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For years, supporters have proudly boasted, “We’re Duke and you’re not.”
No question that the 2025 Blue Devils are among the best teams to ever reach the Final Four, a solid favorite over Auburn, Florida and Houston to bring home another NCAA championship behind a literally rich roster.
Duke not only has transcendent talent, but a chemistry that most teams can only dream of, led by point guard-postman Cooper Flagg who plays the game so easily that much of what he does goes unnoticed.
So is it good fortune, or money a private school never has to reveal, that has made the Devils almost unbeatable in San Antonio? Duke is notorious for keeping things secret beyond immunity from public records requests, and now the biggest donors can give directly to the basketball program and will only brag if and when a 6th banner is raised.
The Wall Street Journal reported a story this week with the headline: “The Dark Money Behind Duke Basketball,” with a subhead that reads “The Blue Devils have a Final Four roster that takes millions of dollars to assemble, but exactly who is paying for it remains a mystery. That’s no accident.”
It started with a private fund-raising enterprise in 1999 after Mike Krzyzewski won back-back national championships in 1991 and ’92 and returned from missing most of the 1995 season. He had rehabilitated his injured back and his program that went 13-18 without him. Miffed for years how the Iron Dukes booster club was distributing money to all the varsity sports, Coach K said something like, “Screw that, we don’t want any of it.”
The Legacy Fund was a men’s basketball-only enterprise to fully endow scholarships and coaching positions and build much-needed new facilities. Cameron Indoor Stadium may look the same inside – on purpose to retain the home court advantage – but visitors can wander through museum-like exterior hallways that celebrate the glorious past of Blue Devil hoops.
The minimum gift to the Legacy Fund is $1 million (Grant Hill made the first during his all-star NBA career), and three more national championships kept the money flowing in. Initially, it was run by Coach K’s consigliere Mike Cragg, who used that profile to eventually land the St. John’s athletic directorship. And it is truly the legacy to Krzyzewski’s two-decade succession plan that led to the hiring of Jon Scheyer.
Fast forward to the NIL era and pay-for-play salaries that begin after this season. NIL is an addition only the wealthiest schools can still afford, and Duke does it through deals arranged by Creative Artist Agency that has long-managed Coach K’s dealings. Negotiating player salaries is handled by general manager Rachel Baker, who has NBA and Nike on her resume.
Most of the money comes from hush-hush VC funds like one based in Arkansas that only silent mega-boosters know about. That is one reason a previous story in the WSJ is headlined, “Sorry, America, Duke Looks Completely Unstoppable Again.”
Featured image via Todd Melet
Art Chansky is a veteran journalist who has written ten books, including best-sellers “Game Changers,” “Blue Bloods,” and “The Dean’s List.” He has contributed to WCHL for decades, having made his first appearance as a student in 1971. His “Sports Notebook” commentary airs daily on the 97.9 The Hill WCHL and his “Art’s Angle” opinion column runs weekly on Chapelboro.Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our newsletter.
