Former player donates $50M to Stanford’s struggling football program
The Cardinal are under-performing on the football field, finishing with a 3-9 record in each of the past four seasons.
The Stanford football program has made a promising start under interim head coach Frank Reich this season and fortunes are looking good after news of a massive donation was announced on Wednesday.
ESPN reports that former Stanford football player Bradford M. Freeman has made a $50 million gift to the school. Freeman graduated from Stanford in 1964 and has been a big donor for decades.
In a statement released by the school, general manager Andrew Luck thanked Freeman for the donation and emphasized the impact that it will have on a football program that has gone 3-9 in each of the last four seasons.
“With Brad’s incredible gift, we are positioned to win on the field and build a bridge to a sustainable future for Stanford football,” Luck wrote. “The ability to support our players through new scholarships and institutional NIL will reinforce Stanford as the preeminent place in the country to be a football scholar-athlete.”
The Stanford Cardinal football program joined the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) in 2024, combining an incredible academic pedigree with a proud college football history. In the past Stanford has produced Heisman finalists, Rose Bowl victories and NFL-ready talent.
Stanford’s campus in Palo Alto gives the program a unique recruiting pitch. The program can offer prospective recruits elite academic options, cutting-edge facilities and a location in the heart of Silicon Valley. The Cardinal has sent stars like current GM Andrew Luck, Christian McCaffrey and Zach Ertz to the NFL..
As the college football landscape shifts toward ‘superconferences’ and NIL-driven competition, Stanford faces new challenges to compete for players. This latest cash investment will certainly help with that effort.
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