Sources: Stanford to hire ex-Nike CEO as AD

Stanford is acceptable to prosecute erstwhile Nike CEO John Donahoe arsenic the school's caller diversion director, sources told ESPN connected Thursday.

Donahoe, 65, volition get successful the collegiate diversion manager abstraction with a immense swath of concern experience, arsenic Stanford officials viewed him arsenic a "unicorn candidate" due to the fact that of some his concern ties and past astatine the school. Stanford coveted a non-traditional campaigner for the role, and Donahoe's prosecute delivers a seasoned CEO with stints astatine Nike, Bain & Company and eBay. He besides served arsenic the committee seat of PayPal.

Donahoe besides brings beardown Stanford ties, arsenic he's an MBA postgraduate from 1986. He's besides had 2 stints connected the Stanford concern school's advisory board, including presently serving successful that role.

Donahoe replaces Bernard Muir, who announced successful February helium was stepping down from the schoolhouse aft serving successful that relation since 2012. Alden Mitchell has been moving arsenic the school's interim diversion director.

The prosecute is simply a head-turning 1 for Stanford, bringing successful idiosyncratic with Donahoe's high-level concern experience. And it comes astatine a clip erstwhile the diversion section has struggled successful its highest illustration sports, arsenic shot is amid 4 consecutive 3-9 seasons and the men's hoops squad hasn't reached the NCAA tourney since 2014.

In hiring Donahoe, they are aiming for idiosyncratic who tin find an innovative mode to enactment wide manager Andrew Luck and the Stanford shot programme portion besides figuring retired a sustainable exemplary for the aboriginal of Stanford's Olympic sports.

Stanford's Olympic sports stay the champion successful the country, arsenic Stanford athletes oregon erstwhile athletes accounted for 39 medals successful the 2024 Paris Olympics. If Stanford were a country, they'd person tied with Canada for the 11th astir medals. (Stanford has besides won 26 of the imaginable 31 director's cups for wide diversion occurrence successful college, including a 25-year streak from 1995 to 2019.)

Stanford officials approached Donahoe successful caller weeks astir the position, with some President Jonathan Levin and erstwhile women's hoops manager Tara VanDerveer among the main recruiters. Donahoe has a long-standing narration with both, arsenic helium maintained beardown ties to the schoolhouse passim his career.

Per ESPN sources, Luck volition study to Donahoe successful this role. Luck spent clip with him successful the interrogation process and is excited to enactment with him, per sources. (That's a alteration from the anterior structure, arsenic upon Luck's hiring he'd been slated to study to Levin.)

Stanford is acceptable to statesman a shot play successful which it is picked past successful the 17-team ACC. Former NFL manager Frank Reich is the interim coach, and some sides person made wide this is simply a definitive interim concern and helium won't instrumentality aft the 2025 season.