Stanford’s football program announced a massive cash infusion Wednesday as college sports enter a new era of revenue sharing.
Former Cardinal player Bradford M. Freeman has donated $50 million to the program, the school said in a release.
Freeman is a longtime donor to Stanford football, as he financed the country’s first endowed head coaching position in 1988, and the school named the head coaching job after him.
“It will help us to recruit top talent and compete at the highest level,” school president Jonathan Levin said of the donation in a release. “Brad’s generosity and commitment to football will benefit our entire athletics department, as excellence in football will support success across all 36 varsity sports.”
Freeman graduated from Stanford in 1964 and went into private equity investment. He served 10 years on Stanford’s board of trustees and, in 2005 paired with business partner Ron Spogli to commit $50 million to endow the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies.
Amid the financial changes in college sports — the influx of Name, Image and Likeness payments and the addition of revenue sharing after the House v. NCAA settlement — Stanford has seen upheaval in its own administrative structure.
Former football coach Troy Taylor, who replaced four-time Pac-12 coach of the year David Shaw, was fired last offseason after two years, as reports of his treatment of female staffers came to light. Athletic director Bernard Muir resigned in February, being replaced by John Donahoe just last month. Meanwhile, Levin has only been in his post since last August.
Former star quarterback Andrew Luck became the general manager of football at the school last November with the goal of turning around a program that has not made a bowl since 2016.
The donation includes “significant support for institutional NIL and creates five new football scholarships for student-athletes,” the school’s release said.
Stanford is 2-3 so far this season, its second in the ACC after the collapse of the Pac-12, under interim coach Frank Reich. The Cardinal face reigning ACC champion SMU on Saturday.