PALO ALTO, Calif. — John McEnroe joked that he blended in too well as a student at Stanford, arriving as one of the top tennis players in the world and still struggling to meet young women. Condoleezza Rice said it was difficult for her to stand out too much at the university, where she is a political science professor, because another former secretary of state, George P. Shultz, has an office right down the hall. Tiger Woods fondly recalled a friend in his dormitory who built his own computer and the hours of late-night conversation and debate.

“I really miss those days,” Woods said in an e-mail.

Andrew Luck, expected to be the No. 1 pick in the N.F.L. draft, is the latest high-profile person to perpetuate Stanford’s reputation as a haven for the famous, be they actors or athletes, royalty or the relatives of celebrities. Chelsea Clinton, the child actor Fred Savage, the golfer Michelle Wie and the actress Reese Witherspoon are other examples who have contributed to Stanford’s good name as a sanctuary for the well known and the accomplished. The university has produced so many Olympic athletes that at the 2008 Beijing Games, if its current and former students were counted as a country, its haul of 25 medals would have tied it for 11th in the world with Japan.

One reason Luck said he felt comfortable returning to college this year despite the likelihood that he would have been the top pick in the 2011 N.F.L. draft was his ability to blend in among the other students at Stanford. Sure, there has been the occasional request for an autograph or for him to pose for a picture, but Luck said those instances were handled in a considerate manner.

“This campus is very respectful of everyone’s privacy,” he said. “You can go about your day and not feel awkward or embarrassed like a magnifying glass is on you.”