Robert Kraft ’63CC, the chairman and CEO of the New England Patriots, received the NCAA’s highest honor for citizens, the Theodore Roosevelt Award, in January.A University trustee emeritus and former Lions football player, Kraft is considered one of the savviest minds in pro sports management, having turned the once-laughable Patriots into a football dynasty since purchasing the team in 1994.
Kraft and his wife, Myra, also are well known for their philanthropy. They have given generously to Columbia, creating the Robert K. Kraft Family Center for Jewish Student Life and the Kraft Family Fund for Interfaith and Intercultural Awareness, which supports student-initiated events that bring together community members from diverse backgrounds.The Krafts have also helped build stadiums used primarily for amateur sports in Providence, Rhode Island, and in Jerusalem, Israel, and they give regularly to numerous other charities.
Previous recipients of the Theodore Roosevelt Award include former U.S. presidents Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and General Dwight D. Eisenhower, who was Columbia’s president from 1948 to 1953.
The award presentation took place on January 7 at the NCAA’s annual convention in Indianapolis, Indiana.
