“We’re helping grow leaders who are set up for life. Leaders who have been battle tested. Leaders who have been part of a team.” 

That’s how Lesley Irvine, 赌博正规的十大网站副校长兼体育主任, 描述了CC竞技经验的终身影响. 

而且，在这条路上赢得一些总冠军也没什么坏处.

Over the last fiscal year, more than 700 donors gave a combined $366,000 to support CC’s varsity athletic programs through the Tiger ExCCellence initiative.

But what is Tiger ExCCellence, and why is it important? 

In creating and branding Tiger ExCCellence, Irvine set out to elevate CC’s varsity athletic programs, provide resources to support competitive excellence, 并为学生运动员提供毕业的经验和动力, go out into the world, and change it for the better. 

当欧文在2019年开始担任体育主管时, she focused on refining CC’s athletic giving brand, then called the Tiger Pride Fund. As Matt Kelly, Director of Annual Giving, puts it, “When Lesley became the AD, our fundraising in athletics became much more strategic.”

Irvine’s intentionality has paid off. 凯利报告说，自从欧文担任这一职位以来，捐赠者的数量和资金每年都在显著增加.

欧文详细介绍了老虎卓越基金，该基金致力于为CC的学生运动员提供“追逐冠军所需的工具和资源”.” That doesn’t just mean top-notch coaches, mentors, 培训设施也意味着精神和教育上的支持. “This is about promoting a culture,” she says, a championship-winning culture driven by holistic care.

Megan Koch ’22, 他是最近的田径和越野校友，也是NCAA学生运动员咨询委员会的成员, 说明了大学体育在她个人发展中的重要性. “这是我第一次感觉到自己正在从生活中的学生角色过渡到被视为自己的独立代表,” Koch says.  

也就是说，这是她学会成为一个成年人的环境. 

“Athletics,” Koch reflects, “prepared me for professional conversation, for productive communication… I learned that success is so directly correlated to what you put in.”

这正是欧文大学的目标:把体育运动作为发展的途径, as the game-changer in a young athlete's life. 她希望科罗拉多大学田径运动能对每个人产生对科赫的积极影响. 创建一个支持性的体育社区需要时间和爱——实际上，还需要金钱. 这就是欧文试图通过Tiger excellence传递的信息:“成功, sustainable athletic future.” 

Jeff Conarroe, head coach of the men’s basketball team and CC alum, 反映了大学体育运动在科罗拉多大学社区中的地位, saying, “I see athletics as co-curricular, rather than extracurricular.”

Conarroe认为CC的文科课程是其运动队的重要资产, and vice versa. 他解释说，球场上的时间“几乎就像一个实验室”. 你把你在课堂上学到的工具和整体计划, and you execute them in real time.” Quick thinking, decision-making, and analysis — they’re all present in CC’s classrooms, and they are certainly present in Reid Arena on game day. 

In President L. Song Richardson’s inauguration address last fall, 她分享了学院的四大支柱，这将有助于指导CC在未来几年的优先事项和决策. One pillar focuses on “visibility,或提升赌博正规的十大网站及其优秀学生的形象, faculty, staff, and alumni. 这是关于在CC社区的每一个领域追求卓越——从教室到研究实验室再到游戏领域——并推动人们意识到CC的独特之处.

For Conarroe, CC学生运动员和团队是这一优先事项的核心，因为体育运动可以作为学校的“前廊”.“如果曲棍球队进入冰封四人赛，或者游泳和跳水进入NCAA锦标赛, CC will gain more visibility on a national level. “Interest in the school will go up,” says Conarroe. “That adds value to our degrees.” 

And CC’s student-athletes have been showing up. This past season, 女子和男子越野队都赢得了南方大学体育大会(SCAC)的冠军，这是两队连续第二年和第四年获得冠军, respectively. 女子篮球在常规赛中取得了18胜7负的战绩，这是自1981年以来的最好成绩，其中最突出的是战胜了当时保持不败、排名第一的美国男篮. 1-ranked Trinity University. 男子篮球本赛季取得了12场胜利，这是该球队自2018年以来的最好成绩. 至于游泳和跳水，都在2023年SCAC锦标赛中获得了第二名.

女足五年来首次获得了参加西部山区锦标赛的资格, 男子冰球进入了2023年全国大学生冰球大会(NCHC)冰冻对决的冠军赛, narrowly missing a bid to the NCAA Tournament.

When donors invest in Tiger ExCCellence, 他们正在帮助CC的400名学生运动员最大限度地发挥他们的潜力，资助他们去参加锦标赛和锦标赛, elite-level equipment, 维护学院最先进的设施. 

Tiger excellence不仅仅是培养学校自豪感, 不过，这是关于支持学生运动员的. It’s about their professional and personal growth. “我们只是有机会提供其他DIII项目所没有的教育经验,” explains Conarroe, “and that’s because of the excellence fund.”

例如，康纳罗为他的团队计划了一个赛季一次的教育之旅. Last year, 他把他们带到基恩的csamar Chávez国家纪念碑, California, and met Chávez’s son and grandson. 去年秋天，他们去了孟菲斯的国家民权博物馆.

捐助者的支持使像这样的变革性机会成为可能——为学生运动员提供技能和生活经验，使他们在赛场内外都能受益. 

For CC student-athletes, says Conarroe, 运动经历是“教育过程中至关重要的一部分”.” To support Tiger ExCCellence 直接参与CC田径队的基础设施建设，就是与老虎队同台竞技.