Northwestern University trustee Christopher Combe and his wife Courtney will now be the namesakes of Athletic Director Jim Phillips' job after giving a $16 million gift to the school, NU officials announced today. Ten million dollars of that endowment will fund the position, which will officially be known as the "Chris and Courtney Combe Vice President for Athletics and Recreation," and will go toward "seed(ing) important projects and address new opportunities."http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20131004/BLOGS04/131009853/northw...
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Northwestern University sells naming rights to athletic director’s job
October 7th, 2013 at 5:35 PM
#1
Northwestern University sells naming rights to athletic director’s job
October 7th, 2013 at 5:43 PM
#2
You mean David Brandon,
You mean David Brandon, the Donald R. Shepherd Director of Athletics at the University of Michigan? That position has been endowed for some time now.
October 7th, 2013 at 8:09 PM
#3
I like to think that DB would
I like to think that DB would buy the rights for himself. So he would be the University of Michigan David Brandon Athletic Director, David Brandon.
October 7th, 2013 at 8:44 PM
#4
"...Brought to you in part by
"...Brought to you in part by Dominos, home of the $7.99 Monday thru Thursday deal."
October 7th, 2013 at 8:54 PM
#5
I am so deeply disappointed
that you got here quicker than I did to post that answer.
Oh well. Kudos.
October 7th, 2013 at 5:44 PM
#8
I disagree
I think the "Domino's(TM) Dave Brandon Experience brought to you by Teamocil and Dr. Funke's 100% Natural Good-Time Family Band Solution" has a certain ring to it.
October 7th, 2013 at 7:15 PM
#9
There's no I in Teamocil, at
There's no I in Teamocil, at least not where you'd think
October 7th, 2013 at 5:38 PM
#12
This is not really big news.
This is not really big news. Many schools have done this.
October 7th, 2013 at 5:39 PM
#13
Agreed. This is like
Agreed. This is like endowing a scholarship.
October 7th, 2013 at 6:11 PM
#14
Indeed Yes...
Actually, it is a shame that the OP did not link to the NY Times article inside this one - (HERE).
Most of the Ivy League has endowed AD positions, and there was also this:
"Coaching endowments are prevalent in Bowl Championship Series conferences, too. The football programs at Stanford, Vanderbilt, Boston College and Northwestern, for example, have endowed positions. Michigan State, Rutgers, Duke and Texas Tech are among those seeking donors for theirs — with required donations as high as $5 million."
October 7th, 2013 at 9:00 PM
#15
I hope Mike Leach makes so much money
that he can endow the Texas Tech coaching chair.
Guns up!!
October 7th, 2013 at 5:57 PM
#16
I'm not one to bitch about
I'm not one to bitch about thread titles but this is an awful bastardization of what happened.
October 7th, 2013 at 5:58 PM
#17
Hmmmmm...This is an idea I can get behind...
Better as a "Presenting Sponsor" IMHO:
The Koeffel Law Firm - Criminal and DUI Attorneys
(One of Ohio's Premier Criminal Defense and DUI Firms)
Presents:
Gene Smith, Athletic Director
The Ohio State University
October 7th, 2013 at 6:01 PM
#18
Michigan did this at least a
Michigan did this at least a decade ago... Don Shepherd endowed the position, just one of many he's done for the university over the years, including the director of the MMB.
This really isn't a big deal.
October 7th, 2013 at 6:22 PM
#19
Not only 'not a big deal',
Not only 'not a big deal', but as you pointed out, standard practice in academics to seek endowed positions (or scholarships) as it's guaranteed funding.
October 7th, 2013 at 7:56 PM
#20
So everyone's talking about
So everyone's talking about the names part but not the actual important part? 16 MILLION dollars? Holy crap that's a lot to donate
October 7th, 2013 at 7:58 PM
#21
Obviously 200 million from
Obviously 200 million from Stephen M Ross makes this look like nothing but from Northwestern getting this donation? That's awesome
October 8th, 2013 at 2:09 PM
#22
Straw man syndrome: a
Straw man syndrome: a condition where posters on a message board create and then destroy a straw man to make their point.
October 8th, 2013 at 1:15 PM
#23
Well, at least you know one thing,
none of these schools see the sky falling from the way they run their football programs in the near future, no matter what happens to NCAA governance and a host of other issues.
If you are a university executive and you ain't raising money, you aren't doing your job. Period. Because that's what they do.
