Men's Soccer Head Coach Mike Babst on Why Give, Why Now

Can you share an example of one or two ways philanthropic support has made your program stronger recently?
Philanthropic support has provided invaluable resources to hire a full-time second assistant, which is fully dependent on fundraised dollars. Power 5 programs are now allowed to have three full-time assistants – having a second one for our program helps us compete at the highest level.

We are always looking for ways to separate ourselves from other soccer programs in terms of our investment in each of our players by increasing the strength of the relationships we build within our team. Support for our program afforded us the opportunity to provide a team-building retreat in Asheville during pre-season this past year.

What are some key ways you see your program advancing in the next 1, 2, 5 years?

Our program will advance by leaning into the challenge of becoming a top team and increasing the difficulty of our schedule. In addition, our program will advance by decreasing the margins for error to a level that gives us a chance to learn and grow into a team that can win an A-10 Championship and make an NCAA Tournament run. Year by year, our failures have been fewer, our successes have increased and our ambition has grown.

What do you see in our scholar-athletes every day that makes an investment in them worthwhile?
Between being a player and a coach, I have spent time at seven different schools. The culture and selflessness we had in our team this past year was the best I have ever been around. In so many ways, we go against the grain of modern college athletics and are a throwback to what I believe is the most meaningful part of the team experience. Our players truly look out for one another and want to be a part of something bigger than themselves.

What are you most excited about when you think about the future of your program?
We continue to learn, grow and gain belief in what we are capable of. The bar keeps going up, and we are excited to keep challenging ourselves at higher levels.

"Athletics Done Right:" What does that mean to you?

Our team should reflect the values of Davidson, and the experience we help provide our scholar-athletes should enhance their Davidson education. Our interactions with our players should be guided by the idea of how we can help them grow personally and professionally. We should always understand the broad scope of what they can achieve as people and apply that to how we challenge them as athletes. And I don't think we have to sacrifice anything competitively or need to lessen our ambition, because we embrace the idea that there is much more to this experience than just performing on the field.

You can make a gift, supporting any of our 21 Division I programs, at this link.

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