Wesleyan President Michael Roth, right, introduced new football head coach Mike Whalen '83, left, to the Wesleyan community during a ceremony March 8 in the Freeman Athletic Center. Whalen, the 2006 NESCAC Coach of the year, comes to Wesleyan from Williams College, where he had been the head coach since 2004. Whalen also will serve an assistant athletic director.
While an undergraduate at Wesleyan, Whalen captained both the football and wrestling teams, earning All-New England and All-America honors in football three times and All-New England wrestling honors each of his four years. Whalen’s coaching career began at Wesleyan during the 1983-84 academic year when he served as an assistant defensive line coach and assistant wrestling coach.More than 100 Wesleyan employees and community members attended the reception including (front, from left) Nancy Meislahn, dean of admission and financial aid; Peter Patton, chair and professor of earth and environmental sciences; Gina Driscoll, associate director of development events; Elmer Swanson, former track and cross country coach; (back, from left) community member Gail Gorton; Guy Russo from the City of Middletown's Water and Sewer; and John Driscoll, alumni director. During the ceremony, Coach Whalen and President Roth also acknowledged John Biddiscombe, director of athletics and chair of the Physical Education Department. Whalen will assume the post on April 1. (Photos by Olivia Bartlett Drake)
Olivia Drake
Jeff Harder
Mike Mavredakis
Ziba Kashef