Buck/Cardinal Club History
In June of 1934, four dedicated Stanford men met to discuss the growing concerns facing Stanford's student-athletes. They were the founding members of the "Tiny Buck of the Month Club." Members of the club were required to donate one dollar a month to support scholarships for athletes. The word "Tiny" reminded everyone of the small monthly contribution and honored the head football coach "Tiny" Thornhill. The Club's name was eventually shortened to the "Stanford Buck Club" and the membership dues were revised.
The Cardinal Club was formed in 1977 to help provide scholarship aid for women's sports. After competing with the Men's Club as it was called, they merged in 1985 to concentrate the fundraising efforts of both clubs on ALL athletes. After a few name changes, the Buck/Cardinal Club was formed and is now the driving force behind both scholarship aid and program support for Stanford student-athletes.
Almost $6 million is currently raised annually in scholarship aid and program support through the gifts of the Buck/Cardinal Club and Buck/Cardinal Champions Fund's 6,000 members. The Buck/Cardinal Champions Fund was added in 2006 to provide priority seating at Stanford Stadium.