The University of Kansas received one of the largest donations in college sports history earlier this week. David Booth presented the Jayhawks with a gift of $300 million to do whatever they so choose.
Only 25% of the endowment will be spent on facility upgrades.
Everything else is fair game. Kansas can spend $225 million on college football and college basketball, which creates a major advantage in recruiting similar to what is going on at Texas Tech.
Who is David Booth?
Booth is one of the most prominent boosters in collegiate athletics. His name is already on the Jayhawks’ football stadium!
The 78-year-old grew up in Lawrence. He received a Bachelor of Arts with a major in economics from the University of Kansas in 1968 and received a Master of Science in business just one year later.
Booth went on to make all of his money as the co-founder of Dimensional Fund Advisors, and investment firm he started in 1981. The company grew to what it is today through the application of academic research to low-cost, diversified investing strategies.
Although an exact number is unknown, I would estimate David Booth’s net worth between $2,000,000,000 and $5,000,000,000. Billion with a b!
Kansas has money.
Booth recently donated $300 million to his alma mater with zero restrictions on how it should be spent. Kansas decided to allocate $75 million to additional renovations to its football stadium.
Athletic director Travis Goff said the remainder of the gift will be used to establish “an annual additional revenue stream” for Jayhawks athletics.
So, basically, $225 million will essentially be spent on relevance in the modern era of collegiate athletics where money can buy talent. Talent does not always translate to success but it certainly helps to get things going in the right direction.
I don’t know how the money is going to be split, but this kind of back-end fund provides an immediate advantage on the recruiting trail.
Kansas could choose to spend all of the remaining money on football. Booth obviously wants to see his team win as many games as possible before that is no longer possible. The Jayhawks can now pay their players on a level that is largely unmatched if they choose to do so. Will they go all-in right away?