Stanford Basketball to Form Alumni Council Featuring Prominent Former Players

The council's goal will be to enhance the program's success through fundraising, mentoship and alumni relations

Dec 20 2011; Denver, CO, USA; Phoenix Suns shooting guard Josh Childress (1) during the fourth quarter of a preseason game against the Denver Nuggets at Pepsi Center. The Nuggets defeated the Suns 127-110. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

The men's basketball program at Stanford is doing whatever it can to find consistent and sustainable success. On Tuesday, the program annouced that it was forming an alumni council of former Cardinal players in order to grow the program's success even more through fundraising, mentorship and alumni engagement.

In addition to former players, the council will involve other alumni and business leaders who will look to help the program grow in all areas. NIL, which has taken over the college sports world by storm, will be a major focus, with the hope being that fundraising will help the university's NIL collective be even more successful.

Program development, another area of focus for the council, will involve the members being a liaison alongside head coach Kyle Smith, with the expectation being that Smith and his staff can build a sustainable championship culture driven by alumni relationships.

The council will also advocate for public support, with the idea there being that the basketball program's success is beneficial not only to the school itself, but to all of college sports.

Smith expressed his excitement at the formation of the council, believing that it will be an essential resource in building the program up to the way that he envisions it.

"Stanford basketball has an incredible history of success, and the formation of the alumni council is a huge step toward building a championship culture. The support and leadership of our former players will be instrumental as we compete at the highest level in the ACC and ensure our program thrives in this new era of college athletics."

The board of directors has already been confirmed, and will consist of former Cardinal players including Josh Childress, Chris Hernandez, Adam Keefe, Brevin Knight, Gary Petersmeyer, Eric Reveno and Howard Wright. Knight, a former NBA star who has served as a broadcaster for the Memphis Grizzlies since 2010, is arguably one of the most influential names among those listed.

The urgency for sustained success has been a common theme among Stanford sports this school year, with the football program hiring former quarterback Andrew Luck to be its general manager after four straight 3-9 seasons. Basketball, which has not made the NCAA tournament since 2014, is eager to turn a corner under Smith and put themselves firmly on the map among the elites in college basketball.