Bill Belichick: Bill Belichick Foundation

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Steve Belichick dedicated his life to college football – as a coach and as a scout – for 43 years. Most of that time was spent at the Naval Academy, where he instilled the principles of loyalty, discipline and commitment in his team.

Steve took these principles home with him, instilling the same values in his family, kickstarting a family commitment to coaching and mentoring.

Steve’s granddaughter, Amanda, is the interim head coach of the women’s lacrosse team at Wesleyan University.

His grandson Steve is a coaching assistant on the Patriots.

But the most recognizable name in the family is undoubtedly Steve’s son, Bill.

Bill Belichick. Head coach of the New England Patriots.

Growing up around his father Steve and the athletes at the Naval Academy, Bill Belichick grew up with a love of football, and a love of coaching.

Although he played in the NFL with the Baltimore Colts, his physical and athletic skills were overshadowed by his football knowledge and strategic prowess – a trait that had been identified early on by his Wesleyan teammates.

Bill Belichick began his coaching career and in 1991, at the age of 37, became the youngest head coach in the NFL. The Cleveland Browns made the playoffs only once in the next five years though, and in 1995 Belichick was fired.

Belichick was unfazed by this setback, taking assistant coaching jobs with the Patriots and the Jets, until he was offered a second stint as a head coach, another opportunity to run his own program.

At the turn of the century, Bill Belichick was named the 14th head coach of the New England Patriots. His most controversial move, albeit one that in hindsight seems obvious, was to start unknown backup Tom Brady over starting quarterback Drew Bledsoe in his second season as head coach.

The Patriots, under the leadership of Belichick and Brady, advanced to Super Bowl XXXVI where they toppled the favorites, the ST. Louis Rams in the final seconds of the heart-stopping game, notching two more Super Bowl victories in the next three years.

With Super Bowl XXXVIII under his belt, Belichick moved ahead of the legendary Vince Lombardi with a playoff record of 10-1. In the next decade, Belichick established himself as one of the greatest NFL coaches of all time as the only head coach in NFL history to win three Super Bowl championships in a four-year span. Most impressively, ranking third in history among coaches with 150 or more wins, trailing only George Halas (.682) and Don Shula (.666).

Bill grew up in Annapolis, M.D (as a child of Steve Belichick, football coach at the Naval Academy), and had remained tied to the region throughout the years, starting a scholarship fund for Annapolis High School students in 2003, targeted at students who have improved or excelled academically while participating in athletics. He has supported events to aid his alma matter Wesleyan University, which established a full, four-year scholarship for incoming students named the Belichick Scholarship.

In 2013, Belichick sought to expand his influence in the region beyond football and into philanthropy with the start of his own organization, the Bill Belichick Foundation.

The foundation aims to provide coaching, mentorship and financial support to individuals, communities and organizations. With a specific focus on football and lacrosse (Bill’s daughter Amanda is a lacrosse coach at Wesleyan and his son, Brian plays lacrosse for Trinity College), its mission is to bring the values of the Belichick family – a love of sports, coaching and team building – to the athletic leaders of tomorrow.

“My goal is to recognize, support and endow those with great potential who have a need for additional help and resources,” Belichick said. “Mentorship has been ingrained in our family and we take a team approach to just about everything we do.”

As part of its launch, the foundation teamed up with Celebrities for Charity to raffle off lucky draw tickets for a meet-and-greet and luxury suite tickets to watch the Patriots-Bills game on Dec. 29, 2013. Arlyn Weeks of Scarborough, ME, and guest Bob Allen, watched the Patriots 34-20 victory from Coach Belichick’s suite on a night that raised $55, 000 for the foundation.

“It was one of the best Pats experiences of my 47 years a fan,” said Allen.

The money raised went towards the Steve Belichick Scholarship Fund which was created in 2003, initial benefiting Annapolis High School students, but with the creation of the foundation, will now extend greater into the New England region.As of Spring 2014, the foundation started collecting applications for ten $1000 scholarships for individuals and five $5000 grants to deserving school organizations in need of additional support.

The Bill Belichick Foundation looks set to expand its impact with the years to come. But for Bill, this is way more than putting the family vision into action through others. It’s about paying forward the help and guidance he has received on his path to success. 

“We have been helped by so many people,” Belichick said. “We look forward to helping others however we can by relating our experiences and life lessons through a variety of athletic programs and services.”

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