Harvard maintains an extensive athletic program with 1,400 undergraduates participating in 41 sports, more than any other Division I school in the country, Jeremy R. Knowles, dean of the faculty of arts and sciences, told the Gazette.

But Harvard's successful program "has become increasingly expensive to maintain," Knowles said.

Murphy agreed with Knowles' depiction of a progressively more frugal athletic department, adding that this situation is not unique to Harvard.

"Money is increasingly becoming a premium in athletics," he said. "Colleges are dropping sports left and right."

Murphy said he sees the endowment as a sign of possible future endowments in the department.

"[It is quite] conceivably the first step towards endowing other sports' coaching positions," he said.

If the coaching endowment works as other gifts do, the principle portion will be invested and some interest from this capital will be paid out to support the position for years to come, according to Assistant Sports Information Director Michael A. Jackman.

The Stephenson family has been active among Harvard alumni for four generations.

Stephenson himself is a former director and vice president of the Harvard Alumni Association and a former director of the Harvard Club of San Francisco, according to the Gazette report.

"And I have never been sorry, for I get more out of working for Harvard than I put in," Stephenson told the Gazette.

Stephenson, who is currently in own for a 30th anniversary reunion, is a resident of Atherton, California and a partner in the venture capital firm Sequoia Capital.

"Now seemed the perfect time to help Harvard's athletic program to achieve the self-sufficiency that only endowment can provide," Stephenson told the Gazette