“我们正在帮助培养终身领导者. 经受过战斗考验的领导人. 曾经是团队一员的领导者.” 

莱斯利·欧文就是这样, Vice President and Director of 体育运动 at 科罗拉多大学, describes the lifelong impact of the CC athletics experience. 

And, it wouldn’t hurt to win some championships along the way.

在上一个财政年度, 700多名捐赠者总共捐赠了366美元,以支持CC的校队体育项目 老虎ExCCellence 倡议.

但是 is 老虎卓越，为什么它很重要? 

创造和推广老虎卓越, 欧文着手提升CC大学的体育项目, 提供资源以支持竞争卓越, and equip student-athletes with the experience and drive to graduate, 走进外面的世界, 让它变得更好. 

When Irvine began her tenure as athletic director in 2019, 她专注于完善CC的运动捐赠品牌, 后来被称为老虎骄傲基金. 马特·凯利, 年度捐赠总监, 所说的, 当莱斯利成为广告的时候, 我们在田径项目上的筹款变得更具战略性.”

欧文的用心得到了回报. Kelly reports that donor numbers and dollars have notably increased every year since Irvine has held the post.

Irvine details 老虎ExCCellence as a fund dedicated to equipping CC’s student-athletes with “the tools and resources needed to chase championships.“这并不仅仅意味着顶级教练, 导师, and training facilities –– it means mental and educational support as well. “这是为了促进一种文化,她说。, 以整体关怀为动力的冠军文化.

梅根·科赫22岁, a recent track and cross country alum who also served on the NCAA’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, speaks to the importance of college athletics in her personal development. “This is the first environment where I felt as though I was transitioning out of the student role in my life into being considered as more of my own independent representative,科赫说.  

That is, it’s the environment where she learned to be an adult. 

“体育,科赫反思道, 为我的职业对话做准备, 我明白了成功是什么 so 与你输入的内容直接相关.”

That’s precisely what Irvine is aiming for: athletics as an avenue for development, 改变了一个年轻运动员的人生. She wants 科罗拉多大学 体育运动 to have the positive impact it had on Koch, for everyone. Creating a supportive sports community takes time and love — and, realistically, money. That’s what Irvine is trying to deliver with 老虎ExCCellence: “a successful, 可持续的体育未来.” 

杰夫Conarroe, 男子篮球队的总教练，也是辛辛那提大学的校友, reflects on varsity athletics’ place in the 科罗拉多大学 community, 说, “我把体育运动视为课外活动, 而不是课外活动.”

Conarroe views CC’s liberal arts curriculum as an essential asset to its sports teams, 反之亦然. Time on the court, he explains, functions “almost as a lab. You take the tools you learn in the classroom and on the Block Plan, 你可以实时执行它们.思维敏捷, 决策, 和分析——这些都出现在CC的教室里, 在比赛日，他们肯定会出现在里德体育馆. 

在总统L. 这是宋理查森去年秋天的就职演说, she shared four pillars for the college that will help guide CC’s priorities and 决策 in the coming years. 其中一个支柱是“可见性”,” or elevating the profile of 科罗拉多大学 and its extraordinary students, 教师, 工作人员, 和校友. It’s about pursuing excellence in every area of the CC community — from the classroom to the re搜索 lab to the field of play — and driving awareness of what makes CC unique.

对于Conarroe, CC student-athletes and teams are central to this priority because athletics can serve as a “front porch… for the institution.” If the hockey team goes to the Frozen Four or swim and dive goes to NCAA Championships, CC将在全国范围内获得更大的知名度. “人们对这所学校的兴趣会上升，”康纳罗说. “这为我们的学位增加了价值.” 

CC的学生运动员也陆续出现. 过去的这个赛季, both the women’s and men’s cross country teams won the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) championship — that’s the second and fourth consecutive year for each team, 分别. Women’s basketball posted a regular season record of 18-7 — its best since 1981 — highlighted by a victory against then-undefeated and No. 排名第一的三一大学. Men’s basketball sported 12 wins this season — the team’s best since 2018. As for swimming and diving, both finished second in the 2023 SCAC Tournament.

Women’s soccer qualified for the Mountain West Championship Tournament for the first time in five years, and men’s hockey advanced to the championship game of the 2023 National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) Frozen Face-off, 差一点就没能参加NCAA锦标赛.

当捐助者投资于老虎卓越, they are helping CC’s 400 student-athletes maximize their potential by funding travel to tournaments and championships, 一直参加专业设备, and maintenance of the college’s state-of-the-art facilities. 

老虎ExCCellence isn’t just about cultivating school pride, though — it’s about supporting individual student-athletes. 这关系到他们的专业和个人成长. “We just get opportunities to provide educational experiences other DIII programs don’t,康纳罗解释道, “这是因为卓越基金.”

For instance, Conarroe plans an educational trip for his team once a season. 去年, he brought them to the César Chávez National Monument in Keene, 加州, 见了Chávez的儿子和孙子. This past fall, they went to the National 公民权利 Museum in Memphis.

Donor support makes transformational opportunities like these possible — equipping student-athletes with skills and life experiences that will serve them on and off the playing field. 

CC学生运动员, 说Conarroe, the athletic experience is a “critical piece of the education process.为了支持 老虎ExCCellence — to have a direct hand in constructing the essential infrastructure for CC 体育运动 — is to compete alongside the Tigers.