Stanford hires John Donahoe as athletic director
Stanford has finally decided on who their new athletic director will be following the stepping down of Bernard Muir: Former Nike CEO and Stanford Graduate School of Business graduate (’86) John Donahoe. CardinalSportsReport.com has received independent confirmation of the news from multiple sources.
Via Nick Schultz: Report: Stanford to hire former Nike CEO John Donahoe as athletic director
Donahoe brings a nice blend of business, academic, and athletic knowledge to the position. He was previously the CEO of Bain & Company (1999), eBay (2008), and Nike (January 2020-October 2024). He also is listed as the chairman of PayPal and has held other high level corporate positions as well. On the academic side, he was on the board of trustees of Dartmouth from 2003-2012, giving him a chance to return to his alma mater where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in economics (’82).
By having high level experience in all three facets of business, academia, and athletics, Donahoe should have the tools and pieces to be an effective athletic director for Stanford. He’s familiar with high level athletics as Nike is one of the major global brands in sports and high-level academics given his time spent at Dartmouth and Stanford. And then he’s largely been on the business side of things, giving him tons of experience in that realm.
With the 2025-26 athletic season just around the corner, it’s huge for Stanford to have an athletic director chosen. It’ll be interesting to see when the hire is officially announced and also to hear from Donahoe himself about what his vision is for the athletic department.
Note: Fall camp is underway for Stanford football and Cardinal Sports Report has you covered for all the latest news on the Cardinal as they begin the Andrew Luck era.
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