• To help construct a new, dedicated locker room at the request of Cornell University

• To perpetuate Cornell Lightweight Football by guaranteeing our self-funding mandate.

Since 1937, Cornell University has fielded a lightweight football team. Coaches Bob and Terry Cullen have guided the 150s/Sprint ship since 1958, successfully navigating numerous campus and league challenges. Having provided a quality playing and learning experience for 1,500 plus alumni, there are immediate issues on the horizon that we must address as a family – staff, Alumni Board, former and current players, managers, parents, and friends - to ensure the program can serve future generations of Cornell student athletes.

New Locker Room Facilities: At the conclusion of the 2021 season, Sprint was directed to vacate and permanently relocate our locker room from Schoellkopf Memorial Hall at the specific request of Cornell Athletics. This will enable both men’s and women’s lacrosse programs to have dedicated team facilities at their game field. Plans are already on the table, and approved by the Cornell University President and Provost, to construct a new Sprint locker room behind the Crescent at the south-end. This 1,900 square foot modular facility, located southwest of the Fischell Band Center on Kite Hill, will provide direct field access for Lightweight Football near the scoreboard. The facility will feature meeting spaces and a dedicated trainer’s room for taping and treatment. The projected building cost is $1,000,000. Construction cannot begin until the project is fully funded according to university protocol. Working within Cornell Athletics, Coach Terry Cullen and the Sprint Alumni Board are investigating the best avenue to construct and furnish this new facility which was not previously budgeted.

Self-Funding Mandate: Sprint was the first Cornell athletic program to be self-funded. The annual operating budget for our 65-person squad is roughly $450,000. Income generated from our endowment funds, first created in 1977, support 50 percent of our yearly needs (valued at $7.3 million year-end 2022 of Cornell’s fiscal year). Annual fundraising activities, such as Giving Day, Alumni Weekend, and Cornell Reunion, generate the balance required to keep the team on the field. Alumni, parents, and friends have been historically generous, and we continue to make the numbers work. Given our financial stability, Sprint has supported other varsity programs with special needs at the specific request of the university. This has strengthened our working relationship within the Cornell administration and elevated our campus reputation as a “giver, not a taker.”

Given ongoing budget demands, major disruptions to our annual giving program could have dire consequences to Sprint’s future at Cornell University. Of particular concern are campus challenges post-pandemic, the impact of a major university campaign on our traditional donors, and the eventual retirement of Coach Terry Cullen. By increasing our endowment value to help absorb rising operational expenses and cushion unexpected events like the locker room project, we can strengthen our future trajectory.

University officials remain in constant contact with the manufacturer of the modular locker room concept and are confident of the $1,000,000 cost projection. Following university protocol, an RFP must be prepared and distributed, and a minimum of three bids received before a contractor can be selected and building can begin.

To cushion the impact of unforeseen events such as the locker room and to strengthen our long-term financial footing, the Alumni Board is estimating that investing an additional $2 million into our endowment will generate upwards of 80% of our future annual needs based on historical annual payouts of 4-5% (minus inflation). Our last major fundraising effort was conducted 20 years ago as part of the Athletic Department’s Cornell Victorious capital campaign.

Annual fundraising efforts, including Giving Day, Alumni Weekend, and Cornell Class Reunions, will continue over the course of the five-year campaign and are estimated to produce $1.25 million for the program. In addition to raising much needed funds, these events raise awareness of the Lightweight program on campus and off, and build camaraderie between undergraduates, parents, and alumni.

By conducting a feasibility study prior to launching a major capital campaign, the Sprint Alumni Board and staff can make an informed decision on whether the financial goal is realistic, and fundraising success is possible.

While being forced to relocate from Schoellkopf, Sprint was not provided with a viable relocation plan by Cornell Athletics. Coach Terry Cullen and Sprint volunteers brainstormed various alternatives and developed the concept for a new modular locker room to be located either under the Schoellkopf scoreboard or behind the Crescent. The idea was presented to Cornell Athletics before the Pandemic broke in early spring 2020. Receiving a positive reception, a working committee was established to flesh out details with the support of Athletics and representation from the university’s facilities and architectural teams. A formal proposal, including building specifications, location, and cost estimate, was approved by Cornell President Pollock and Provost Kotlikoff in April 2021. 

While Sprint has successfully self-financed our program since the 1990s and supported other varsity programs with special needs, relocating and building a new locker room was not on our budgeting radar. This historic building initiative is a first for any self-funded varsity athletic program at Cornell. University building protocol requires full funding before construction can begin anywhere on campus. Sprint Football is clarifying with Cornell’s accounting group about the extent to which endowment and annual operating income can be used as temporary bridge financing. University accounting rules are complex. Regardless of discussion outcomes, any existing funds used, will ultimately need to be replenished for their original budgeted uses.

The Sprint Alumni Board is working with IvyPartners, an organizational and fundraising consultant, to implement a campaign feasibility study to guide future program decision-making. Founded and managed by Cornell alumni, Ivy has hands-on experience with campus fundraising programs nationwide. One of two founding partners, Ann Noble Shephard ‘85 is the wife of Tom Shephard ’85 (’84 team captain), and parent of both a player (Will ’21) and managers (Brodie ‘15 and Lucy ’17). Ann’s brother Rob Noble ‘79 was a member of the 150s team that competed in Japan.

Cornell University has officially launched a comprehensive $5 billion capital campaign known as “do the greatest good”. A Sprint campaign would fall under Cornell Athletics, which is now silently seeking $125 million to support facilities, annual operating expenses, and endowment. Donations earmarked for Sprint will be retained by our program. Giving benefits will include: a five-year pledge period, tax deductibility, employer matching gift opportunities, and the acceptance of cash and non-cash gifts. All donors will be formally acknowledged for their giving for tax preparation purposes, and permanent donor recognition opportunities will be made available.

By incorporating a Sprint fundraising effort within the university campaign, the program will receive additional administrative support from Alumni Affairs and Development. These are services that Sprint could not cost effectively provide or manage on our own. Sprint endowment funds are also managed by Cornell.

Sprint Football is one of 37 varsity sports at Cornell. The university contributes 30% of the total budget for Athletics. By proactively self-funding our program in the 1990s, the Sprint family has ensured the continued existence of a robust lightweight football team for generations of student athletes.

The simple answer is yes; as evidenced by the fact that Cornell has offered Sprint/Lightweight football for the past 75 Years.  We have played Sprint in spite of the fact that Columbia and Princeton have dropped the sport.  We continue to plan Sprint in spite of Title IX.  We continue to play Sprint in spite of the “tight” practice facilities, strength and conditioning facilities and locker room space.  We continue to play Sprint in spite of critics asking “why does Cornell have two football teams?”

The answer is: under the tutelage of Bob and Terry Cullen, our focus has always been on the things we can control.  This focus starts with teaching our players the meaning of work ethic, discipline, making weight, teamwork, accountability and academic achievement (note for F21 team GPA of 3.68 and S22 of 3.47).  The focus extends to our alumni who demonstrate the highest degree of alumni engagement, donations and networking of any alumni group at Cornell.  By excelling in the “things” we can control, we in turn influence the Athletic Department that continuing to play Sprint in in the best interest of Cornell.

In addition to the Robert Cullen Fund, Sprint football has a collection of twelve separate endowment funds that have been created by alumni and their families to support specific program functions. Managed by Cornell, they are collectively valued as of June 2022 at $7.3 million. Many of these funds have specific clauses that detail how the remaining funds are to be distributed if Sprint were to disband. For funds without dispersal clauses, the Sprint Alumni Board would serve as the advisory counsel to the university for decision-making. While in the silent phase of the Sprint capital campaign, the Alumni Board has established a new fund, the Cullen Legacy Fund which has clear-cut dispersal instructions.

As a self-funded program, Cornell Lightweight Football has an impressive legacy of providing high caliber student athletes with an excellent extracurricular experience. Post-graduation, the Sprint network continues to support a legion of alumni and their families - informally and formally - with social opportunities, mentoring, and job and career counseling. If a major Sprint capital campaign moves forward, donors will be championing these efforts first and foremost. Successful fundraising will ensure future generations of young men and women (managers) can enjoy a similar experience to your own. In essence, you are “paying forward” for benefits you received as a Cornell student. All donations earmarked for Cornell Sprint Football will remain with the program unless unforeseen circumstances force the program to disband.

After 65 years of dedicated service on and off the field, Bob and Terry Cullen cannot be replaced at the helm of Cornell Lightweight Football. Maintaining the activities and culture they worked so hard to create has been job #1 for the Alumni Board for many years. Onfield coaching and player oversight has already transitioned to Associate Head Coach Bobby Gneo. The Sprint Alumni Board is gradually assuming more responsibility for alumni engagement and special events, fundraising, mentoring/career assistance and player recruiting. We believe that this combination of super engaged alumni with staff can keep the Sprint family thriving for many years to come, even without a Cullen at the helm.

Our alumni network is over 1,500 strong. Whether on the field or supporting teammates from the sidelines, each of us can relay a coming-of-age story made possible through our Sprint participation. A hallmark of the Cullen brand has been dedication to student and alumni wellbeing as opposed to win-loss. The Sprint Alumni Board is dedicated to continuing this tradition, providing life balance for players and managers, and ensuring tutoring and mentoring assistance for academic and long-term career success. Other board priorities include alumni engagement and player recruiting. 

As we all know, Sprint Football is a full-contact, intercollegiate, varsity sport that features the same rules as NCAA football, except that all players must weigh 178.0 pounds or less. The sport was founded prior to World War II to give the average-sized man an opportunity to play college football. The original weight was 150 pounds or less, and as the average weight of the population has increased, the Sprint Football weight limit has gradually followed. Meanwhile, the size and weight required to play “heavy” football have increased much faster, leaving talented average-size athletes behind. This makes Sprint Football’s mission more important than ever. As current players and multiple generations of alumni will attest, Sprint Football provides a unique opportunity to take the field with some of the best pound-for pound athletes around.

CSFL is currently comprised of 9 member institutions including Alderson Broaddus University, Army West Point, Caldwell University, Chestnut Hill College, Cornell University, Mansfield University, the U.S. Naval Academy, Post University (converted to heavyweight football in 2020), the University of Pennsylvania, and St. Thomas Aquinas College. Over the last 15 years, ten new teams, primarily former Division II programs, have joined the CSFL. Some institutions like Franklin Pierce, have opted to revert to “heavy” programs.

In the fall of 2022 a new Sprint league, the Midwestern Sprint Football league will start play with the inaugural members of: Fontbonne University, Quincy University, St. Mary’s of the Woods College, Calumet College of St. Joseph, Midway University and Bellarmine University.

The presidents of these Universities have started this new Sprint league to increase male student enrollment for their campuses.

In the 50 years since Title IX was enacted, Cornell Sprint Football has prospered at Cornell. While the program’s future cannot be projected with certainty, the value we offer to students, the depth and influence of our alumni base, and our financial support of peer varsity programs will continue to work in our favor. By continuing to engage with program supporters and fine-tuning programming and financial planning, Sprint is in good hands for the future.

At the request of Coach Bob Cullen, the Board was formed in 1976 to assist with alumni engagement and fundraising to ensure the program’s perpetuation. The Robert Cullen Endowment Fund was established a year later. Bylaws have been established that are consistent with Cornell University and NCAA guidelines. To ensure broad generational representation over 70 years (1950s onward), three board members are representative of each decade. The board is advisory only to the university

Donors to any charity are always faced with the question: I wonder how much I should give?  For Sprint Football, the capital campaign committee and alumni board has decided we will never ask for a specific amount.  Your gift should always be at a level of individual comfort for you and your family.  That being said we offer the following “rules of thumb” for giving based on input from a number of our alumni.

Rules of Thumb

+First it is essential to emphasize we are striving for 100% participation

+Second, we think of the gift to the capital campaign to be incremental to your annual fund (giving day) gift

+Third, your commitment can be spread over the 5 year life of the campaign

Rules of Thumb (in no particular order)

• 1% of your annual income

• 1% of your net worth

• 2x to 10x the amount of your normal annual fund gift

• Equivalent of one Starbucks coffee a day (250X$5=$1250)

• Examples of what others have pledged so far without revealing any names, that may be shown by class decade

• Gift table by decade to know how much each decade is targeting