Kevin Durant and the Durant Family Foundation’s $500,000 donation to Bowie State University (BSU) last year has resulted in the construction of a new basketball facility. According to WUSA9, Kevin Durant’s mother, Wanda Durant, helped cut the ribbon on the new court on Thursday.
She said, “When I walked into the gym, I wasn’t expecting this. It was so bright, revived, refreshed. It brought back memories of when my sons played here in the early years.”
The donation was utilized to upgrade the bleachers, increase seating, and remodel the court at Bowie State’s Leonidas S. James Physical Education Complex. It was also employed to improve the broadcasting capabilities of the press box.
“I am grateful to my son for his generous heart,” Wanda Durant said, according to ClutchPoints. “I am grateful that he realized that it’s important for him to give back to an HBCU, and maybe he will be a catalyst for other athletes in the area and throughout the country to give back to HBCUs.”
According to BSU President Aminta Breaux, the Durant Family Foundation funding had a big influence because the university does not receive state funding for athletics.
“It looks much more conducive to the type of environment that we need for our student-athletes to compete on and to win,” Breaux expressed. “But it’s also about the overall student experience and making sure that the students have the quality of facilities that they need… The Durant Foundation has stepped up in a unique and wonderful way to make this possible.”
In addition to arena enhancements, the donor established a scholarship fund for Durant Center College Track students who attend Bowie State University.
Despite growing up near Bowie State University, Maryland’s first historically black institution or university, the NBA player did not go.
Kevin Durant launched the Durant Family Foundation, a non-profit organization, in 2013. The foundation’s website states that its mission is to enhance the lives of at-risk adolescents from low-income families through educational, athletic, and social initiatives.