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Stephen Curry announced the inspiration behind the new Davidson College endowment in a video shared on social media.

Support for women’s athletics has come a long way, but there’s still more work to be done, especially at the college level. In late August of this year, Stephen and Ayesha Curry announced they are creating a scholarship endowment called the Curry Family Women’s Athletics Initiative designed to elevate women’s athletics at Davidson College.

“The Currys’ gift and vision provide an unprecedented push forward for Davidson Athletics and our exceptional scholar-athletes,” says Chris Clunie, Davidson College Director of Athletics. “This gift and additional support of the initiative will raise our competitiveness and open up our educational and athletic experiences to more young women. Beyond Davidson, the Currys are sending an important message about addressing the broad inequity in women’s athletics and the importance of unlocking opportunities today and into the future. Davidson aims to lead in this space and build solutions to these issues on our own campus.”

“One thing about me is that I never forget where I came from, and Davidson College is where it all started for me,” the Golden State Warrior point guard said in a video discussing the endowment that he posted to his Twitter account.

A press release from Davidson College noted that Davidson, where Curry led his team to the Elite 8 in the NCAA tournament, awards more than 80 endowed athletics scholarships each year at varying levels. Men’s sports currently receive nearly 70 percent of the current endowed scholarship funds as a result of past philanthropic support. An increased number of endowed athletics scholarships allows for annual gifts to the Davidson Athletic Fund to be applied to other athletics needs, including travel, equipment, recruiting and enhanced technology for training and recovery. The Currys’ initiative, with gifts from others, is intended to move the college forward in its path of doing athletics right and, as Clunie often says, doing more with more.

Three years ago, Stephen Curry wrote of how the fight for women’s equality had grown “a little more personal” as he and Ayesha raise two young daughters: Riley, 9, and Ryan, 6, along with their 3 year-old son, Canon W. Jack Curry. Stephen’s voice on the topic has grown louder since, especially through his Underrated Tour for both young men and women, his unique brand partnerships that speak to women’s empowerment, and Stephen’s and Ayesha’s foundation work with Eat. Learn. Play.

In addition to financial support, the initiative aims to unlock the full potential of women scholar-athletes through mentorships, career programming and community outreach. Davidson College is committed to giving women scholar-athletes greater platforms to amplify their voices—voices that influence, inspire, and push forward a more equitable culture.

Today, Davidson College boasts 10 NCAA Division I women’s sports, and nearly 200 female scholar-athletes represent the Wildcats in competition, in the classroom and in the community. Since the enactment of Title IX in 1972, Davidson has won 9 regular season and 20 conference tournament titles in women’s sports.

Stephen and Ayesha Curry

create scholarship endowment to support female athletes

Compiled from staff reports

To learn more about the Curry Family Women’s Athletics Initiative and how you can support equity in women’s sports through gifts to Davidson College, contact Brandon McCladdie, Director of Athletic Development, at brmccladdie@davidson.edu or 704.894.2657. You can also visit DavidsonWildcats.com.