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The Moment: November 2025
In this issue
March 19, 1892. Stanford and Cal are set to face off in the inaugural Big Game. The venue? Haight Street Grounds in San Francisco. The crowd? More than 5,000, arriving by dray and carriage. The ball? No ball. Everyone forgot to bring one.
Let us pause and appreciate those simpler times. Okay, now let us appreciate how much more dialed-in today’s Stanford community is. This month, we bring you four student-athletes crushing it at game time and otherwise, plus a groundbreaking law school project bringing justice to one of the harshest sentencing regimes in California. We also explore Stanford’s leadership in the evolving future of college sports; don’t miss the video explaining what, exactly, NIL is. Finally, we bring you a photo essay from inside On Call Café—a joyful oasis of chaos, karaoke, and caffeine that could only happen here.
The spirit of improvisation and ambition is alive and well on the Farm—whether it’s in the courtroom, behind an espresso machine, or under the lights at the Big Game later this month.
And don’t feel too bad about that 1892 snafu. A makeshift football-like object was eventually produced and Stanford won 14–10. The student who orchestrated the game—a young Herbert Hoover—went on to convince the world he knew what he was doing.
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Undoing injustice
Stanford Law School’s Three Strikes Project began as a challenge to draconian sentences. What followed is a national movement in criminal justice reform.
Undoing injustice
Learn about the team turning unjust sentences into second chances.Stanford Law School’s Three Strikes Project began as a challenge to draconian sentences. What followed is a national movement in criminal justice reform.
College sports have been ... changing. Student athletes are making money like the pros through their NIL. Stanford is getting in the game.
Sustaining our edge
Read how Stanford’s principled approach is shaping the future of college athletics.As college sports transform under new NIL rules, Stanford is charting a path that keeps education—and integrity—at the heart of competition.
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Coffee and community on call.
Espresso? Optional. Connection? Unavoidable.
Check out this behind-the-scenes photo tour.At the On Call Café, what started as a scrappy student pop-up has become a campus hub for decompressing, swapping stories, and building community.
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Elia Rubin
What it means to compete, lead, and belong
Meet these Changemakers!These student-athletes show that leadership isn’t just about spotlight moments—it’s about how you show up when no one’s watching.
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