Stanford is hiring former Nike CEO John Donahoe as its new athletic director, according to ESPN. The transfer marks a shift from conventional athletic director hires, as Stanford sought a candidate with intensive enterprise expertise somewhat than only a typical sports activities administration background.
Donahoe, a 65-year-old Stanford alumnus, brings a novel mix of enterprise management and a deep connection to the college. He graduated from Dartmouth Faculty 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 steer the worldwide sportswear large in January 2020 earlier than stepping away from his position in October 2024 and staying on as an advisor till January of this yr.
Earlier than Nike, Donahoe was president and later the CEO of eBay, the board chair of PayPal and a longtime accomplice 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 is filling the emptiness left by Bernard Muir, who resigned on the finish of the latest educational yr after 13 years on the job. He announced his decision in February. The transition comes a yr after Stanford joined the ACC following greater than a century as a member of the Pac-12.
The Cardinal soccer staff has endured 4 consecutive 3-9 information, together with final yr 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 beneath interim coach Frank Reich earlier than hiring a brand new full-time coach. The staff’s season begins on Aug. 23 at Hawaii.
The transfer to rent Donahoe marks a notable departure from the normal path for faculty athletic administrators, as Stanford sought a “non-traditional candidate” with intensive expertise in enterprise and company administration somewhat than the standard sports activities administration background, in keeping with ESPN.
Within the new income sharing world of school athletics, Stanford is hoping Donahoe’s background units its athletic division — which is thought for its success in Olympic sports activities — up for achievement.