Robert Kraft '63CC Honored at Ivy Football Association Dinner
2/5/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
NEW YORK – On January 22, Columbia alum and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft '63CC was honored at the Fifth Ivy Football Association dinner.
A distinguished alumnus was selected from each of the eight Ivy League schools. Each of the eight honorees played as an undergraduate on an Ivy
League football team, and more important, has become preeminent in his
chosen field. Each was selected by the football alumni association
of his university in consultation with its Athletic Director.
Kraft is a renowned businessman in many different areas. The Kraft Group is a diversified holding company with assets in paper and packaging, sports and entertainment, real estate development, and private equity investing.
In 1963, Kraft graduated from Columbia with a B.A. in history and economics, and earned two letters in football — the first as a member of the freshman football team, and the second as a member of the varsity lightweight football team. Unfortunately, Bob's football career came to an end when he suffered an injury during the second game of his junior year.
After graduating from Columbia, Kraft went on to Harvard Business School, receiving his M.B.A. in 1965. He then began working for the Rand-Whitney Group, Inc., a company that converted paper into packaging for various industries — Kraft eventually acquired the company. In 1972, he founded International Forest Products, which trades paper commodities. The combined entity, Rand-Whitney Group and International Forest Products, is one of the largest privately-owned paper and packaging companies in the U.S.
In 1985, Kraft purchased an option on the parcel which contained Sullivan Stadium, then the home of the New England Patriots. In 1988, he outbid several competitors to buy the stadium out of bankruptcy. The Kraft Group's real estate team then oversaw the building of Gillette Stadium, the future home of the Patriots.
In 2002, Kraft was named Sports
Executive of the Year by the Sports Business Journal, and the Sports
Industrialist of the Year by the Sports Business Daily. Under his
ownership, the New England Patriots have won three Super Bowl
championships, completed an undefeated 2007 regular season, and are the
most successful NFL franchise of the decade.
Kraft remains an integral part of the Columbia University community. In 1999, he pledged $3 million toward the new physical center of Jewish Life at Columbia University, called the Robert K. Kraft Family Center for Jewish Student Life.
In 2007, he pledged $5 million to Columbia in
support of the intercollegiate athletics program. To acknowledge this
gift, Columbia decided to name the playing field within the Lawrence A.
Wien Stadium Robert K. Kraft Field. More recently, Kraft gave his alma
mater a sizeable contribution to help create the Kraft Family Fund for
Interfaith and Intercultural Awareness.
Over the past three decades, the Kraft family has been one of New
England's most philanthropic families, donating millions of dollars in
support of local charities and civic affairs.
The Ivy Football Association was founded in 2000 to honor and celebrate Ivy League football and its rich tradition of producing graduates who have become leaders in their chosen fields or professions, including government, law, medicine, business, the arts, education, and religion. The association celebrates how football fits into the overall educational process and college experience, as well as how the game is played in the Ivy League.
