Unprecedented $300 million gift puts Phase II full-speed ahead

It’s long been known that KU alum David Booth is one of the school’s biggest supporters, both in terms of the passion he has for the place and the dollars he pours into it.

But that support reached new, unprecedented levels on Wednesday, when Kansas Athletics announced a brand new, $300 million gift from Booth to the school, earmarked as a way to jump-start Phase II of the Gateway District project surrounding the football stadium that wears Booth’s name.

According to a press release announcing the gift, the $300 million is the largest in Kansas Athletics and University of Kansas history and among the largest single gifts in the history of college athletics.

This from a man who already has given so much via multiple donations to various projects at the football stadium and across campus.

In 2017, Booth provided a gift of $50 million in to kick off renovations at the stadium, which was named for him in 2018. In 2010, he won an auction and donated James Naismith’s original rules of basketball to the university, a top attraction at the Booth Family Hall of Athletics, which he and his family provided $5 million for in 2004, followed by $4 million for subsequent improvements.

In a video accompanying Wednesday morning’s massive news, Booth said he was energized by this latest project and that seeing the construction of the west, south and north ends of the new stadium, which will open for business in just 10 days when the Jayhawks play their first home football game there, has taken him back to 1960, as a teenager, standing in the venue in awe of the number of people it held and the passion they all had for their Jayhawks.

“I’m kind of feeling the same way now about the new stadium,” Booth said in the video. “This impacts people’s lives. … People have so much pride in KU. The students. The alums. The community. My interest, kind of like in my business, is in improving people’s lives (and) there aren’t that many things one can do to where you can have as much impact as this Gateway project. I mean, this is transformative.”

Booth’s business, Dimensional Fund Advisors, is a global investment firm that, as of June 30, 2025, managed $853 billion in assets.

Of the $300 million he gifted to the university, $75 million was specifically tagged as the launching point for Phase II, which got full-speed-ahead approval from Lawrence city commissioners on Tuesday night. The remaining $225 million, according to the release, will generate “a stream of income that will strengthen Kansas Athletics across generations.”

Booth’s commitment, according to the release, will propel the Gateway District’s next phase, which aims to add a new hotel, additional retail and restaurant spaces, student housing, improved parking and an outdoor event plaza to the area in addition to redoing the east side of the stadium’s stands to match the new construction that exists today.

“David has always believed in the power of athletics to unite communities, generate Jayhawk spirit and create lasting bonds between alumni, students and fans,” KU Chancellor Doug Girod said in the release. “His generosity is inspiring, and his loyalty to KU runs deep. We are beyond grateful for his transformative gift.”

Added KU Athletic Director Travis Goff: “David’s unprecedented generosity is transformative now and for our future. It accelerates Phase II of the Gateway District and the new ‘Booth’ and inspires others to step up and join in completing this vision. We’re profoundly grateful for David’s leadership and extraordinary impact on generations of student-athletes and fans. There is no more generous and impactful Jayhawk, and we are so fortunate to call him a friend and mentor.”

— For tickets to all KU athletic events, visit kuathletics.com