NBA’s Mitchell pledges $12M to alma mater

Greenwich Country Day donation will go toward new athletic center

GREENWICH — NBA superstar Donovan Mitchell is giving back to his alma mater in Greenwich in a big way.

Greenwich Country Day School announced Friday that the Utah Jazz all-star player and his family have pledged the largest single gift in the private school’s history: $12 million to support construction of a new athletic center, student scholarships and a faculty recognition program. Mitchell graduated from the ninth grade there in 2012.

“As great an athlete as he was, Donovan was an even nicer young man,” Head of School Adam Rohdie said. “He is a man of the highest character and he has lived his life embodying the Country Day creed of Tiger Pride, which asks our students to be kind, empathetic, respectful, thoughtful, and to act with the highest levels of integrity.”

The Mitchell family has deep ties with Greenwich Country Day. Mitchell’s mother, Nicole, taught at the Lower Elementary School from 2007 to 2019 and his sister, Jordan, graduated in 2017.

The gift will create the Mitchell Family Scholarship Fund, which will provide need-based aid for students in nursery school through 12th grade. It will also create the Nicole Mitchell Faculty Support Fund, a monetary gift given at the beginning of each school year to one teacher from each of the four divisions with at least three

years of tenure and who has demonstrated the “passion, enthusiasm, optimism, and love for children always shown by Nicole Mitchell,” according to a statement.

“These two funds perfectly highlight Donovan’s understanding of the power of a great education,” Rohdie said. “This gift will allow GCDS to reach an even broader cross-section of students and it allows us to celebrate those teachers that make the magic at our school every day.”

In addition, the money will allow the school to build the “D.O.N.! The Determination Over Negativity Mitchell Family Athletic Center,” a state-of-the-art facility with an NCAA regulation basketball court.

“I know how lucky I have been to have the foundation of my education happen here at Country Day,” Mitchell said. “This school has shaped who I am in so many ways, and I feel blessed to be able to give back and make the Country Day experience available for more kids especially those from innercity neighborhoods or with backgrounds like mine.”

Last year, Greenwich Country Day added a high school and athletic teams. In September, the school received approval from the Greenwich Planning and Zoning Commission for a new field house, two synthetic turf fields and bleachers.

Mitchell, 24, grew up in Westchester County, N.Y. His mother was a Greenwich Country Day teacher and his father is director of player relations for the New York Mets. Mitchell attended Greenwich Country Day until graduating from ninth grade, with brief stints at Canterbury School, in New Milford, and Brewster Academy, in New Hampshire, for high school.

The 6-foot-3 guard was highly touted coming out of high school and earned a scholarship to the University of Louisville, where he was named first-team allAtlantic Coast Conference as a sophomore at the NCAA powerhouse.

He declared for the NBA draft in 2017 and was selected with the 13th pick by the Denver Nuggets, but was quickly traded to the

Utah Jazz, where he has played since. The explosive guard finished second in Rookie of the Year voting, has won a Slam Dunk Competition and was named an All-Star in the 2019-20 season that was disrupted

by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In March, Mitchell and Jazz teammate Rudy Gobert tested positive for the coronavirus, after which the NBA suspended its season. Play resumed in August, and Mitchell led the Jazz in

a playoff match-up against the Nuggets, which the Jazz ultimately lost in seven games.

Just before Thanksgiving, Mitchell signed a five-year rookie extension with the Jazz that would guarantee

him at least $163 million.

“Over the past few years on my NBA journey, I have made it my mission to champion the causes of equity, social justice, and equal opportunity, especially in education,” Mitchell

said “There is no better school anywhere to carry forward this mission and my family is excited to make this happen.”

Tyler Sizemore / Hearst Connecticut Media Basketball superstar Donovan Mitchell speaks at the Boys & Girls Club of Greenwich in October. The former Greenwich Country Day School student is donating $12 million to the school.

Ashley Landis / Associated Press In this Aug. 30 file photo, Utah Jazz's Donovan Mitchell, center, goes up to shoot as Denver Nuggets' Jerami Grant, left, and Paul Millsap, right, defend during the second half of an NBA basketball first round playoff game in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. Mitchell agreed Nov. 22 to a five-year, $163 million extension to remain with the Jazz. He is donating $12 million to Greenwich Country Day School to build a new athletic center and fund scholarships, the school reports.

Contributed artwork A drawing of the D.O.N.! The Determination Over Negativity Mitchell Family Athletic Center, which will be built at Greenwich Country Day School, thanks to a $12 million donation from NBA star Donovan Mitchell announced by the school on Friday.

Hearst Connecticut Media file photo After he was honored for graduating, Donovan V. Mitchell Jr. hugs Headmaster Adam C. Rohdie during Greenwich Country Day School's 85th commencement on June 14, 2012.