On Wednesday, Kansas announced that billionaire alum David Booth has committed $300 million to the athletic department, “among the largest single gifts in the history of college athletics.”
“David’s unprecedented generosity is transformative now and for our future,” Kansas athletic director Travis Goff said. Booth, the billionaire investor and founder of Dimensional Fund Advisors, is estimated to have a net worth of $2.9 billion, according to Forbes.
Booth’s donation earmarks $75 million for “the next phase of progress” on construction for a hotel, restaurant, and retail businesses in the Gateway District and for additions to the football stadium, already named after him.
The remaining $225 million will be allocated to athletic department expenses—and could be used to fund House v. NCAA settlement payments, revenue sharing payments to players or conference realignment-related expenses. A spokesperson for the Jayhawks told Front Office Sports the money will be allocated to “the most impactful aspects” or “future unknowns” in college sports. And in their press release, the Jayhawks cited “the advent of revenue-sharing” and the “continued changes in NCAA and conference dynamics.”
The spokesperson declined to comment on how much money would be allocated toward revenue-sharing, though all schools are capped at $20.5 million for the 2025–26 school year.
As for when the money would come in, the spokesperson likened the donation to an endowment, saying it was a “long term” revenue stream of income earmarked for the athletic department.
This isn’t the first time Booth, who attended Lawrence High School and Kansas, has contributed major donations to the Jayhawks. He donated $9 million in total to the Kansas Booth Family Hall of Athletics, and James Naismith’s original rules of basketball currently housed on campus at the DeBruce Center. Then, in 2017, Booth contributed $50 million to break ground on renovations for the football stadium, which was named after him a year later.
“Philanthropy, like investing, pays dividends over time,” Booth said in a statement. “Each gift compounds, creating opportunities not just for today, but for years to come. This is really about the future we’re building.”
