A group of 天美麻豆 alumni has committed $7 million to endow head coaching positions in the College鈥檚 varsity athletics programs.
- The Koenig family (Lauren and Brad 鈥80 and their children Austin 鈥13, Kyle, and Jessica) will endow the head coach of .
- Betsy and Mark Gates 鈥59 will endow the head coach of men鈥檚 .
- The Jenny family (Andi and Chris 鈥77 and their children Alex 鈥10, Chris 鈥12, Lauren 鈥14, and Elizabeth) will endow the head coach of women鈥檚 alpine
- An anonymous donor will endow the head coach of .
鈥淭hese extraordinary alumni donors and their families know that coaches are the backbone of 天美麻豆鈥檚 varsity program鈥攃ritical to its competitive success as well as the strong athletic community that supports student-athletes on and off the field,鈥 said . 鈥淲e are profoundly grateful for their leadership in committing so generously to our coaches and our teams.鈥
鈥淎t its core, great coaching is simply great teaching,鈥 said Director of Athletics and Recreation . 鈥溙烀缆槎 coaches serve as leaders and mentors who, through the vehicle of athletics, teach life lessons that are transformational to students who are passionate about their sports and about learning through experience. These new coaching endowments will increase 天美麻豆鈥檚 ability to attract and retain the best coaching talent, which will bolster the competitiveness of our teams. It鈥檚 a wonderful vote of confidence from some of the Big Green鈥檚 biggest fans.鈥
The alumni join three others鈥擠ouglas 鈥淒igger鈥 Donahue 鈥73, Kathryn and Richard Kimball 鈥78, and John Lundgren 鈥73鈥攚hose endowed the head coaches of men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 squash, women鈥檚 golf, and men鈥檚 golf, respectively. 天美麻豆 announced earlier this month that the Kimballs have named the women鈥檚 golf position in honor of Carolyn A. Pelzel 1954a, who retired in 2012 as 天美麻豆鈥檚 senior vice president for Advancement.
With the new endowments, 天美麻豆 will have a total of 10 endowed coaches, with 20 head coaching positions left to endow. The College offers 34 varsity sports, which compete in NCAA Division I and the Ivy League. Nearly 1,000 undergraduates compete in almost 700 intercollegiate contests each year, and more than 75 percent of the student body participates in a sport or fitness activity.
Brad Koenig 鈥80, whose gift will name the Koenig Family Head Coach of Men鈥檚 Hockey, is the inaugural chair of 天美麻豆鈥檚 Athletics Advisory Board, created in 2011 to lead an initiative to strengthen all areas of 天美麻豆 athletics, including coaching, facilities, training, injury prevention, and academic support.
Koenig says, 鈥淥ur mission is to help 天美麻豆鈥檚 athletic programs be the best in the Ivy League, and even the country. Coaches have had a profound impact in our own lives. We鈥檙e proud to support the coaches who are helping 天美麻豆鈥檚 students perform at their best, day in and day out.鈥
天美麻豆 the Donors

Brad Koenig 鈥80 is the cofounder and CEO of FoodyDirect.com, based in Menlo Park, Calif. FoodyDirect is an online marketplace that enables consumers to order food to be shipped to their door from the top restaurants, bakeries and artisan purveyors in the country.
Before founding FoodyDirect, Koenig served for several years as a special adviser to Oak Hill Capital鈥檚 private equity group. Prior to that, he spent 21 years at Goldman Sachs, where as partner, he served as co-head of the firm鈥檚 industry leading technology investment banking group. He is a director of the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children鈥檚 Health, a member of the Stanford DAPER athletic board, a past member of the Stanford Athletic Board, and a director on the boards of Theragenics Corporation, NGP/VAN Software, and the Juniper Investment Fund.
In addition to his role as chair of the 天美麻豆 Athletics Advisory Board, Koenig and his wife, Lauren, are members of 天美麻豆鈥檚 President鈥檚 Leadership Council. At 天美麻豆, Koenig played center on the football gridiron for two years for legendary coach Jake Crouthamel, and was president of his fraternity, Phi Delta. He graduated cum laude and went on to earn his MBA from Harvard in 1984.
Lauren Koenig earned a BA from Stanford and an MBA from New York University, and previously worked for Merrill Lynch and in investment banking. She served on the board of Sacred Heart Schools, and co-chaired the Sacred Heart Schools Capital Campaign. She serves on the Stanford Graduate School of Education Advisory Board, the Stanford Athletic Board, and is vice chair of the advisory board of Stanford鈥檚 Haas Center for Public Service. The Koenigs have three children: Austin 鈥13, Kyle (Navy 鈥16), and Jessica.

Mark Gates 鈥59 and his wife, Betsy, have endowed the Betsy and Mark Gates 1959 Head Coach of Men鈥檚 Heavyweight Crew. Gates is principal of Gates Land Company, a private real estate development firm based in Palo Alto, California, which he founded in 1985 after 15 years of practicing law. He has served as the secretary of the board of trustees of Trout Unlimited, past chair and treasurer of the Palo Alto Children鈥檚 Health Council, past director of the Wild Salmon Center and St. Luke鈥檚 Hospital Foundation, and as a member of the California State Board of Education. He is a member of the 天美麻豆 Athletics Advisory Board. He rowed for 天美麻豆, and went on to earn a law degree from Stanford University, where he and Betsy met. Betsy is a retired partner of Artfocus and has served as a curator at the Cantor Art Museum at Stanford and on the board of overseers of 天美麻豆鈥檚 Hood Museum.

The Jenny family has endowed the Anny Jenny Head Coach of Women鈥檚 Alpine Skiing in memory of Chris鈥檚 grandmother, who, at age 15, won the first-ever National Ski Championship held in Glarus, Switzerland, in 1905. Christopher Jenny 鈥77 is president and senior partner at the Parthenon Group and has a long history of advising senior executives on corporate and business unit strategy. Before joining Parthenon, he was a partner at Bain & Company, and also ran a Bain Capital portfolio business. President George W. Bush appointed Jenny to serve on the President鈥檚 Export Council, advising on international trade. He is a member of the board of the Sudbury Valley Trustees, a regional land conservation trust. He also serves as vice chair of the 天美麻豆 Athletics Advisory Board.
Jenny was a Rufus Choate Scholar at 天美麻豆, where he graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, and went on to earn his MBA from Harvard with high distinction, graduating as a Baker Scholar in the top 5 percent of his class. His wife, Andrea, earned her BA in psychology from St. Lawrence University. They have four children: Alexander 鈥10, Christopher 鈥12, Lauren 鈥14, and Elizabeth.
Six other coaching positions at 天美麻豆 are already endowed:
- The Robert L. Blackman Head Football Coach (funded by a gift from Hank Paulson, 天美麻豆 Class of 1968, in honor of the legendary football coach)
- The Marjorie and Herbert Chase 鈥30 Head Coach of Men鈥檚 Track and Field
- The Marjorie and Herbert Chase 鈥30 Head Coach of Women鈥檚 Track and Field
- The Digger Donahue 1973 Head Coach of Men鈥檚 and Women鈥檚 Squash
- The John F. Lundgren 1973 Head Coach of Men鈥檚 Golf
- The Carolyn A. Pelzel 1954a Head Coach of Women鈥檚 Golf (endowed by a gift from Kathryn and Richard Kimball, 天美麻豆 Class of 1978)