Two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Stephen Curry and his wife Ayesha are contributing an undisclosed amount of money to seed a scholarship fund for women athletes at his alma mater, Davidson College in North Carolina.
As reported by ESPN, the goal of the Curry Family Women's Athletics Initiative, a scholarship endowment focused on making an immediate impact for Davidson's more than 200 women's sports participants.
"The reason I am who I am today is also because of strong, powerful women who have poured into my life all these years," Curry stated during an Instagram post, "Now, as the father of two girls I want them to grow up without any boundaries on their futures."
Curry, who led the Wildcats to the Elite Eight in 2008, called out the NCAA for the disparity between amenities at the NCAA men's and women's basketball tournament bubbles this past March. In 2018, he wrote about how the fight for women's equality had "grown a little more personal" for him as he raised his girls, Riley, 9, and Ryan, 6. The Currys also have a 3-year-old son, Canon.
According to ESPN's Tory Barron, Davidson currently has the equivalent of 26.13 scholarships across its women's teams, with 13 committed to women's basketball — a tally that trails those of its Atlantic 10 rivals. The NCAA maximum for these programs is 105.
"The Currys' gift and vision provide an unprecedented push forward for Davidson Athletics and our exceptional scholar-athletes," Davidson athletic director Chris Clunie said in a statement. "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."
