The Princeton Varsity Club had an active fall semester, engaging Tiger student-athletes and alumni on campus, on the road and in the greater Princeton community.
PVC PROGRAMMING HIGHLIGHTS
In September, the PVC and Princeton Athletics celebrated first-year Tigers from the Class of 2028 with the PVC Student-Athlete Welcome BBQ. The new Tigers gained their first introduction to the Princeton Varsity Club and heard first-hand from Ford Family Director of Athletics, John Mack ’00 on how the PVC can positively impact their Princeton experience during their four years on campus, and beyond.
The PVC also welcomed dozens of athletics alumni back to campus for the Every Voice LGBTQ+ Conference. This three-day conference featured a special lineup of events, including an athletics alumni gathering and a conversation with women’s basketball head coach, Carla Berube, and four alumni panelists. The alumni panel discussion focused on sharing experiences as LGBTQ+ student-athletes across different decades and the community and support that they are helping to build on Princeton’s campus.
Members of the Princeton Athletics community also enjoyed hearing from head coaches and student-athletes at the PVC Fall Coaches Luncheon. The event featured updates from the Princeton football, field hockey, and men’s soccer programs in addition to a special panel discussion with several Tiger Olympians who competed in Paris this summer. Click here for video highlights of the PVC Fall Coaches Luncheon.
PVC ON THE ROAD
The Princeton Varsity Club and Princeton Athletics hit the road this October, bringing together Princetonians for a variety of events in Georgia, Massachusetts and Northern California. More than 300 Tiger alumni, family and friends came together for a pre-game tailgate preceding Princeton football’s October 12th game with Mercer University in Macon, Ga, the Tiger’s first ever match-up with the Bears. Similarly, nearly 250 Princetonians gathered in Cambridge at Grafton Street Pub for a pre-game reception in advance of Princeton’s match-up with Ivy League rival Harvard on October 26th.
Between the above October pre-game events, Princeton Athletics visited Northern California for a small gathering and reception with some of its Bay Area Tigers. Ford Family Director of Athletics John Mack ’00 was joined in conversation by head coaches Dusty Litvak (men’s water polo) and Erika DeSanty (women’s golf), as well as event host Marnie Marcin ’96 and PVC Board Co-Chair Kristen Garlinghouse ’89 (photo gallery).
Thank you to everyone who joined the festivities and helped cheer on the Tigers and support the Orange & Black!
TIGERS IN THE COMMUNITY
This fall student-athletes continued their efforts to give back to the Princeton community. The PVC hosted its annual Youth Sports Clinic before the football home-opener against Howard, bringing together local community organizations and families for an afternoon of fun. More than 150 student-athletes participated in the clinic, leading a variety of stations and sharing their love for sports with the younger children.
Student-athletes also returned to Johnson Park Elementary for the start of a new Tiger Pals mentoring program. Friends and teammates, representing 15 varsity sports were matched with with a group of pre-selected students to help teach valuable lessons in alignment with the school’s pledge to be responsible, respectful, safe, kind and successful. Mentor groups visited the school once a month to spend time with their students and serve as positive role models.
Additionally, Reading with the Tigers returned bringing story time to life for hundreds of children. More than 100 Princeton student-athletes participated in the program again this fall, reading their favorite children’s books and answering fun questions from the younger students. The program visited each of the four Princeton elementary schools in addition to Crosby Copeland Elementary in Trenton where athletes surprised students with silly books and costumes to celebrate Halloween.
CHAMPIONSHIP EXPERIENCE
We are incredibly grateful for the support and engagement of so many in the Princeton Athletics community, which has allowed the PVC to help provide each of these impactful and championship-level experiences for student-athletes and alumni across all 38 varsity programs. And speaking of championship moments, it was quite the fall for the Orange & Black, including six regular season conference champions, two Ivy League Tournament champions, women’s rugby’s first victory as a varsity program, celebrating our 2024 Tiger Olympians, and much more!
Thank you to everyone who has supported the Princeton Varsity Club and Princeton Athletics in our pursuit of Competitive Excellence and Education Through Athletics.
