NEW YORK—New England Patriots owner and Columbia University graduate Robert K. Kraft '63 was honored by the Sports Business Journal with its prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award Wednesday evening in New York City.
Kraft was presented with the honor for his influence in a wide-range of areas. He has joined cultural and business stars to change politics and the sports industry and remains one of American football's top two or three most important individuals. He was anointed a hero of the NFL labor talks in 2011 and was influential in the NFL's recent $110 billion media rights contract. On the charity front, his New England Patriots Charitable Foundation has donated more than $800 million to charity with priorities in community health care, cancer research, Jewish culture, and interfaith dialogue. He has taken on a leading role in publicizing the plight of imprisoned rapper Meek Mill and then co-founding the Reform Alliance, a criminal justice reform. He also sent the Patriots' private plane to China during the COVID-19 pandemic to import 1.2 million N95 masks as the United States struggled to fill a supply shortage. As part of the award, Sports Business Journal magazine plans to profile Kraft in its May issue.
Other sports figures who have previously earned the Sports Business Journal Lifetime Achievement Award include Paul Fireman (2021), Larry Tanenbaum (2020), Tim Finchem (2019), Michael Eisner (2018), Jerry Jones (2017), Bud Selig (2016), Dick Ebersol (2015), Dan Rooney (2014), Jerry Reinsdorf (2013), Paul Tagliabue (2012), Billie Jean King (2011), and Peter Ueberroth (2009).
"This is a tremendous and well-deserved honor for Mr. Kraft," Campbell Family Director of Intercollegiate Athletics and Physical Education
Peter Pilling said. "We are so fortunate to have Mr. Kraft engaged as he has always been a great supporter of our athletics program and this university. With all that he is involved in, Columbia is never far from his thoughts and his impact on Columbia University and Columbia Athletics is never-ending."
Columbia University and Columbia Athletics have benefitted from Kraft's generosity. Over the years, Kraft has provided Columbia Athletics financial support in the form of yearly academic scholarships, facilities upgrades, and other fundraising projects. For his extremely generous contributions as the Co-Chair of the Columbia Campaign for Athletics, the University officially dedicated the playing field at Lawrence A. Wien Stadium as Robert K. Kraft Field in October 2007. In addition to athletics, Kraft's impact has also been felt in the academic arena as he served two terms as a Columbia University trustee. In 2000, Columbia opened the doors to the Kraft Center for Jewish Student Life, the on-campus Hillel of Columbia University.
A 1987 recipient of Columbia's John Jay Award and a 2004 recipient of the Alexander Hamilton Medal, Kraft has been honored by nearly every organization he has touched. He was awarded the NCAA's highest honor, the Theodore Roosevelt Award, in 2006, and in 2012, the Pro Football Writers Association bestowed upon him the George Halas Award, making Kraft the first NFL owner to be so honored.
"We are appreciative of all that Mr. Kraft has done for Columbia Football through the years," Patricia and Shepard Alexander Head Coach of Football
Al Bagnoli said. "He is a great supporter, friend, and confidant."
A native of Brookline, Mass., Robert K. Kraft arrived at Columbia University in 1959 and forever influenced the course of Columbia and football history. Before becoming one of the most influential NFL owners and business executives of his era, Kraft had aspirations of starring for the Lions on the gridiron and was a running back on the freshman squad in 1959. While an injury cut his football career short, his strong relationship to Columbia and the sport of football was just beginning. After graduating from Columbia College in 1963 and completing business school, Kraft began a tremendous career ascent through which he became a national icon. After several successful business forays and acquisitions over the next three decades, he purchased his hometown NFL Franchise, the New England Patriots, in 1994.
