Stanford philanthropist and former trustee Bradford M. Freeman, ’64, has made a $50 million gift to benefit Stanford football.

The gift comes at a critical time for Stanford Athletics, which has been adapting to seismic shifts in the college athletics landscape.

“This is a game-changing gift for Stanford,” said President Jonathan Levin. “It will help us to recruit top talent and compete at the highest level. 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.”

For decades, Stanford has made athletics and academics inseparable – and for decades, Stanford has dominated both college sports and Olympic medal standings. However, the traditional model of college sports has changed substantially in recent years with developments such as Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL), the evolving transfer portal, and the House v. NCAA settlement, which allows for direct payments to student-athletes.

Earlier this year, Stanford announced that it will approach recent changes in a way that continues to uphold its academic and athletic values, including allowing NIL payments and expanding athletics scholarship offerings. Freeman’s gift includes significant support for institutional NIL and creates five new football scholarships for student-athletes.

“We are deeply grateful to Brad for this extraordinary commitment to Stanford football. His generosity comes at a pivotal time and puts us in position to build a championship-caliber program,” said John Donahoe, who became the new Jaquish & Kenninger Director and Chair of Athletics on Sept. 8. “Brad’s belief in the future of our program strengthens not only football but the foundation of excellence that defines Stanford Athletics.”

“With Brad’s incredible gift, we are positioned to win on the field and build a bridge to a sustainable future for Stanford football,” said Andrew Luck, who was appointed as the program’s general manager last fall. “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.”

“I believe that Stanford has the opportunity to be a leading program in college football, and we are entirely motivated to field championship-caliber teams,” he added. Luck himself earned a bachelor’s degree at Stanford in 2012 while earning All-America status and leading the Cardinal football team to national prominence. After a seven-year stint in the NFL, he returned to Stanford for his master’s degree in education, which he earned in 2023. As general manager, he now oversees all aspects of the football program.

A steadfast Cardinal fan

Bradford Freeman was a star football player at his high school in Fargo, North Dakota, and came to Stanford on a football scholarship. In a 2014 interview, he reflected, “I went from outstanding player of the year to setting a record at Stanford for the most minutes not played in four years.”

After graduating from Stanford in 1964 with a degree in economics, Freeman earned an MBA at Harvard before starting a career in investment banking. In 1983, Freeman and his longtime friend and business partner, Ron Spogli, ’70, co-founded Freeman Spogli & Co., a private equity investment firm.

Freeman remained a loyal Stanford football fan. In 1988, he endowed the nation’s first head coaching position, the Bradford M. Freeman Director of Football, which is currently held by Frank Reich. His early support helped inspire the endowment of other coaching positions across Stanford’s 36 varsity sports.

Bradford Freeman greets Andrew Luck, who was the Cardinal’s quarterback at the time, and Richard Sherman, ’10, who played 11 seasons in the National Football League after graduating from Stanford. | David Gonzales

Freeman’s volunteer service at Stanford spans nearly six decades. He has held positions on multiple university advisory boards, been active in several fundraising campaigns, and served 10 years as a member of the Stanford University Board of Trustees starting in 1995. In 2005, he and Spogli jointly committed $50 million to endow the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, Stanford’s hub for nonpartisan, interdisciplinary research, teaching, and policy impact in international affairs. His philanthropic support for Stanford has included support for undergraduate education, fellowships, professorships, and the Bing Overseas Studies Program.

“I remain grateful for the opportunities that my Stanford football scholarship gave me, and for all the ways that the university impacted the trajectory of my life,” Freeman said. “I hope my gift will herald a new era of excellence for Stanford football and help the university address the new financial demands of competitive college athletics.”

Stanford football will honor Freeman’s gift by naming the tunnel where players and coaches enter Stanford Stadium as the Bradford M. Freeman Tunnel, and naming a highly trafficked entrance gate for visitors as the Bradford M. Freeman Gate. He will also be recognized as one of six Trailblazer honorees in Stanford’s Home of Champions, which shares the story and history of Stanford Athletics.

Football’s role in college athletics

Because of its ability to drive media rights deals and ticket sales, football plays an outsized role in the financial health of college athletics. Stanford has 36 varsity sports and has won the most NCAA championships and Directors’ Cups of any college – and is on track to celebrate 50 years of consecutive NCAA championship wins this year. Yet the primary drivers of revenue remain football and basketball.

For more than a century, Stanford’s conference home was the Pac-12. In 2024, after several Pac-12 schools departed the conference to pursue more lucrative media deals, Stanford accepted an invitation to join the Atlantic Coast Conference so that its student-athletes could continue competing at the highest levels nationally.

Since becoming Stanford president in August 2024, Levin has pledged his commitment to charting a path forward for Stanford Athletics and to building a financially sustainable model that ensures the future of all varsity sports. He appointed John Donahoe – a graduate of Stanford Graduate School of Business, former chief executive officer of Nike, former college basketball player, and lifelong sports fan – to lead the university through this critical time in college athletics.

“Athletics is part of the fabric of Stanford, and it brings people together,” Levin said. “As is the case across the university, we rely on the support of alumni and friends. We’re grateful that playing football at Stanford changed Brad’s life, and years later, he remains among the Cardinal’s biggest fans.”