On Pottruck's HOF plaque: This is his second induction into the Penn Athletics Hall of Fame; he was a Class III inductee for his undergraduate exploits in wrestling and football. He receives this Lifetime Achievement Award based on his outstanding philanthropic efforts with Penn Athletics. That includes but is not limited to serving as the lead donor for the Pottruck Physical Fitness Center (located at 37th and Walnut), the Wharton Leadership Academy, and the Center For Student-Athlete Success.

By Marc Narducci

Earning one Penn Athletics Hall of Fame honor wasn't big enough for David Pottruck C'70 WG'72. For all he has done in his athletic career, and certainly in his post-Penn playing days, it seems only fitting that Pottruck will become the first person to earn a second induction.
 
Pottruck, who earned his MBA at Wharton in 1972, is among 11 members of the Penn Athletics Hall of Fame Class XII. The 11-person group will be inducted May 7 in a ceremony to be held at the Inn at Penn.
 
Pottruck was a Class III inductee for his accomplishments as a football player and wrestler. This time, he is receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award based on his long-time support of the University of Pennsylvania and especially Penn Athletics.
 
"It's very humbling," Pottruck said of his latest honor.
 
Pottruck's path to Penn took an unexpected U-turn that eventually changed his life. He grew up in Levittown, New York, a Long Island suburb, where he was a standout in football and wrestling and was recruited for football by many East Coast schools.
 
Initially, he decided to accept a full football scholarship to Rutgers. Penn assistant Joe Stanczyk, who had been recruiting Pottruck, called him and got right to the point.
 
"Are you crazy?" Stanczyk asked.
 
Pottruck explained that getting a full scholarship to Rutgers would help his family out financially.
 
Stanczyk then said he would see what he could do.
 
Pottruck was eventually offered a full, need-based scholarship to Penn. He accepted that, a decision he says today is the best he ever made.
 
Pottruck didn't have any loans to pay off when he graduated, but he has been giving back to Penn in so many ways ever since. Of primary note from an athletics standpoint, he served as the lead donor for the Pottruck Health and Fitness Center, the Wharton Leadership Academy, and the Pottruck Center for Student-Athlete Success.

Before The Health and Fitness Center was built in the middle of campus, Penn students had to go off-campus to private gyms, some quite a distance, just to work out.
 
For Pottruck, the development of the total student-athlete was important, which is why he proposed the Wharton Leadership Academy. Now all incoming student-athletes take part in leadership courses there.
 
"It was a huge passion of mine, that the student-athletes at an Ivy League institution should be more than just athletes," he said. "They should be future leaders, too, and I felt like we needed to make sure that they leave with that ability thanks to our help teaching them what they needed to learn."
 
The Pottruck Center for Student-Athlete Success provides counseling, career planning, help with summer internships and more.
 
"His Leadership Academy and what he has put forth has been game-changing for our student-athletes," Penn football coach Ray Priore said. "These young men and women are developing into future leaders, like Dave."
 
Cultivating relationships with student-athletes, coaches and administrators has been of the utmost importance to Pottruck.
 
"There is no question his philanthropy is off the charts, but it goes well beyond that. Dave is invested in a very personal way," said Alanna Shanahan, C'96, who was named the T. Gibbs Kane, Jr. W'69 Director of Athletics and Recreation at the Penn on June 2, 2021, but has worked at the University for two decades. "He takes the time to meet with athletics leaders and staff and understand how he can make the best impact."
 
No story is complete without detailing Pottruck's athletic achievements at Penn. A linebacker and nose guard in football, he started all 27 games over three varsity seasons. (During his time, freshmen were ineligible to compete on varsity). In his final season, he was named honorable mention All-Ivy and honored with the Football Club Award, given to the senior who earned scholastic achievement while displaying competitive spirit, sportsmanship, cooperation and unselfish devotion to the team.
 
As a wrestler, Pottruck helped Penn earn Ivy League titles his sophomore and junior seasons. Penn went 27-2-1, and he was ranked in the top 10 in the nation at 190 pounds as an undergraduate. After Penn, Pottruck won the gold medal in the 1973 Maccabiah Olympic Game in Greco-Roman wrestling. He also served as the honorary captain of 2000 USA Olympic Freestyle wrestling team in Sydney. As honorary captain, Pottruck witnessed the gold medal performance of former Penn star Brandon Slay at 76 kilos, 167 pounds.
 
"Dave has been a fantastic mentor for me since I arrived in Philadelphia in 1993," Slay said. "He thankfully took the time to give me advice on life and my wrestling career, and he showed me the importance of leadership and having strong mentors."
 
In addition to his athletic career, Pottruck served as a wrestling assistant for two seasons.
 
"Speaking for our program, I can't begin to express the gratitude I have," said Penn's current wrestling coach, Roger Reina. "There are many words I can use to describe Dave, but the phrase 'incredibly loyal' is a central one. Dave is incredibly loyal both to the sport of wrestling and to Penn."
 
Pottruck has contributed much more to the University outside the athletic realm. For instance, he has donated money for the medical school, the Parkinson Center and the Huntsman Center, just to name a few. He has also endowed a Wharton professorship.
 
Pottruck says he has received much more from Penn than he has given.
 
"This is not just coming from a place of generosity, it's coming from place of gratitude," Pottruck said.
 
What Penn did for him, Pottruck says, is open his eyes to much greater opportunities in the world than he envisioned.
 
"My goals coming to Penn were not very big," he says.
 
He adds that before coming to Penn, he didn't know many successful business professionals. At Penn, he was exposed to teammates and classmates who had a parent or relative working at Wall Street.
 
"I said, 'how is that exciting, sitting at a desk, pushing papers around,' but what I came to learn is that business is like sports, it is about winning and losing, about doing great things," he said. "It's about inspiring employees to want to give all of themselves in a bigger way to compete against other companies."
 
He credits Penn with showing him the advantages and excitement of competing daily in the business world.
 
"Due to Penn, I was lucky to recognize that there was this other avenue for my competitive energy and that was called the business world," he said.
 
Over the years Pottruck has enjoyed many successful business ventures, but the highlight was an incomparable 20-year run at Charles Schwab, which he joined in 1984. He began as executive vice president of marketing and eventually became Schwab's president and COO in 1992, co-CEO with Chuck Schwab in 1998 and CEO in 2002.
 
During Pottruck's tenure at Schwab, the company's assets in custody grew from $5 billion to more than $1 trillion and the equity value of Schwab grew from roughly $50 million to approximately $16 billion.
 
Despite all his accolades, Pottruck says it doesn't get any more special than this latest Penn Athletics Hall of Fame induction.
 
"I'm never at a loss for words, but I am somewhat at a loss for words here because this is really touching to me," he said. "Of all the alumni, all the people who have been so generous to Penn in so many different ways, that I would be selected for an award like this is very emotional to me."