Stanford football just got a massive lifeline, and it’s coming from someone who knows exactly what it’s like to suit up for the Cardinal. Bradford M. Freeman, a 1964 graduate who came to Palo Alto on a football scholarship six decades ago, just dropped $50 million on his alma mater’s struggling football program, the biggest individual gift in Stanford football history.

President Jonathan Levin didn’t mince words about what this means: “This is a game-changing gift for Stanford. 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.” General manager Andrew Luck called the donation a “bridge to a sustainable future,” and it could not have come at a better time.

Stanford is trying hard to navigate the modern football reality, which is marred by NIL and direct payments to student-athletes. The money donated by Freeman would be of massive help in funding institutional NIL support and will also help in creating five new football scholarships.

Who Is Bradford M. Freeman?

Freeman isn’t just another wealthy alum writing checks—he’s been Stanford’s most loyal football benefactor for nearly 40 years. Born and raised in Fargo, North Dakota, he was a star high school football player who earned a scholarship to Stanford, graduated in 1964 with an economics degree, and then headed to Harvard Business School for his MBA. 

Freeman is not your regular donor. He has been Stanford’s most loyal football benefactor for nearly 40 years now. He was born and raised in Fargo, North Dakota, and was a star high school football player who earned a scholarship to Stanford. He graduated in 1694 with an economics degree and then went on to do an MBA from Harvard Business School.

In 1983, he co-founded Freeman Spogli & Co., a private equity investment firm, with his longtime friend and business partner Ron Spogli, who also went to Stanford (class of 1970). Freeman’s philanthropic footprint at Stanford is enormous; he served 10 years on the Board of Trustees starting in 1995, and in 2005, he and Spogli jointly donated $50 million to endow the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, Stanford’s hub for international affairs research. His giving has touched everything from undergraduate education and fellowships to 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 about his latest gift.

All About His Football Career

Here’s the funny thing about Freeman’s football career at Stanford: he barely played. Despite being a high school standout in North Dakota, his Cardinal career didn’t exactly light up the stat sheet. In a brutally honest 2014 interview, Freeman joked, “I went from outstanding player of the year to setting a record at Stanford for the most minutes not played in four years.” 

But that lack of playing time did not impact the love he had in his heart for his alma mater at all. Even though he spent most of his football journey with the Cardinals on the bench, that football scholarship opened doors that changed the trajectory of his life. After his education, he went on to build a private equity empire. This is how college athletics shape a player’s career. Football was an option, but due to Stanford’s quality education, it wasn’t the only option, and now the institution is reaping the rewards of its hard work.

What Does Freeman Do Now?

These days, Freeman is a private equity titan and one of Stanford’s most influential donors, though he’s clearly never stopped being a football fan at heart. As general partner of Freeman Spogli & Co., the firm he co-founded more than 40 years ago, he’s built a successful investment banking career that’s given him the resources to give back in extraordinary ways. His commitment to Stanford football dates back to 1988, when he endowed the nation’s first head coaching position, the Bradford M. Freeman Director of Football, currently held by interim coach Frank Reich. That groundbreaking move helped inspire the endowment of other coaching positions across all 36 of Stanford’s varsity sports. Stanford will honor his latest gift by naming the tunnel where players and coaches enter Stanford Stadium as the Bradford M. Freeman Tunnel and naming a gate the Bradford M. Freeman Gate.

He’ll also be recognized as one of six Trailblazer honorees in Stanford’s Home of Champions. Freeman’s hope is simple but ambitious: “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.” For a program that’s gone 3-9 in each of the past four seasons and is desperately trying to recapture its 2010s glory under Harbaugh and Shaw, Freeman’s $50 million might just be the game-changer they need.