Ted Leland is likely to be remembered for championships. During his 14-year tenure as athletic director, Stanford teams have won more national titles than any school in the country. But when pressed to recall particular glories, Leland demurs. “My personal highlights involve individual students. A basketball player who, when you first met him, was looking at his feet, uncertain, wouldn’t look you in the eye, and four years later was confident and talking about his future. That’s what drives me.”
Leland, PhD ’83, is leaving Stanford on January 1 to become vice president for advancement at his alma mater, the University of the Pacific. His resignation ends a storied chapter in the history of Stanford athletics.
“Ted Leland’s name has become synonymous in the world of athletics with excellence,” said President John Hennessy. “His contributions to the University are too numerous to mention, but suffice it to say that he will be greatly missed.”
Since Leland arrived in 1991, Stanford has won 50 national championships and 11 NACDA Directors’ Cups, emblematic of the nation’s top athletic program. He helped raise more than $270 million in private donations, and shepherded the construction or renovation of $185 million worth of facilities. Building will begin this winter on a new football stadium, and Leland says he plans to firm up fundraising and logistical details for that project before his departure.
Stanford’s football team, which has had three consecutive losing seasons and was 1-2 at the time of Leland’s announcement, has inspired grumbling among some alumni and fans. But Leland insists his move has nothing to do with football. “The timing is regrettable, but there is no connection,” he says.
Leland, 57, was drawn by the opportunity to return to UOP, where he earned two degrees and earlier this year joined the board of regents. Stockton, Calif., where the university is located, “is in many ways our hometown,” he says. His wife, Stefanie, is a Stockton native.
Hennessy, who had asked Leland to reconsider and stay another five years, says Stanford is losing an important voice on the national stage. “His leadership has helped frame contemporary debate on issues in college sports.” Hennessy says he hopes to have the position filled by January 1.
Women’s basketball coach Tara VanDerveer, who worked with Leland for his entire tenure at Stanford, is chagrined at the loss but optimistic. “Change is a little scary. But the people on the search committee understand that Stanford is a different place, and it’s a unique challenge. There are people out there.”
At a press conference called to announce his resignation, Leland recalled a moment from an awards banquet several years ago that he says underscored the values of Stanford’s program. Head men’s basketball coach Mike Montgomery was describing the many achievements of Brevin Knight, ’97, the point guard whose stirring play helped elevate the Cardinal’s program from pretender to contender. “When Monty finished, Brevin’s mother thanked him and then said, ‘But you know, Coach, I didn’t send Brevin here to become a better basketball player. I sent him here to become a better man.’ So Mike said, ‘Well, how did we do?’ And Mrs. Knight replied, ‘You did great.’”
