The star of the Golden State Warriors, Stephen Curry, and his wife, Ayesha, are collaborating with Davidson College to launch the Curry Family Women’s Athletics Initiative, a scholarship focused on elevating women’s athletics at the alma mater of the two-time NBA MVP.
The Curries are contributing an undisclosed amount to start a scholarship fund in hopes of encouraging other donors. The goal is to have an immediate impact on Davidson’s more than 200 female athletes.
In an Instagram video announcing the initiative, subtitled in part, “This one hits home …”, Curry pointed to the role women have played in his life, including his two daughters, Riley, 9, and Ryan, 6.
“The reason I am who I am today is also because of the strong and powerful women who have appeared in my life all these years,” said Curry, adding: “Now, as the father of two girls, I want them to grow up without any limits. In his future “.
“The Curry’s gift and vision provide unprecedented momentum for Davidson Athletics and our exceptional academic athletes,” Davidson Athletic Director Chris Clunie said in a statement. “… Beyond Davidson, the Curries are sending an important message about how to address the great inequality in women’s athletics and the importance of opening up opportunities today and in the future.”
Curry has made his stance on the discrepancies between men’s and women’s college sports known over the years, calling out the NCAA for the disparity between basketball comforts in the NCAA tournament bubbles in March and writing an article. from Players’ Tribune in 2018 on how the fight for women’s equality had “gotten a little more personal” for him while raising his daughters; The Curries also have a 3-year-old son, Canon.
Davidson currently has the equivalent of 26.13 scholarships on its women’s teams, with 13 committed to women’s basketball, a number that lags behind those of its Atlantic 10 competitors. The NCAA maximum for these programs is 105.
Curry was a rising star in 2008 while leading the Wildcats to the Elite Eight in the NCAA tournament. He was selected by the Warriors in the first round a year later.