The Athletics Department has undergone several changes this year in an effort to increase athletes’ recognition and strengthen the connection between the athletics program and the rest of the student body.
The department has introduced professional media days, an updated Senior Night and the switch from Under Armour to Nike apparel. New Athletic Director Brandon Lincoln believes these changes will help give athletes more acknowledgement and appreciation for their accomplishments.
“I want to try to do as best as I can to help athletics be represented here at Marlborough and give our athletes greater exposure,” Lincoln said. “Our athletes work hard, they’re great students, great people … so I want to try to represent athletics as best as I can.”
A professional photography company was brought in this year to photograph the fall sports teams during media day. The team photographs were posted on Mustang Sports, Marlborough’s athletics Instagram account, allowing other students to recognize their peers’ achievements.
“I was really excited that we had media day not only to commemorate our time as a team, but also to have a lasting memory of our team’s performance and accomplishments this season,” Varsity cross-country co-captain Luna ‘25 said.
As part of the general effort to ensure that all athletes receive the recognition they deserve, the Athletics Department also made changes to Senior Night, a game or match that is dedicated to celebrating each team’s seniors and the hard work they have put into Marlborough’s athletics program. In previous years, athletes whose Senior Nights coincided with away games did not receive the same attendance or support as athletes who were able to have their Senior Night during a home game.
This year, instead of each team having their own Senior Night, there was an on-campus ceremony for all of the seniors on fall sports teams during which coaches gave speeches to players and teammates presented seniors with gifts and posters.
“As a senior, I felt really congratulated … and I enjoyed all the effort they [coaches, teammates and Athletics Department] put into it,” Varsity golf co-captain Yuma ‘24 said. “It was a long journey, but I feel like they really poured their hearts into trying to make it a good Senior Night for me.”
The Athletics Department hopes to continue making improvements. Going forward, they plan to develop an app to send out notifications regarding sports schedules, games and events.
