Trustees approve naming of ‘Koch Family Scoreboard’

There will soon be a “Koch Family Scoreboard" at Duke. 

Exactly who the scoreboard is named for—and whether they are members of the politically active Koch family, most well known for brothers Charles and David—has not been made public, because the naming was accidentally included in a recently released summary of the Board of Trustees last meeting. 

Richard Riddell, senior vice president and secretary to the Board of Trustees, said Monday that the Board approved the naming. He noted, however, that the University typically releases information about these types of things at a date agreed upon with the donors, and therefore would not confirm who specifically gave the money. 

The formal announcement is expected in 30 to 60 days, Riddell said. 

“I don’t want to give out any more information about this, because it’s not supposed to be public yet. But in 30 to 60 days when it’s public, I’m sure [Duke] Athletics would be happy to tell you who the Kochs [are] who gave, were in support of this,” Riddell said. “They support the baseball team, basically. There are members of the Koch family who’ve done it—they want to show their support for baseball.”

At its Nov. 30 meeting, the Resources Committee recommended that the Board approve the naming of the scoreboard, according to the meeting summary. This detailed summary is the first issued as part of a new plan aimed at increasing the transparency of Board meetings, which are closed to the public and reporters.

In addition to the more detailed summaries, a town hall style event will be held next week that is open to members of the Duke community and will allow for students and others involved with the Board of Trustees to answer questions about the Trustees. These meetings will be held after each Board meeting, according to the new transparency initiatives.