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Laurie KenneyFebruary 6, 20173min
Bill Belichick ’75, head coach of the New England Patriots, led his team to the biggest comeback in Super Bowl history on Feb. 5, beating the Atlanta Falcons by a score of 34-28 in OT—the first time an overtime period was ever needed in the 51-year history of the NFL’s annual championship game. The win made Belichick the winningest coach in Super Bowl history. All five of Belichick's wins have come as head coach of the Patriots, a team he has coached since 2000. Beginning his NFL career as an assistant coach with the Baltimore Colts in 1975, Belichick moved…

Olivia DrakeJanuary 24, 20173min
Bill Belichick ’75, head coach of the New England Patriots, will lead his team to the Super Bowl on Feb. 5 against the Atlanta Falcons. The Super Bowl is the National Football League’s annual championship game. Belichick’s team has never lost to the Falcons, in fact, in his four games against Atlanta since 2000, he’s 4-0. Beginning his NFL career as an assistant coach with the Baltimore Colts in 1975, Belichick moved to the Detroit Lions in 1976, remaining there for two seasons before spending a year in the Denver Broncos organization before moving on the the New York Giants…

Cynthia RockwellOctober 31, 20163min
The Chicago Cubs—with Wesleyan’s Jed Hoyer ’96 at the helm as executive vice president/general manager—won the seventh game of the 2016 World Series on November 2 to claim the team’s first World Series title since 1908. After trailing the Cleveland Indians three games to one in the best-of-seven series, the Cubs won the seventh and final game by a score of 8-7, in 10 innings. The title puts an end to the team’s 108-year drought—the longest in baseball history. Hoyer is now a member of three World Series teams: the 2016 Cubs, 2007 Red Sox and 2004 Red Sox. In…

Cynthia RockwellAugust 29, 20163min
The list of athletes who ran on Elmer Swanson's teams over the 30 years he served as Wesleyan's track and cross-country coach "reads like a 'Who's Who' in elite running," observed Hartford Courant Sports Columnist Lori Riley. She remembered Swanson, who died Aug. 12, at the age of 92, in an piece rich with comments from some of his well known—and fleet-footed —alumni. Riley's roundup notes: "He coached [Amby] Burfoot [’68], who won the Boston Marathon in 1968, his senior year, and went on to become the editor of Runners World magazine. He coached Bill Rodgers [’70], who won four Boston marathons and…

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Brian KattenSeptember 4, 20142min
Wesleyan head women's volleyball coach Gale Lackey, the senior athletics department member with 37 years of service, will retire in June. In her 30th year coaching volleyball, Lackey is also the senior woman administrator in athletics and an associate athletics director. Lackey began coaching at Wesleyan in 1978, handling both field hockey and women’s lacrosse and leading the field hockey squad to its only undefeated campaign — and a subsequent berth in the Wes Athletics Hall of Fame —  in 1980.  She took over as volleyball coach in 1985. “The time is right,” Lackey said. "Coaching and teaching here has…

Olivia DrakeDecember 2, 20112min
More than 2,200 students, alumni, parents, friends and family attended Homecoming/Family Weekend activities Nov. 4-6. Campus guests participated in numerous academic, cultural and athletic events while reconnecting with Wesleyan and with each other at a host of special seminars and social gatherings. Key events this year included the homecoming football game against Williams College; a celebration of Alvin Lucier, the John Spencer Camp Professor of Music, emeritus; a Randy Newman P’14 benefit concert; a Homecoming Day Lunch, Fall Harvest Brunch and All-College Dinner; an Athletics Hall of Fame induction ceremony; Patricelli Center for Social Entrepreneurship Ribbon Cutting; the 19th Annual…

Olivia DrakeNovember 2, 20112min
All Wesleyan students, alumni, parents, families, faculty and staff are invited to Homecoming/Family Weekend Nov. 4-6. This year, campus guests can participate in an array of academic, cultural and athletic events. Students’ families gain a sense of the undergraduate experience by sitting in on regularly scheduled classes, attending WESeminars, and by meeting faculty and administrators in both academic and social settings. Alumni can reconnect with Wesleyan and with each other at a host of special seminars and social gatherings. “We welcome all members of the Wesleyan community to take advantage of the rich schedule," says Makaela Kingsley '98, associate director…

Brian KattenOctober 3, 20113min
When asked about his strongest football memory from his playing days at Wesleyan, Sandy Herzlich ’81 came up with a 20-7 win at Amherst in 1979.  “We beat Amherst up there in just a great game,” Sandy recounted.  “Kosty [defensive coordinator Peter Kostacopoulos] put in a wild game plan and we were shuttling personnel in and out, and it worked.  I remember that as being a very satisfying win.”  Head Coach Bill Macdermott called it “one of the best defensive games I’ve ever seen Wesleyan play.”  Mac was in his ninth season at the helm. Sandy’s memory of his first…

Olivia DrakeSeptember 15, 20112min
After 37 years at Wesleyan, John Biddiscombe, director of athletics and chair of the Physical Education Department, is retiring at the end of this academic year. Biddiscombe came to Wesleyan in 1974 as a three-sport coach of football, wrestling, and track and field. He was head coach of wrestling from 1974 to 1989 with a won-loss record of 128-85-3, and in 1984 the team won the New England championship. He was voted New England wrestling coach of the year in 1984 and 1989, and was inducted into the New England Collegiate Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2004. As director of athletics,…

David LowMay 24, 20112min
Amy Baltzell ’87 is the author of Living in the Sweet Spot: Preparing for Performance in Sport and Life (Fitness Information Technology), an inspiring guide to getting ready for life’s big performances. The author integrates the best of the new field of positive psychology with the essentials of sport psychology. Every chapter contains practical, effective reflective exercises that will help readers rise to the challenge of performing at their best when it counts. The book is divided into three parts: The Building Blocks of a Champion Approach, Preparing for Performance and Competition, and The Day of Performance. Readers will learn…