Michigan has had its athletic director and football coach positions endowed by donors — today, the basketball coach officially has a new title, a gift from Los Angeles natives David and Meredith Kaplan of Los Angeles, both university alumni.

The position, currently held by John Beilein, will be named the David and Meredith Kaplan Men's Basketball Head Coach.

The naming and endowment of the position was approved by the U-M Board of Regents during its June meeting. The $7.5 million gift includes funding for the head basketball coach position, the David and Meredith Kaplan Men's Basketball Endowed Scholarship Fund, and Athletic Department facilities improvements.

"We are so grateful to David and Meredith for this generous gift," Warde Manuel, the Donald R. Shepherd Director of Athletics, said. "The Kaplans are longtime advocates for this great university, and they recognize the unique benefits of team sports as part of the educational experience.

"I am constantly reminded that the dedication and commitment to excellence of our student-athletes are matched by the loyalty and support of our alumni and friends. This gift from David and Meredith is a true reflection of that commitment."

The Kaplans have also assisted in the creation of the Michigan Israel Partnership for Research, funded scholarships at the Stephen M. Ross School of Business, supported initiatives in the Office of Student Life, the Office of Financial Aid and the Athletic Department, including funding for the Michigan Stadium Renovation and scholarships for student-athletes in men's basketball. They also serve on several Boards nationally.

"This is a tremendous honor to have my position at Michigan named after someone as admirable as David and Meredith Kaplan," Beilein said. "The Kaplans have been so generous to the university, not just through an endowed scholarship for athletics, but also to the Ross Business School, Life Sciences Institute and Office of Financial Aid.

"On a personal level, Kathleen and I consider David and Meredith to be more than benevolent alums ... they are true friends to us and our entire basketball family. I will do my very best to represent this position with as much success, class and dignity as David and Meredith have represented this outstanding institution as alums."

Beilein has collected a program-record 215 victories in 10 seasons at U-M. He has guided the Wolverines to seven NCAA Tournament appearances, including helping the team make its return after an 11-year NCAA Tournament absence as well as a trip to the Final Four in 2013 following a 20-year absence.

U-M has claimed a pair of Big Ten regular-season crowns during his tenure, capturing a share of the 2012 title — the first since 1986 — and following with the program's first outright Big Ten crown in 28 years in 2014. In 2017, U-M overcame a plane accident to win four games in four days and become lowest seed to ever win the Big Ten Tournament.

"Meredith and I are absolutely thrilled to provide this gift to Michigan and with special recognition of our friend John Beilein," David Kaplan said. "John exemplifies what is good and wholesome in college sports, and we are delighted that his leadership abilities were on display for all to see during the program's remarkable run this past March.

"As an undergraduate senior in 1989, I was fortunate to have been a student during a historic year for Michigan athletics. I was lucky to be present in Seattle for the culmination of what was an epic NCAA men's basketball championship run. Watching our team of diverse individuals come together as a group successfully running the tournament gauntlet instilled in me a lesson that I have carried throughout my adult life.

"As Coach [Bo] Schembechler so famously said a few years earlier, 'No man is more important than the team. No coach is more important than the team. The team. The team. The team.' That basketball championship left an enduring mark on Meredith and me, and it is an absolute thrill for us to support Coach Beilein, a Michigan man who carries on that lasting message of the whole being greater than the sum of the parts."