Duke football to play at Brooks Field at Wallace Wade Stadium following $13M donation
Posted July 17, 2015 1:16 p.m. EDT
Durham, N.C. — Following a $13 million donation from Steve Brooks and his wife, Eileen, the Duke Board of Trustees has approved the recommendation that the football field be named Brooks Field at Wallace Wade Stadium.
“Lifting Duke football to the level of the rest of the university has been one of the pleasures of recent years, and Steve and Eileen Brooks have been steadfast friends throughout that process,” President Richard H. Brodhead said. “We are grateful for their generosity, which will provide a strong foundation for the student-athlete experience at Duke.”
With their latest gift, the Brooks family has committed more than $20 million to Duke. They have also helped fund the Brooks Practice Facility and Brooks Building for Duke Football.
“Steve and Eileen Brooks have been tremendously generous, as well as incredibly faithful, relative to supporting Duke University for many years and, specifically in the case of Duke Football, no one has been more committed to helping us build a championship program,” said Kevin White, vice president and director of Duke Athletics.
Their most recent donation will contribute to Duke Forward, the seven-year, university-wide fundraising campaign that aims to raise $3.25 billion by June 2017. Every dollar donated to Duke's 10 schools and units, Duke Medicine or university programs and initiatives counts toward the campaign.
Brooks graduated from Duke in 1970. He is the president and chief executive officer of the Phoenix American Insurance Group Inc., and has served on the Trinity Board of Visitors, Duke Athletics Advisory Board and the Duke Law School Board.
"We are pleased to have a small part in the ongoing efforts, led by President Dick Brodhead, Director of Athletics Kevin White and Coach David Cutcliffe, to put Duke Football on par with the very best college football programs in the nation,” Brooks said.