Harvard Business School Receives $5 Million Donation to Establish New Sports Management Fund

The Harvard Business School received a $5 million donation to create programming and provide financial support for students interested in sports management careers.

The gift — donated by alumnus Josh Harris and his wife, Marjorie — will create a Harris Family Fund for Sports Management and Alternative Investments at HBS and aim to “promote the diversity, equity, and inclusion of underrepresented individuals in these fields, while simultaneously advancing research,” per a press release. The fund will expand upon a previous donation from Harris in 2015, which established the Josh Harris Endowment for Sports Management.

“This generous gift from Josh and Marjorie will remove barriers for our students and spur research among our faculty, creating exciting new opportunities,” HBS Dean Srikant Datar said in a press release.

In an effort to eliminate financial barriers to entry into sports management careers, the fund will help launch fellowship programs that provide salary supplements to recent graduates. It will also offer scholarships to Executive Education or HBS Online students who are interested in sport-related fields and support faculty research, curriculum development, and case writing within HBS.

“We know that diversity, equity, and inclusion are essential to the long-term viability of every organization,” Datar said. “This is not just a social or moral imperative, but increasingly an economic imperative, too.”

Harris, who graduated from HBS in 1990, is the co-founder of Apollo Global Management, Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, and Harris Philanthropies. He is also a managing partner of the Philadelphia 76ers and general partner of the Crystal Palace Football Club. Both Harris and his wife serve on the HBS Board of Dean Advisors.

“Attending Harvard Business School had an immeasurable impact on my career, and I am thrilled to give back to an institution that provided me so many incredible opportunities,” Harris said in a press release. “This fund will go towards supporting students from diverse backgrounds who are interested in pursuing careers in either Alternative Investments or Sports Management — two industries that are close to my heart but that urgently need to include more voices from more communities.”

—Claire Yuan can be reached at claire.yuan@thecrimson.com. Follow her on Twitter @claireyuan33.