
Stanford has employed former Nike CEO John Donahoe as its new athletic director, marking a shift from a extra conventional rent to at least one with intensive enterprise expertise moderately than only a typical sports activities administration background.
“My north star for 40 years has been servant management, and it’s a great honor to have the ability to come again to serve a college I really like and to guide Stanford Athletics via a pivotal and tumultuous time in collegiate sports activities,” Donahoe stated in an announcement. “Stanford has huge strengths and massive potential in a altering surroundings, together with being the mannequin for attaining each tutorial and athletic excellence on the highest ranges.
“I am unable to wait to work in partnership with the Stanford workforce to construct momentum for Stanford Athletics and guarantee the very best experiences for our student-athletes.”
Stanford sought a “non-traditional candidate” with intensive expertise in enterprise and company administration moderately than the standard sports activities administration background, in accordance with ESPN. Within the new revenue-sharing world of school athletics, Stanford hopes Donahoe’s background units its athletic division — which is understood for its success in Olympic sports activities — up for fulfillment.
Donahoe, a 65-year-old Stanford alumnus, brings a singular mix of enterprise management and a deep connection to the college. He graduated from Dartmouth School with a level in economics, later earned an MBA from the Stanford Graduate College of Enterprise, and twice held a place on the enterprise college’s advisory board. His skilled profession contains serving as CEO of Nike from for almost 5 years. He got here on to guide the worldwide sportswear large in January 2020 earlier than stepping away from his function in October 2024 and staying on as an advisor till January of this 12 months.
Earlier than Nike, Donahoe was president and later the CEO of eBay, the board chair of PayPal and a longtime companion at Bain & Firm, a prime administration consulting agency. He additionally was a member of Dartmouth’s board of trustees from 2003-12.
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Donahoe fills the emptiness left by Bernard Muir, who resigned on the finish of the latest tutorial 12 months after 13 years on the job. He introduced his choice in February. The transition comes a 12 months after Stanford joined the ACC following greater than a century as a member of the Pac-12.
The Cardinal soccer workforce has endured 4 consecutive 3-9 data, together with final 12 months in its first season within the ACC, after which coach Troy Taylor was abruptly fired in March by normal supervisor Andrew Luck amid a number of investigations into Taylor’s conduct. Stanford will play the 2025 season below interim coach Frank Reich earlier than hiring a brand new full-time coach. The workforce’s season begins on Aug. 23 at Hawaii.