John Donahoe Taking Over Stanford Sports After Rocky Nike Tenure

Stanford is tapping into corporate America for its new athletic director. 

The school said it was hiring former Nike CEO John Donahoe to oversee its sports teams beginning Sept. 8. Donahoe earned his MBA from Stanford in 1986 and now has the serious challenge of running its athletic department.

The 65-year-old was ousted as Nike’s leader last September. The company’s stock price plunged under Donahoe, who struggled to fend off upstart running brands and oversaw several rounds of major layoffs at the company. He has also worked at eBay and consulting firm Bain & Company, and sat on PayPal’s board.

Football GM Andrew Luck will report to Donahoe, according to multiple reports. He was originally reporting to university president Jonathan Levin. 

Together, Luck and Donahoe are tasked with revigorating Stanford’s football program after consecutive 3–9 seasons. Stanford’s men’s basketball program hasn’t made the NCAA tournament since 2014. 

Stanford is a powerhouse in many of its 34 other sports, including swimming, cross-country, water polo, women’s basketball, and others. But funding those sports in the revenue sharing era is easier said than done, and perhaps why the school went for an outside-the-box hire in Donahoe. Legendary Stanford women’s basketball coach Tara VanDerveer helped recruit Donahoe for the job, according to ESPN. 

Donahoe replaces longtime athletic director Bernard Muir, who quit in February after 13 years. Alden Mitchell had been running the department on an interim basis.