Condoleeza Rice, who served as secretary of state under former President George W. Bush, has been added to the Denver Broncos new ownership group.
The group, which is led by Walmart heir Rob Walton, announced her addition Monday in a statement, which was shared on the team’s Twitter account.
“A highly respected public servant, accomplished academic and corporate leader, Secretary Rice is well known as a passionate and knowledgeable football fan who has worked to make the sport stronger and better. She is the daughter of a football coach and served on the inaugural College Football Playoff Committee. ... Her unique experience and extraordinary judgment will be a great benefit to our group and the Broncos organization,” Walton said in the statement.
He noted that, in addition to having strong ties to the football world, Rice has strong ties to Colorado. She lived in Denver as a teenager and “went on to attend the University of Denver for both college and graduate school.”
In her own statement, Rice described the opportunity to join the Denver Broncos ownership group as an honor.
“Football has been an integral part of my life since the moment it was introduced to me, and I am thrilled to be a part of the Broncos organization today. I spent much of my younger years in Denver, so to be able to combine my love of the game with my love for this great city and team is an adventure of a lifetime and a great opportunity,” she said.
Rice, a longtime Cleveland Browns fan, was previously rumored to be in the running to be that team’s head coach, according to NFL.com’s Around the NFL news team. Last fall, during an appearance on Peyton and Eli Manning’s Monday Night Football show, she addressed the rumors and told the brothers she had no interest in coaching.
If Rice had gotten the Browns coaching job, she would have been the league’s first female head coach. She is the second Black woman to join the Denver Broncos’ current ownership group, Sports Illustrated reported.