Game Changer: Inside the Athletics Action Plan

In its long history, Haverford has had its share of Centennial Conference-winning teams, Division III tournament participants, and even national champions. But what if the College could go even farther on the field of play? What if an investment in athletics could mean even more trophies to add to the cases in the Douglas B. Gardner ’83 Integrated Athletic Center? And what if that investment didn’t just mean student-athletes would benefit, but so would the rest of the student body, many of whom play on intramural or club teams? Beyond that, what if winning had multiple definitions?

That’s where the Haverford Athletics Action Plan comes in.

Developed by a steering committee made up of students, athletes, alumni, coaches, and administration from both the College and the Athletics department, the Athletics Action Plan is a comprehensive guide to how Haverford will invest in its facilities and personnel to transform the College into even more of a competitor in the Division III world. Beyond that, it documents Haverford’s unique philosophy regarding its athletics programs and their impact.

The plan is ambitious, but that’s the point. John McKnight, vice president and dean of the College, helped spearhead the plan with Athletic Director Danielle Lynch and summed up the effort’s ambitions with five simple words. “Ultimately,” he says, “we want to win.”

Pre-Game Preparations
Winning in this context doesn’t just refer to victories on the field, even though the school’s 23 varsity teams and more than 400 students (both athletes and nonathletes) stand to benefit from the plan. There have been plenty of those in the past: Almost every one of the varsity teams has been ranked nationally at some point, and the 2010 men’s cross country team was a national champion. Haverford also has had representation in NCAA championship tournaments and, as of this story’s publication, an incredible 295 All-American athletes. Now, however, intramural and club sports and more than 400 students (both athletes and nonathletes) stand to benefit as well. 

The Haverford Athletics Action plan, which aims to be fully executed by 2030, was a long time in the making. There were conversations and drafts of the plan before 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic delayed things. After Lynch took over as head of the Athletics department in 2022 and McKnight was hired as dean of the College in 2021, conversations about strategic planning resumed, this time with a new focus.

“We were new and fresh and wanted to identify strengths and opportunities of the department,” says McKnight. “We felt the time was right to imagine the future of Haverford athletics.”

The two administrators didn’t write the plan alone. They formed a committee of athletes (both current and alumni), students, coaches, and administrators to address all aspects of what the College needed to work on, and solicited feedback from alumni and parents of current athletes. 

“It was important to us that we include many voices and perspectives since a central goal of the plan is to more fully integrate athletics into the overall student experience at Haverford,” McKnight says.

Those conversations brought up all kinds of hopes for what Haverford athletics could look like, but McKnight could discern one consistent theme. “They wanted the level of excellence in athletics to match the excellence that we have academically as an institution,” he says. “There are nuanced views of what that means—how integrated athletics are with the rest of campus, how we should define wins and losses. Overall, we want to succeed at a higher level.”

A Three-Pronged Approach
Ultimately, all that research laid the foundation for the plan’s vision statement: “To be a premier NCAA DIII athletic department producing champions in academics, athletics, and ethical leadership while fostering positive and inclusive communities.”

Achieving that vision relies on three main pillars.

1. Elevating the Student Experience
The overarching concept for this pillar is that health and wellness aren’t just something varsity athletes focus on. It was important that this plan ultimately benefit the entire campus.

That means improving the sports and wellness offerings for the college’s physical education requirement and creating a position known as “Assistant Athletic Director for Recreation, Wellness, and Physical Education” to help with that programming. That future hire would also improve the organization and development of intramural sports like basketball and club sports like badminton, crew, and ultimate frisbee.

Those nonvarsity teams and leagues currently live under Student Engagement, but having them under the Athletics umbrella will make sure they’re getting the same attention varsity sports receives.

The hope is, rather than separate athletics from the liberal arts education, to make it a central focus. Health and wellness for both body and mind are now codified in the plan as priorities, and they’re not just offered to those who play on a varsity team.

“We really wanted to make sure athletics at Haverford is not only providing an exceptional experience for the varsity student-athletes who compete in intercollegiate sports, we [also] want to give a more holistic, comprehensive program that looks at health and wellness across the board,” says McKnight.

That’s how Kira Chaney ’27, a member of the women’s volleyball team and of the athletics plan committee, sees it. She pointed out that simply sharing the same gym and facilities with the entire student body can be intimidating for nonathletes, but the plan is meant to break down that barrier.

“We want everyone to feel included and empowered by this plan so that the campus feels more accessible and less intimidating to everyone and provides multiple spaces for all of us as students to build healthy, lifelong habits and find our own ways of staying active that fit our interests,” she says.

Erin Schoneveld, an associate professor of East Asian languages and cultures as well as visual studies at Haverford, was involved in the formation of the plan as part of her job as faculty athletics representative to the NCAA, a position that earned her NCAA Faculty Athletics Representative Association (FARA) Newcomer of the Year in Division III this fall. From her perspective, the plan is all about making athletics, health, and well-being less separate from the idea of a well-rounded education.

“It’s really making a case for the importance of athletics in a liberal arts education,” she says. “So not just thinking about the importance if you’re a varsity athlete, but in all facets of your life here at Haverford. A student who’s healthy in mind and body, who’s eating well, sleeping well, and provided with opportunities to exercise and de-stress, they perform better in the classroom and better in life. Athletics is here to support everyone. The plan is meant to make that more transparent.”

2. Building Strong and Inclusive Communities
Much like the College’s academic mission, the plan seeks to support the campus community and the one that surrounds it. There’s a focus on continuing to “bridge social divides” with learning and development opportunities for all, and improving communication with alumni and student-athlete families. There’s also an emphasis on engaging with the community surrounding the College on the Main Line. The goal? To instill “a sense of pride across campus and in our surrounding communities,” as the plan states.

“One of our recent graduates started a program called Ardmore Hoops that welcomes middle school-aged students from multiple districts to campus for a basketball lesson, an academic lesson, and a meal,” says Lynch. “We’re allowing our students to lead in that way and engage with the community.”

The College also wants to strengthen its relationship with the Centennial Conference and the NCAA. One proposed way to do this is by forming an Athletics Advisory Board, which would liaise between the collegiate governing body and the College, helping, as Lynch says, “serve as a recommending body for intercollegiate athletics on policies and procedures that relate specifically to student-athlete welfare and the success of Haverford’s varsity athletic programs.”

3. Maximizing Our Competitive Success
To ensure Haverford Athletics’ continued success, the action plan focuses on recruiting, expanding personnel, and making improvements to facilities all over campus. It’s all about bringing in more trainers, having full-time assistant coaches for every team, and creating more artificial turf fields.

“We have one lighted artificial turf field and that is where several teams are trying to get practice and competition in,” Lynch says. One or two more fields would allow multiple teams to play simultaneously, which would streamline the experience for students and allow them to keep up with their academic work without having to change the times they need to practice.

“Scheduling can be difficult for student-athletes at Haverford, and having one turf field is a big scheduling barrier,” says Zoey Despines ’25, a member of the field hockey team and the plan’s steering committee. “More fields will allow student-athletes to be fully present for both classes and practice without conflict.”

The plan includes a long list of projects, including replacing the tennis courts, adding seating to the softball field, and building an expanded fitness center at the Gardner Integrated Athletic Center.

Good Winners
Along with these three pillars, another consideration has involved how to reconcile an athletics plan that’s all about winning with Haverford’s nonhierarchical ethos. The answer, for many, is included in—and central to—the College’s strategic plan, Haverford 2030. “Boldness and humility,” says McKnight, “aren’t antithetical. We can be proud of our accomplishments and wave the banner about what we do, but it’s not a win-at-all costs mentality,” he says.

Ultimately, the Athletic Action Plan encompasses the desire to win, in myriad ways—both on and off the field. “Being able to excel academically and athletically is what this action plan speaks to,” says Lynch. “It’s almost holistically excellent. You can be proud of who you are and the things you can do and be a community member. You can be fierce on the field of competition. You can be all of those things.”

—Charles Curtis '04

This story originally appeared in the fall 2024 issue of Haverford magazine. Read more.