Curry, Berman Jump Start Funding for Davidson College Basketball Alums Will Take Volunteer, Assistant GM Titles

The combined gift, to be called the Curry-Berman Fund, will provide a critical start for Davidson’s efforts to compete in a transformed college sports world in which colleges and universities share revenue with players. 

Curry and fellow alum Matt Berman also will serve as assistant general managers for Davidson basketball. The college asked them to serve as volunteer advisers, investing their time and sharing their experience with both men’s and women’s basketball. 

Davidson also has hired Austin Buntz as general manager and assistant athletic director for basketball development. Buntz is a former member of the global basketball sports marketing team at Under Armour and has been on the athletic fundraising team at Davidson since 2021.  

Curry, a two-time NBA MVP, said he wants Davidson’s scholar-athletes to be able to compete in the top ranks of college athletics in a landscape where those athletes are compensated for use of their name, image and likeness. 

“The Davidson experience is top notch,” Curry said. “My journey from when I got to Davidson in 2006 to now demonstrated that I had the opportunity to play basketball at the highest level, got a great education, an amazing network through the Davidson alumni and continue to wave the Davidson flag. I want very talented, high character student athletes to have that same experience.” 

Berman, who played soccer for three years at Davidson and has an ownership stake in the English football club Burnley FC, said Davidson provided a formative experience for him and that he hopes his family’s gift will spark support across the college community.  

The new fund will help Davidson, in an upended collegiate landscape, to sustain a central part of its identity and culture, said Davidson College President Doug Hicks ’90. 

“For Davidson, providing one of the best athletic programs in the country is an integral part of our identity as one of the nation’s best liberal arts colleges,” Hicks said. “The Currys and Bermans have provided an extraordinary gift, and they will give of their own time and expertise to ensure that we can continue providing an unparalleled educational experience — for our scholar-athletes and for our entire college community.” 

Davidson College announced in February that it would opt in to the landmark settlement of a long-running lawsuit against the NCAA that seeks compensation for athletes for endorsements and media appearances, including game broadcast rights. That settlement, once finalized, would allow colleges and universities to compensate athletes for use of their name, image and likeness — revenue that the athletes already can secure from corporate sponsors.

Chris Clunie ’06, vice president and director of athletics, wrote in a message to the college community last month that the college enters the new sports environment while upholding its commitment to academics, leadership, service and integrity. 

Davidson long has stood out in college sports for, among other distinctions, grade point averages and graduation rates among athletes that even edge ahead of the college’s overall figures. 

Clunie said basketball remains Davidson’s flagship sport but the benefits of focusing on that game extend further. 

“When our basketball programs are successful,” Clunie wrote, “they provide much-needed revenue and exposure to support all our athletics programs and raise the overall visibility of the college.” 

Clunie pledged that no other college programming — academic or student life — and no other sport would be cut to fund the revenue sharing for basketball. He wrote that the college would raise additional money. 

Curry’s and Berman’s announcement filled in the details for how Davidson will launch that effort. Hicks and Clunie said their aim is to further build capacity for revenue sharing through additional fundraising, an effort to be led by Buntz. 

Matt McKillop, men’s basketball head coach, said the Atlantic 10 is going to keep pace with being one of the top basketball-centric conferences in the country and Davidson wants to compete for championships every year.

Gayle Fulks, women’s basketball head coach, said the Curry-Berman gift is transformative. 

“We enter this new world of college sports with the ability to compete for championships,” Fulks said. “We are eager to build on this generosity in order for Davidson to continue to match up with the other teams in our conference, and we are grateful to Stephen, Matt and other alums and supporters who have stood shoulder to shoulder with us.” 

Curry’s and Berman’s involvement includes sharing their advice from years in the college and professional sports worlds and helping guide the teams in a collegiate athletic environment that has taken on facets of the pros. 

“The goal for this is to invest in the next student athlete that’s coming into Davidson today,” Curry said. “They don’t have to take cuts on what the market says they deserve to be part of the brand of what it means to be a Davidson scholar-athlete with integrity in your academic experience. The commitment to a four-year graduation process provides countless opportunities professionally in sports or as a game changer in life. And that leads into my role as an assistant GM with Matt Berman – our ability to be a resource and a sounding board for the program, but also support each student athlete, to develop personal relationships with each of them to help guide them every step of the way through their Davidson experience.” 

Curry’s pro career has drawn sponsorships, most prominently from Under Armour, and he has established his own for-profit companies. His philanthropic efforts, along with his wife, Ayesha, include the Eat.Learn.Play Foundation in Oakland, California, and his Underrated Tour, which provides access and opportunities for amateur golfers on and off the course.

Berman’s father, Don, founded Cardworks, a consumer finance company in which Matt and his sister, Erica, have served as executives. Don Berman and Bob McKillop, former head men’s basketball coach, have a lifelong connection from high school basketball on Long Island. Matt Berman now manages the family’s businesses, including an ownership stake in Burnley FC, an English football club about 30 miles north of Manchester. Erica Berman led the family’s bid to restart Charlotte’s WNBA team. 

“This Curry-Berman gift weaves together Davidson’s rare strengths,” Hicks said, “especially the power of community among alums and leaders, to help move the college forward in an uncharted world of college athletics.”