Barefoot Athletics Challenge Celebrates 10th Anniversary

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The annual Barefoot Athletics Challenge returns next week, March 6-8, rallying alumni, friends, and fans to support Babson’s athletic programs.

Logo of the 2023 Barefoot Athletics ChallengeThis year is extra special because it marks the 10th anniversary of a popular Babson tradition, which encourages alumni athletes, parents of student-athletes, and Babson superfans to make a gift in support of the College’s student-athletes. For a decade, the Barefoot Challenge has helped provide funding for team travel, new training equipment and technology, assistant coach positions, leadership development, and mental health resources for student-athletes.

The Barefoot Athletics Challenge—initially funded by former Babson President Brian Barefoot ’66, H’09, P’01—is the biggest single fundraiser for Babson Athletics. To date, it has raised more than $1.2 million in contributions from more than 12,000 Babson alumni, family, and friends, and $90,000 in challenge prize money has been awarded. Last year, the Barefoot Challenge generated record numbers with 1,841 donors contributing $235,320.

With the addition of the women’s golf team for the next academic year, Babson will have 23 athletic programs. During the challenge, the 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.

It’s an exciting time for Babson’s winter sports teams, which advanced in postseason competition:

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