$10 million Lavine Family gift sets a new standard for women’s athletics

The announcement arrived quietly but landed with historic force. On January 12, 2026, the Lavine family—long among Columbia University’s most influential and steadfast benefactors—made a $10 million commitment to Columbia’s men’s and women’s basketball programs, a gift that now stands as one of the largest single donations in the history of Columbia Athletics and the largest ever directed to women’s athletics at the university. More than a boost to competitive ambitions, the gift reflects a deeply personal, multi-generational expression of loyalty to an institution that has shaped the Lavines’ lives for decades.

At the center of the gift are Jonathan and Jeannie Lavine, whose relationship with Columbia University extends well beyond alumni pride. Jonathan Lavine, a member of the Columbia College Class of 1988 and Trustee Chair Emeritus, has spent years helping guide the university’s strategic direction, while Jeannie Lavine has been an equally active partner in shaping the family’s philanthropic vision. Their latest contribution establishes the Lavine Family Head Coach of Women’s Basketball endowment, a permanent investment in leadership that immediately confers the named title upon current head coach Megan Griffith, herself a Columbia alumna from the Class of 2007.

For the Lavines, the symbolism of the endowment matters as much as its scale. It is a statement about gender equity in collegiate athletics and about the importance of institutional support for women’s programs that have earned success through discipline and excellence. It is also a declaration of belief in continuity—ensuring that Columbia women’s basketball will always be led by a head coach whose role is fully resourced, protected from the volatility that so often affects non-revenue sports.

The gift is inseparable from the family’s own Columbia story. The Lavines’ daughters, Allison Lavine ’16CC and Emily Lavine Rosin ’18CC, both followed their father to Morningside Heights, as did son-in-law Nathan Rosin ’18CC, reinforcing Columbia as a shared family experience rather than a single chapter. Over time, that connection has translated into wide-ranging philanthropy across the university, touching financial aid, Jewish life, and student experience. In 2018, the Lavines made headlines with a $2.5 million endowment to strengthen Hillel at Columbia, part of a broader commitment to ensuring that students of all backgrounds feel supported and seen.

Jonathan Lavine’s professional life has given him a vantage point from which long-term investment is second nature. As former co-managing partner and current chair of Bain Capital, and a co-founder of the firm’s credit business, he built a career on identifying potential and backing leadership with patience and conviction. Through the Crimson Lion/Lavine Family Foundation, that same philosophy has guided the family’s charitable work, from national organizations such as City Year to education and equity-focused initiatives across the country, including support for programs at Harvard.

At Columbia, athletics has increasingly become a place where the Lavines see their values made visible. Women’s basketball, in particular, has flourished under Griffith, whose tenure includes multiple Ivy League championships and NCAA Tournament appearances, achievements that have elevated the program’s national profile while maintaining the academic rigor expected of Columbia student-athletes. The Lavines’ gift arrives not as a rescue or a corrective, but as an affirmation—an acknowledgment that sustained excellence deserves sustained backing.

University leaders were quick to note the breadth of the Lavines’ impact, emphasizing that their generosity has reached nearly every corner of campus life. Yet the family’s own framing of the gift remains characteristically focused on people rather than prestige: on coaches who mentor, on students who balance scholarship with sport, and on a program that reflects Columbia’s broader mission to develop leaders of intellect and integrity. A public recognition of the gift is planned for February 13, 2026, during the women’s basketball game against Princeton, offering a moment for the community to celebrate not just a donation, but the relationship behind it.

In an era when collegiate athletics is often defined by short-term deals and transactional giving, the Lavine family’s $10 million commitment stands apart. It is permanent, values-driven, and rooted in loyalty—an investment not only in wins and championships, but in the idea that universities are strengthened when donors see themselves as long-term stewards of their institutions’ futures.