One of the most prominent owners in North American sports is Knoxville native Jimmy Haslam, who owns the Cleveland Browns, Milwaukee Bucks, and Columbus Crew of MLS. The Tennessee graduate has been involved in sports ownership for nearly the last 20 years and is the brother of former Tennessee governor Bill Haslam, who owns the Nashville Predators.
Jimmy Haslam is back in the news with a historic $130 million donation to Tennessee, which, as of today, is the largest donation in the school’s history. Haslam and his wife Dee said, “We are honored to make this investment in UT and the Haslam College of Business,” in a joint statement. “The university is experiencing extraordinary momentum, and we are proud to help elevate its national reputation, attract world-class faculty, and support the next generation of leaders — all while keeping the best and brightest here in Tennessee.”
Tennessee received a $130 million investment from Browns owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam, the largest in its university’s history.https://t.co/ScIO4tVgX3
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) June 4, 2026
Jimmy and Dee Haslam donate $130 million to Tennessee
For sports fans, unfortunately, none of this money will go to athletics, but that’s okay. Strong academics are always a good sign of a great university as well. $100 million of the donation will go toward the Haslam College of Business “to attract distinguished faculty and further enhance its student success initiatives, graduate student scholarships, and undergraduate honors program.” As a former business school graduate who recently went to a newly renovated building that had new funding, it helps a lot and makes the academics feel much easier to engage with.
The other $30 million “will be directed to a campus-wide effort to recruit world-renowned faculty across academic disciplines, supporting UT’s continued rise as a leader in research, innovation, and discovery,” according to the university. It also helps bring in better professors with even more experience and expertise in the fields they teach. The future is very bright in Knoxville, with many young minds benefiting from this donation. Haslam has now donated nearly $200 million during his lifetime, which is impressive, and maybe now a couple of other big-time donors will step up and try to get their names in the spotlight with some more donations. It's not unheard of for this to happen, like a domino effect.
The donations go toward academics, but that’s okay. Athletes still prioritize academics even in this era. Not everyone does, but some definitely do.
It’s a great time to hop on the Tennessee bandwagon. The football team has a new defensive coordinator and a five-star quarterback, Rick Barnes has built a national title contender in basketball, and the academics continue to be strong as well. Buy stock now.
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