STANFORD, Calif. – Stanford Athletics and the women's volleyball program are benefiting from a generous gift that will bolster a top-ranked program and enable the Cardinal to retain and recruit the very best coaching staff.
Longtime Stanford Athletics fans, university volunteers, and philanthropists Thomas Montag, '79, and his wife, Janet, have endowed the Montag Family Director of Women's Volleyball. Kevin Hambly, who is in his sixth season at the helm of the program, is the inaugural holder of the title.
"Tom and Janet are loyal Cardinal, and have been staunch supporters of Stanford Athletics for years," said Bernard Muir, the Jaquish & Kenninger Director of Athletics. "We are thrilled to see this show of support for our women's volleyball program. This investment in our coaching staff represents a commitment to those who mentor student-athletes and help them achieve their ambitions."
The Montags have deep ties to Stanford and have supported many initiatives across campus. Tom was a student-athlete during his time on The Farm, playing baseball and rugby. In addition to generous gifts to multiple areas across campus, both Tom and Janet have lent their time and expertise to multiple university initiatives. They were co-chairs of Stanford's Leading Matters, longtime members of the Parents Program Advisory Board, and Tom is currently a member of the SIEPR advisory board and Janet served for 10 years on the Undergraduate Cabinet. Their three children are also alumni of the university.
"Stanford holds a special place in our hearts," said Tom Montag. "We admire what Coach Hambly has done with the program and are excited to support women's volleyball as he continues to mentor student-athletes and excel on the court."
In 2019, Hambly became the seventh head coach in Division I women's volleyball history to lead a school to back-to-back NCAA titles. He is now 139-32 (.813) in six seasons on The Farm, mentoring 10 student-athletes to a combined 18 AVCA All-America honors and three student-athletes to four CoSIDA Academic All-America honors.
Stanford has won more NCAA titles (9), NCAA Tournament matches (132), made more Final Four appearances (23) and been in the national championship match more times (17) than any other program in the nation. The Cardinal has qualified for 41 of the 42 NCAA Tournaments all-time.
"We are incredibly grateful for Janet and Tom's commitment to the Stanford women's volleyball program and the athletics department," said Hambly. "The Montag family has tremendously impacted our student-athletes and the program, and I am honored to represent them."