Steelers co-owner donates $50M+ to Hampden-Sydney

Billionaire Pittsburgh Steelers minority owner Rob Citrone and his wife, Cindy, are donating more than $50 million to Hampden-Sydney College — the largest gift in the school’s 250-year history — to launch a full-tuition scholarship program for top prospective students.

The Citrone Scholars Program will offer four-year, merit-based scholarships to help Hampden-Sydney attract and educate more “young men of intellect, character and purpose,” according to the college.

“Rob and Cindy’s investment bolsters the college’s ability to attract even more of the most talented young men to Hampden-Sydney, where they will benefit from, and contribute to, the college’s distinctive educational experience,” Hampden-Sydney President Larry Stimpert said in a statement.

Rob Citrone, co-founder of hedge fund Discovery Capital Management, serves on Hampden-Sydney’s Board of Trustees. He graduated from Hampden-Sydney in 1987 with a degree in economics and mathematics before earning his MBA at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business.

“Hampden-Sydney shaped the foundation of who I am — as a thinker, a leader, and a person,” he said in a statement. “The education I received here didn’t just prepare me for a career — it prepared me for life.”

Cindy Citrone is a former Hampden-Sydney trustee who remains an active member of the college’s James Madison Society. Through their C33 Foundation, the couple support a wide range of philanthropic initiatives ranging from local community engagement to global impact.

“Over many years, the Citrones’ investments in the college’s educational program have provided scholarship funding, supported student research, and helped the college launch new academic and co-curricular initiatives,” Stimpert said in a statement. “In 2020, they provided $6 million to launch Compass, the college’s signature initiative that connects classroom learning with real-world experience. This program guarantees every student a funded internship, research project or study-abroad opportunity.”

The private, men’s liberal arts college has not yet said how many scholarships will be awarded per entering class, what the selection process will entail, or when the first cohort of recipients will be chosen. It also did not specify whether the $50 million investment will support the Citrone Scholars Program permanently or if it planned to grow the program through future fundraising.

Founded in 1775, Hampden-Sydney had a 2024 enrollment of 946 students.