Wayne Valley

F. Wayne Valley (1914–1986) was an American businessman, philanthropist and football player. He attended Oregon State University in the 1930s, where he was a starting linebacker and fullback on the Oregon State Beavers football team, though he would ultimately graduate with a business degree from the University of Oregon. He would later go on to a successful career in the homebuilding industry, starting his first building business in the late 1940s. His businesses were based in the East Bay city of San Leandro, California where he lived. He and his family later moved to Piedmont, California in the late 1960s.

He was one of the original owners of the Oakland Raiders football team, and a founding member of the American Football League. He was the managing general partner of the team until forced out of this role by the late Al Davis in 1972; Valley subsequently sold his stake in 1976. Along with his wife, Gladys L. Valley, they left the majority of their net worth to the Wayne and Gladys Valley Foundation, based in Oakland, California.

Valley died in 1986; his wife continued to operate the Foundation until her death in 1998. The foundation is a key donor to OSU, both academically and athletically; Valley Library, Valley Gymnastics Center, and Valley Football Center at OSU are all named in their honor.

In 2005, California State University East Bay in Hayward, California launched an aggressive construction project with the building of three new facilities: the Wayne and Gladys Valley Business and Technology Center (VBT), the Pioneer Heights student housing expansion and the University Union annex. The 67,000 square foot Wayne and Gladys Valley Business and Technology Center was dedicated on February 28, 2007, making it the first new academic building on the Hayward Campus in more than 30 years. The building offers a state-of-the-art home for programs in business, technology management, engineering, multimedia, science, and online degree programs.