Heading Toward Home.
A New Home.
As the legacy of Tufts Athletics continues to take shape, so does a new baseball stadium. Construction on this
$6.6 million project began in the summer of 2022. Steady progress is being made, and new synthetic turf and all
baseball support facilities (dugouts, batting cages, bullpens, fencing) will be completed in time for games to
be played in the spring of 2023. New bleachers, press box, and entrance plaza will be installed next summer, and
the stadium will be fully completed by the fall of 2023. The new stadium will be named “Sol Gittleman Park”
after Tufts’ longtime professor, provost, and Brighter World Campaign Co-Chair Sol Gittleman, H10, A85P.
ELLIS OVAL PHASE I
Synthetic turf was installed for the 2021 football season and the new permanent lights and video scoreboard in
time for the 2022 season. The Baronian Fieldhouse now sports an enlarged football locker room with new lockers,
an expanded sports medicine suite, improved visiting team locker rooms, and visual branding elements. This
project was completed in time for the 2022 season.
INDOOR GOLF FACILITY
Practice makes perfect. Reason enough that $160,000 was raised to create a new indoor practice facility for the
Jumbo golf team, repurposing two squash courts on the top floor of the Cousens Gym complex. One court was
converted into a chipping and putting surface and the other outfitted with a state-of-the-art golf simulator and
hitting net, highlighting five possible courses projected onto a large and durable screen.
FUNDRAISING AND ENGAGEMENT
#GIVINGTUESDAY
We raised $851,297 in donations, again setting a new
#GivingTuesday record,
representing over 23% of all donations raised, and our 3,781 gifts were nearly 39% of all gifts made university
wide.
CHALLENGE MATCHES
Twenty teams—10 men’s teams, nine women’s teams, and one club team—raised
over $658,730 from alumni, parents, and friends in 15 separate challenge matches.
FRIENDS GROUPS/ALUMNI ENGAGEMENT
After a two-year hiatus, our community was able to gather
in person again to support the Jumbos at the
Athletics Hall of Fame Dinner at Gillette Stadium; Friends of Tufts Sailing Spring Alumni/Parent Gathering at
the New York Yacht Club; Men’s and Women’s Track & Field/Cross Country Alumni Meet; game day tailgates, and team
alumni games, among other events that focused on alumni and parent engagement. These in-person events were in
addition to numerous Zoom gatherings that included alumni/student-athlete networking nights. Both provided an
opportunity for head coaches to give updates and answer questions about their programs.
New AND Growing Opportunities
FUTURE LEADER GRADUATE FELLOWSHIP
As our fellow in athletics administration enters his
second year, we received first-year funding for another
fellow to join women’s basketball as an assistant coach. This fellowship also creates opportunities for those
currently underrepresented in intercollegiate coaching ranks. In addition to master’s-level coursework, the
fellow will gain invaluable hands-on coaching experience with our nationally ranked women’s basketball program.
TUFTS ATHLETICS STRENGTH AND CONDITIONING DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM
Established with a gift
covering the first two years, this program creates opportunities for those currently
underrepresented in the field of intercollegiate strength and conditioning coaching, with a meaningful pathway
to a successful career through practical work experience, network building, and professional development.
DICK HANSEN’S MEN’S AND WOMEN’S SOCCER ENDOWMENT
Established in 2021 with an initial funding objective
of $100,000, the total raised to date is $126,225. This
endowment, in memory of former Jumbo men’s soccer player Dick Hansen, E72, augments the annual operating budgets
for our men’s and women’s soccer programs.
THE FRIENDS OF TUFTS ROWING ENDOWMENT
Established in 2021 by rowing
alumni, the initial fundraising goal is $100,000, but the aspirational goal is to
raise $2 million+ to boost the program’s trajectory of success with increased access to equipment and
maintaining a modern fleet of shells, travel support to race the top crews nationally, upgrading indoor rowing
equipment, and enhanced recruiting.