Jake McCandless ’51 PVC Speaker Series features Brett Ledbetter

The Princeton Varsity Club welcomed Brett Ledbetter, author of What Drives Winning and thought partner for some of the top coaches in college and professional sports, to Princeton’s campus on Wednesday, April 11th as part of this year’s Jake McCandless ’51 PVC Speaker Series.

Mr. Ledbetter, a former basketball student-athlete, specializes in building team cohesion and character development. He brings together championship coaches and performance experts to create conversation around what drives winning beyond the x’s and o’s, and how to repurpose sport to build character. Mr. Ledbetter has recently worked with the likes of Brad Stevens (Boston Celtics), Mike Matheny (St. Louis Cardinals), Geno Auriemma (UConn women’s basketball), Anson Dorrance (UNC women’s soccer), Patty Gasso (Oklahoma softball), to name a few.

The day began with Ledbetter hosting an interactive workshop-style luncheon at Nassau Inn for Princeton coaches, staff and Academic-Athletic Fellows. Ledbetter spoke to building team cohesion and character development, while challenging those in attendance to contemplate “what makes you want to be great, and what do you sacrifice in an effort to achieve such aspirations?”

Following a private dinner with a number of student-athletes and head coaches, Ledbetter hosted the featured program titled “A Conversation about Building Culture, Developing Character, and the Link to High Performance.” Those in attendance in McCosh Hall included student-athletes, coaches/staff, campus affiliates and community members, with discussion ranging from perspectives on achieve to character development to prioritizing “growth over outcome.”

Click here to view photos from Brett Ledbetter’s visit as part of the Jake McCandless ’51 PVC Speaker Series.

The Jake McCandless ’51 PVC Speaker Series was endowed in the name of J.L. “Jake” McCandless ’51, who coached Princeton to the 1969 Ivy League football championship during the Tigers’ centennial year of football. Click here for a list of past featured speakers as part of the Jake McCandless ’51 PVC Speaker Series.

Upcoming Events

06apr7:30 pm8:45 pmJake McCandless '51 PVC Speaker Series: Jeff Ingold '90 & Ted Price '90Open to the entire Princeton community

Event Details

The Princeton community is invited to join us in McCosh 10 on Thursday, April 6th for a conversation with Jeff Ingold ’90 and Ted Price ’90 as part of the Jake McCandless ’51 PVC Speaker Series. Ingold and Price are former Princeton squash teammates who have gone on to very unique careers in the entertainment industry, producing some of the most recognizable television shows and video games in the world.

Jake McCandless ’51 PVC Speaker Series
Conversation with Entertainment Executives Jeff Ingold ’90 & Ted Price ’90

The conversation will be moderated by Ford Family Director of Athletics, John Mack ’00. The speaker series event is free and open to the general public (no advanced registration required). The Jake McCandless ’51 PVC Speaker Series was endowed in the name of J.L. “Jake” McCandless ’51, who coached Princeton to the 1969 Ivy League football championship during the Tigers’ centennial year of football. Click here to learn more about the series and past featured speakers.

LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR FEATURED SPEAKERS
Jeff Ingold ’90, is the President of Bill Lawrence’s Doozer Productions at Warner Bros. Television. He just wrapped production on the third season of the two-time Emmy award winning series Ted Lasso, as well as Shrinking (starring Jason Segel and Harrison Ford) and Bad Monkey (starring Vince Vaughn), both for Apple TV+.

Prior to joining Doozer Productions, Ingold was the longtime comedy head at NBC. After rising through the ranks as a current executive on such hit NBC shows as Just Shoot Me, Will & Grace, and Scrubs, Ingold transitioned to the development team where he oversaw The Office. In 2006, Ingold was promoted to the head of NBC comedy under then President, Kevin Reilly. During the rest of his tenure, which included expanded oversight of Universal Television comedies in addition to NBC, Ingold supervised the critically acclaimed series 30 Rock, Parks & Recreation, And Community. When he left in 2011, Ingold’s title was Executive Vice President, NBC and Universal Comedy Series.

Ingold is a graduate of Princeton University and the USC Marshall School of Business. He currently resides in Los Angeles with his wife and two children.

Ted Price ’90 is President and Founder of Insomniac Games – a videogame developer with over 500 employees located across US and Canada, working remotely and onsite in its bi-coastal offices. In 2019 Insomniac was acquired by Sony Interactive Entertainment.

Since 1994 Insomniac has created high profile game franchises in the console, VR, AR and mobile spaces. Some of its more popular creations include the Spyro the Dragon series, the Ratchet and Clank series, the Resistance: Fall of Man series, Sunset Overdrive and Marvel’s Spider-Man. Upcoming games include Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 and Marvel’s Wolverine for the PlayStation 5.

Insomniac’s games have sold over 100 million units worldwide since the company’s inception. Insomniac has also won numerous local, state and national workplace awards for its unique culture.

Price’s responsibilities at Insomniac include directing the company’s strategic planning and helping shape its culture as well as contributing to its projects. Price is also the Vice Chairman of the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. He graduated from Princeton University with a B.A. in English.