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The Stanford football program received a $50 million gift from a former player, the school announced Wednesday, marking a significant donation as it attempts to revive the fortunes of the program under general manager Andrew Luck.

It’s the biggest individual gift in Stanford football history outside of facilities, and an unusually large one for an individual program. Donations of that value are typically tied to buildings or facilities.

The donation comes from former Stanford football player Bradford M. Freeman, who graduated from the school in 1964 and has been a major Stanford donor for decades.

The Cardinal are currently playing catchup in the modern college football landscape, finishing 3-9 in each of their past four seasons. Stanford is 2-3 this season under interim coach Frank Reich.

“With Brad’s incredible gift, we are positioned to win on the field and build a bridge to a sustainable future for Stanford football,” Luck said in a statement. “The ability to support our players through new scholarships and institutional NIL will reinforce Stanford as the preeminent place in the country to be a football scholar-athlete.”

The gift is also an adrenaline shot to the tenure of Luck, who has been general manager since November 2024 (with fundraising a key part of his task), and for new athletic director John Donahoe, who was hired in July.

Stanford is seeking a full-term coach, as both the program and Reich have made clear that he will not be the coach after this interim season. This gift is a marketing boost for the job, as it shows the availability of immediate resources and the power of untapping Stanford’s network.

Stanford will honor the gift by naming both a tunnel and gate at Stanford Stadium after Freeman, who has given a wide variety of gifts to both Stanford athletics and the university. In 1988, Freeman endowed the nation’s first head coach position; the title is known as the Bradford M. Freeman Director of Football.

Freeman is also a former trustee for the school who has served on numerous advisory boards. He co-founded Freeman Spogli, a private equity investment firm, and in the statement, he said he credits his time at Stanford for impacting “the trajectory of my life” and hopes that it will help “herald a new era of excellence for Stanford football.”

Luck added: “I believe that Stanford has the opportunity to be a leading program in college football, and we are entirely motivated to field championship-caliber teams.”

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Coach Sanders back at Colorado practice

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Coach Sanders back at Colorado practice

Colorado Buffaloes coach Deion Sanders was back at practice Wednesday, a day after undergoing surgery related to his blood clots.

Sanders had a procedure called an aspiration thrombectomy, which involves the left popliteal — located behind the knee — and tibial arteries. He appears on track to be on the sideline Saturday when the Buffaloes (2-4, 0-3 Big 12) host No. 22 Iowa State (5-1, 2-1).

His son Deion Sanders Jr. posted a short video of him on social media Wednesday as the Buffaloes coach stood at the 35-yard-line with a play sheet dangling from his waist. His team was practicing on the other side of the 50.

On Tuesday night, in a video posted by Well Off Media, which chronicles the Buffaloes, Sanders and his medical team talked about the procedure that would clean out his arteries to prevent more clots. Sanders said it was his 16th surgery over the past few years.

“Same position,” Sanders said as he got comfortable in the hospital bed. “Never doubting God. Never stressing. Never second-guessing.”

Sanders received a visit from longtime NFL cornerback Adam “Pacman” Jones, who gave his friend a kiss on the head. Sanders also took calls from sons Shedeur and Shilo.

“If you give me $5 million just to have, I will make sure that you don’t have to get surgery anymore,” Shilo Sanders cracked on the phone call.

“I know where your care is coming from,” his dad playfully responded. “I don’t want nothing to do with your care.”

“If you give me five, I’ll make sure you’re alive,” Shilo said, drawing a laugh from his father and Jones.

Soon after, Deion Sanders was taken away to the operating room.

The 58-year-old was in pain during a 35-21 loss at TCU last Saturday, alternating between sitting and limping along the sideline with his leg throbbing. He didn’t wear a shoe on his left foot in the second half, and after the game he said he was “hurting like crazy.”

Sanders dealt with blood clot issues while at Jackson State in 2021, with doctors amputating two of the toes on his left foot. He also skipped a Pac-12 media day session in 2023 following a procedure to remove a blood clot from his right leg and another to straighten toes on his left foot.

Last spring, Sanders was diagnosed with an aggressive form of bladder cancer. He revealed details of his treatment, which involved doctors removing his bladder and reconstructing a section of his intestine to function as a bladder.

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Follow live: Must-win for Cubs as Brewers seek sweep

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Jays hoping Bichette can return later in playoffs

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Jays hoping Bichette can return later in playoffs

NEW YORK — Bo Bichette was set to run Wednesday for the first time since spraining his left knee last month, and the Toronto Blue Jays still hope their starting shortstop will be able to return to the lineup later this postseason.

A two-time All-Star, Bichette ended the regular season on the injured list and was left off the roster for the AL Division Series against the New York Yankees. He took at-bats in a simulated game Tuesday in Toronto against teammates Max Scherzer and Chris Bassitt, then joined the Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium.

“The last three days have been pretty positive for him,” manager John Schneider said Wednesday. “Running today for the first time. We’ll take it a day at a time and just listen to how he’s feeling.

“… I think he’s probably turned the corner a little bit in terms of making some steady progress. It wasn’t just kind of hitting in the cage; it was facing some live pitching and knowing that he was going to be running today for the first time.”

Bichette hasn’t played since Sept. 6, when he sprained his knee in a collision with Yankees catcher Austin Wells.

“I think he’s making some strides, and we’ll continue to take it a day at a time,” Schneider said.

If Toronto advances, they would open the best-of-seven AL Championship Series at home on Sunday.

Andres Gimenez, a three-time Gold Glove winner at second base with Cleveland Guardians, has shifted from second to shortstop with the Blue Jays lately to help fill in for Bichette.

The 27-year-old Bichette put together a strong season before getting injured, hitting .311 with 18 home runs, 94 RBIs and an .840 OPS in 139 games. He finished second in the majors in batting average to Yankees slugger Aaron Judge.

Bichette, who can become a free agent after the World Series, is the son of former major league slugger Dante Bichette.

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