All articles tagged with #phil knight
Phil Knight, co-founder of Nike, and his wife Penny have pledged a $2 billion donation to Oregon Health & Science University's cancer research center, the largest single gift to a U.S. university, to enhance cancer diagnostics, clinical trials, and patient care.
Nike co-founder Phil Knight and his wife Penny donated $2 billion to Oregon Health and Science University to enhance cancer diagnostics, clinical trials, and patient care, continuing their longstanding support for cancer research and treatment innovation.
Nike co-founder Phil Knight is donating $2 billion to Oregon Health and Science University’s Knight Cancer Institute, the largest donation ever to a U.S. university or health institution, to advance cancer research, treatment, and patient care, in partnership with Dr. Brian Druker.
Phil Knight, Nike cofounder and Oregon super booster, is heavily involved in the University of Oregon's efforts to secure top college football recruits through NIL deals, aiming to win a national championship. His influence helped Oregon flip five-star cornerback Na'eem Offord from Ohio State, contributing to Oregon's highly ranked recruiting class. Knight's financial backing and strategic involvement in Oregon's Division Street collective make it one of the most well-funded and sophisticated NIL operations in the country, drawing both admiration and envy from other college programs.
Phil Knight and entrepreneur Alan Smolinisky continue to pursue buying the Portland Trail Blazers from Jody Allen, who has resisted all overtures and has not even spoken directly with Knight. Allen has said it could take up to 20 years to resolve her brother’s estate. The Blazers must be sold, but they are not for sale. Knight's motivation stems from a desire to keep the team in Portland, and the longer Allen drags out the process, the more likely someone who does not share that ambition gets involved in the bidding process.
Nike co-founder Phil Knight and Dodgers minority owner Alan Smolinisky have repeatedly offered to buy the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers, but Jody Allen, who controls the team's future as the heir of former owner Paul Allen, has refused to sell. Knight, who is a dominant business figure and philanthropist in Oregon, has been unable to persuade Allen to sell the team.
Phil and Penny Knight's $400 million investment in Portland's Black community through the newly created 1803 Fund is more important than owning the Trail Blazers. The investment goes toward the "Rebuild Albina" project and invests in "education, place and culture and belonging" to strengthen Portland's Black community. This investment transcends ownership of the Blazers and is a far cry from the self-serving motivations of other billionaires. The investment cuts through the circular question of whether sports are what will bring Portland back or whether Portland needs to come back before increasing its sports portfolio.
Phil and Penny Knight have pledged $400 million to the newly formed 1803 Fund, which will focus on strengthening Portland's Black community. The fund's first project, "Rebuild Albina," will invest in education, place, culture, and belonging in the historically Black Albina neighborhood. The investment pairs Phil Knight, the billionaire co-founder of Nike, with Rukaiyah Adams, the high-profile Portland financial expert and community leader who chairs the 1803 Fund. The fund is named after the year Lewis and Clark began their historic trek across the North American continent.
Phil Knight, co-founder of Nike, and his wife Penny Knight, are donating $400 million to the 1803 Fund, a new investment initiative aimed at supporting Portland's Black residents. The fund will finance education services, art programs, and other projects for Black Portlanders in the inner North and Northeast Portland neighborhoods, which were once known as Albina. The 1803 Fund's board of directors includes Black leaders in Portland, and it is not yet clear how the investment will be distributed or to which community organizations.
Ben Affleck's new movie "Air" about Nike signing Michael Jordan to a sneaker contract gets a lot wrong about the history of sports marketing, particularly the role of Sonny Vaccaro, who is portrayed inaccurately. The movie also takes liberties with the depiction of Jordan's agent, David Falk. However, the movie does depict Phil Knight, the founder of Nike, as only tangentially involved in the process of signing and marketing Jordan. The movie attempts to extend its reach as a breezy underdog business pic and tries to be a story about the unsung, underpaid grinders who actually made the business that their boss reaped the rewards of.