Barefoot Athletics Challenge Returns to Support Student-Athletes

Listen

The annual Barefoot Athletics Challenge kicks off next week, March 7–10, putting the ball in the hands of alumni, friends, and fans to support Babson’s athletic programs.

Barefoot Athletics Challenge

The Barefoot Athletics Challenge—initially funded by former Babson President Brian Barefoot ’66, H’09, P’01—encourages alumni athletes, parents of student-athletes, and Babson superfans to make a gift in support of the College’s student-athletes. In the competition last year, 1,567 donors contributed an all-time record of $200,076.

During the challenge, Babson’s 22 men’s and women’s athletics teams—which include about one-quarter of the College’s undergraduate population—compete to help unlock $10,000 in challenge funds, and the team with the highest percentage of alumni donors receives an additional $5,000 in challenge funds.

Gifts also can be designated for key Babson Athletics priorities, including the Women’s Empowerment Fund, which was created to ensure equal support for women’s athletics programs at Babson. The Women’s Empowerment Fund is the focus of Babson Athletics’ campaign this year to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the passage of Title IX.

The ​​Student-Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC) will host a kickoff event Sunday at Roger’s Pub for current student-athletes to start the Barefoot Challenge by supporting their own teams.

Posted in Babson Briefs

More from Babson Briefs »

Latest Stories

President Spinelli speaks in a dark room on stage
Connecting Continents: How Babson’s President Builds Bridges Around the World As an ambassador for Babson and an advocate for entrepreneurship, President Stephen Spinelli Jr. MBA’92, PhD deepens the College’s ties to alumni and supporters in the global community.
By
Kevin Wong
Director / Writer
Kevin Wong
Kevin Wong is the Director of Brand and Strategic Communications at Babson College. Since joining the College in 2023, he’s led communications efforts across campus including in the Office of the President, Academic Affairs, and College Marketing. Kevin brings more than a decade of higher education communications experience to Babson. Outside of the office, he enjoys baking copious amounts of sourdough bread and spending time with his wife and son in Boston and beyond.
January 22, 2026

Posted in Community, Entrepreneurial Leadership

Employees discuss over documents at table during a company retreat
Resolve to Network: Research Shows Company Retreats Help Forge New Connections Company offsites provide more than just a break from regular routines. New research shows retreats can serve an important function, write Madeline Kneeland of Babson College and Adam M. Kleinbaum for The Conversation.
By ,
January 21, 2026

Posted in Insights

Dylan Amaswache ’27 takes a selfie with students sitting at tables behind him
A Salute to Service: How Babson Students Give Back to the Community The arrival of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a holiday in which many people perform community service, makes for an opportune moment to examine the longstanding tradition of giving back at Babson.
By
John Crawford
Senior Journalist
John Crawford
A writer for Babson Thought & Action and the Babson Magazine, John Crawford has been telling the College’s entrepreneurial story for more than 15 years. Assignments for Babson have taken him from Rwanda to El Salvador, from the sweet-smelling factory of a Pennsylvania candy maker, to the stately Atlanta headquarters of an NFL owner, to the bustling office of a New York City fashion designer. Beyond his work for Babson, he has written articles and essays for The Philadelphia Inquirer, Notre Dame Magazine, The Good Men Project, and other publications. He can be found on Twitter, @crawfordwriter, where he tweets about climate change.
January 16, 2026

Posted in Community, Entrepreneurial Leadership