Sunset League in basketball.
