Don Brown now the Matthew and Nicole Lester Family Football Defensive Coordinator
May 11, 2017
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan Athletic Department announced today that its football defensive coordinator position has been endowed through a generous gift by Matthew and Nicole Lester. The position, currently held by Don Brown, will be named for the family as the Matthew and Nicole Lester Family Football Defensive Coordinator.
"We are exceptionally grateful to Matthew and Nicole for this unique gift to the University of Michigan," said Warde Manuel, the Donald R. Shepherd Director of Athletics. "The Lester family is part of a strong group of donors and alumni that are passionate about this university. Great relationships can lead to these outcomes, and it is our student-athletes who will continue to benefit for years to come. Gifts like this make it possible for us to attract and retain the best coaches and students who participate in athletics."
"This gift represents a long-standing commitment by the Lester family to the University of Michigan and football program, and we have so much appreciation for their generosity," said Jim Harbaugh, U-M's J. Ira and Nicki Harris Family Head Football Coach. "This gesture will have a great impact on the coaches and student-athletes who represent our team. We are appreciative of the commitments made by Ira (Harris), Sandy (Robertson) and now the Lester family. Their support and dedication is much appreciated and means a lot. It has been great to spend time getting to know Matt and his son, Asa, and we look forward to their family remaining a part of our program for years to come."
Matthew Lester graduated from the College of Literature, Science and the Arts in 1987 with a Bachelor of Arts in history. In 1994, following a successful career as an attorney and litigator in private practice, he founded a private real estate investment company that owns and operates commercial real estate in the Midwest and Southeast. He lives with his wife Nicole, daughter Elliah and son Asa in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.
Endowed positions include:
- Donald R. Shepherd Director of Athletics
- J. Ira and Nicki Harris Family Head Football Coach
- Sanford Robertson Offensive Coordinator
HC endowment was $10M and the OC was $3M per Nick Baumgardner. No word on this one yet.
This is played as a humorous post, but consider: Tom Brady could easily afford, say, a $1 mil donation to the athletic department. And if coordinators are endowed for $3 mil, $1 mil should endow a position coach, right?
Warde should seriously try to get Tom Brady to endow the QB coach postion. The "Tom Brady Quarterback Coach" would be one endowed position that we would never tire of naming.
I will reply to the cute dog shaking his head....Gisele is well endowed!
Actually, Tom and Gisele should endow Greg Harden's position. Without Harden, Brady would be selling insurance.
I claim the third stall on the left the "GunnersApe gift to OSU shitter"
No one wants ads in the Big House, no one wants outrageous ticket prices, and no one wants the AD to divert money from the Universtiy, while everyone wants $7m a year to spend on a head coach, millions a year for assistants, and plenty left over for nonrevenue sports. Gotta balance the budget somehow. Call it the "Kroger Grocery Store Defensive Coordinator Presented by Digiorno" for all I care.
My only quibble with this is that I would want it to be the Hardmeat Family Strength And Conditioning Coach, but otherwise spot on with this comment.
Maybe one day I'll be able to get my name on a bathroom in West Hall. If there's anything that is highly underrated in the memorial plaque game, it is the bathrooms on campus.
But there's already a plaque on "West Hall" that says West Engineering. It'll always be West Engin to me and all the EE's and Computer geeks can stay in East Engin.
http://spartanfund.net/ways-to-give/endowments/coaching-endowments/
So the MSU coaches are available to name. Could we raise the funds to name them?
Ideas for names:
The little brother forever Head Coach Mork Dantoni
The Sparty No Offensive Coordinator
The Axe Body Spray Defensive Coordinator
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Never.
I giggle like a schoolgirl every time the 3-9 thing is used.
Especially since one of those Ws was eeking it out against I-AA Furman.
Endowed by Red Lock....
The Red Lock Officer of Compliance (RLOC for short)
approves this naming!!
So you could say Don Brown is well endowed now?
Surprised someone in commercial real estate is throwing around money. That market has been in the toilet for years.
whatever pays the bills
The Dudes and The Guys?
I leave mgoblog two days ago for awhile and now I hear the site is up in smoke.
Will continue to write postgame Michigan Softball posts on mgoblog. But that's it. Team deserves attention.
I'm glad that since the site was "up in smoke" and all the chosen one came back to save us.
He can't stay away for long.
Yep... ever since he got mentioned in Bacon's book for the email thing which started Brandon's downfall, dude has thought the world revolved around him.
This site going up in smoke is due to his absence is the epitome of hyperbole.
WD, why don't you just make your own blog then?
Since you're too busy being the INTERNET TOUGH GUY™, but this is a thread about the Defensive Coordinator of the Michigan Wolverines football team. Not about how you need to feel like more of a man through trying to throw shade at a bigger Michigan fan than you'll ever be.
Are you wd's mom or something? You've jumped in to defend his honor like five times now.
Agreed. It's pretty tacky. Also, frankly, if you're gonna give away a big chunk of money, why gives it to a football team? Not to mention a program that's already swimming in money.
Hopefully this would never happen at Michigan, but I'd be hesitant to put my name on any person, even if I had the money - buildings are more safe. If a coach happened to have legal or ethical violations, I'm sure some press outlets would use the full title of the offender, and that's just not press I'd want: "J_Dub Family Waterboy Turribal McCriminal was arrested on allegations he slaughtered sixteen cute kittens yesterday. Ohio administators and J_Dub Family could not be reached for comment."
It's something companies think about when hiring spokespeople - animated gekkos get into less trouble than sandwich selling weight losers, for instance.
Not to humble brag, but I am in the process of working with Warde Manuel to donate money for the concessions attendant position closest to my section to be officially named after me.
The hold up is that I am trying to work Manuel down to a donation of double digits while he is trying to work me down to naming the stadium bathroom custodian after me.
Maybe we could start selling sponsorships for individual plays.
I'd pay a hundred bucks to have Dan Dierdorf announce: "Michigan just picked up twenty yards running the BIGBLUEWORLD jet sweep."
I'd love to see the actual financials that say putting the name on a coaching position is the deciding factor for not putting advertising in the stadium.
With the money the Athletic Department makes, there's approximately a 0% chance anyone at any level at 1000SSS has ever looked at a balance sheet and said "You know, if we don't get Don Brown's position endowed, we're going to have to put up an Arby's ad on the scoreboards."
Thanks for the money, but this is unnecessary in the big picture. And has nothing to do with advertising in the stadium.
When did WD come back?
About two days after he swore this place off forever.
You can donate 7 figures to the athletic department to have a coaching position named after you, but we cannot pay the players
Me: wE cAN't pAy thA PlAYerZ
