According to reports, Nike cofounder Phil Knight and his wife, Penny, are giving $1 billion to the University of Oregon to help create a new engineering school in Eugene.
Knight’s name carries a different kind of history in skateboarding.
Nike entered skateboarding with Nike SB in the early 2000s, turning its basketball and running shoe empire into one of the biggest names in skate footwear.
The brand has since worked with some of skateboarding’s most influential riders and released shoes that became staples at skate shops worldwide.
Knight graduated from the University of Oregon, and this latest donation brings the Knight family’s total giving to the school to more than $2 billion.
The new engineering school will focus on areas including bioengineering and applied sciences, with the goal of developing new technology, products and medical treatments.
READ MORE: Corporate Skate Shoe Giant Nike Adds LVMH Luxury Dynasty Heir Alexandre Arnault to Its Board
This is not Knight’s first huge contribution to the university.
The family previously gave $500 million in 2016 and another $500 million in 2021 to create and expand the Knight Campus.
For a guy who helped turn Nike into a global skate shoe giant, Knight is now putting another billion dollars into the university that helped shape his early years.