Stanford University has been given a huge gift of 50 million dollars by an alumnus who is a long time supporter Bradford M. Freeman to fund the football program at the university- a move that the university leaders are terming as a game changer.
The contribution comes at an opportune moment at Stanford Athletics as it adapts to significant shifts in college athletics such as Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) contracting, a transfer portal, and a host of new regulations that permit direct payments to student-athletes.
The game-changing gift to Stanford was the opinions of the university president Jonathan Levin. It will assist us in hiring the best talents and competing at the best level. Like this, Brad will be generous not only to football but to the entire Stanford Athletics.
Increasing football and student-athlete support
Freeman donation will assist in financing new scholarships and increasing the capacity of Stanford to provide NIL opportunities to student-athletes. It will also incorporate five new football scholarships.
The commitment, which is extraordinary, came at an opportune moment because the new athletics director and chair at Stanford is John Donahoe. Brad is a person who believes in our program future and he helps to establish the base to success in the championship.
Stanford football general manager Andrew Luck and former NFL quarterback, Freeman added that his support will continue to make Stanford competitive. Luck said that this gift is a winning piece on the field and the future that is sustainable. It solidifies Stanford as the best place to go to school as a football scholar-athlete.
Player to life time fan
Freeman, a football player at Stanford in the early 1960s, used to joke that he was the record holder in the number of minutes against which he never played in a four-year period. However, his relationship with the team never got any weaker.
In 1964 he graduated with a degree in economics, and got an MBA at Harvard, and in 1983 with long-time friend Ron Spogli he started the investment firm of Freeman Spogli and Co.
Freeman has been a staunch long-time Stanford fan. In 1988, he established the first endowed head coaching post in the country, the Bradford M. Freeman Director of Football which is currently occupied by Frank Reich. He is also a donor of undergraduate education, scholarships and international studies programs such as the Freeman Spogli institute of international studies.
Freeman said he was appreciative of what his scholarship in football at Stanford provided him. I wish this gift brings a new return to excellence and enables Stanford to generate the financial needs of the current college sports.
To pay tribute to his work, Stanford will give the tunnel of the players at Stanford Stadium the name of the Bradford M. Freeman tunnel and one of the main gate entrances the name of the Bradford M. Freeman Gate. He will also become a Trailblazer honoree at the Home of champions at Stanford.
The increasing significance of football at Stanford
Football continues to be one of the major sources of college athletic revenue via media and ticket revenues. Even though Stanford has 36 official athletic teams, and ranks first in NCAA team titles among school, football and basketball remain the biggest sources of revenue.
Since the demise of the Pac-12 Conference, Stanford has become a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) in 2024 in order to remain relevant at the national level.
President Levin remarked that Freeman was generous because of the strong connection Stanford has with the athletics community. Levin said that athletics are a component of Stanford. We are happy that Brad has had his life transformed by his stay here and the fact that can do the same to future generations of student-athletes.
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