Harvard Business School has received a $5 million gift to create programs and provide financial support for students interested in sports management careers.

The donation – donated by alumnus Josh Harris and his wife, Marjorie – will create a Harris Family Fund for sports management and alternative investments at HBS and will aim to “promote diversity, equity and inclusion of people underrepresented in these fields, while simultaneously advancing research,” according to a press release. The fund will build on a previous gift from Harris in 2015, which established the Josh Harris Endowment for Sports Management.

“This generous gift from Josh and Marjorie will remove barriers for our students and spur research within our faculty, creating exciting new opportunities,” HBS Dean Srikant Datar said in a press release.

In an effort to remove financial barriers to entry into sports management careers, the fund will help launch scholarship programs that provide salary supplements to recent graduates. It will also provide scholarships to Executive Education or HBS Online students who are interested in sports-related fields and will support faculty research, curriculum development, and case writing within HBS.

“We know that diversity, equity and inclusion are critical to the long-term viability of every organization,” Datar said. “It’s not just a social or moral imperative, but also increasingly an economic imperative.”

Harris, a graduate of HBS in 1990, is the co-founder of Apollo Global Management, Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment and Harris Philanthropies. He is also the managing partner of the Philadelphia 76ers and general partner of Crystal Palace Football Club. Both Harris and his wife serve on the board of HBS.

“Attending Harvard Business School has had an immeasurable impact on my career, and I am thrilled to give back to an institution that has provided me with so many incredible opportunities,” Harris said in a press release. “This fund will be used to support students from diverse backgrounds who wish to pursue careers in alternative investments or sports management – ​​two industries that are close to my heart but urgently need to include more voices from more communities. .”

—Claire Yuan can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @claireyuan33.