A Game-Changing Gift Seeks to Take Babson Golf to the Next Level
Dan Fireman MBA’00 has spent a lifetime on the links.
Growing up with golf, he played on his college team, and, later in life, he and his father co-founded New Jersey’s iconic Liberty National Golf Club, overlooking the Statue of Liberty and the Manhattan skyline. In his philanthropic work, Fireman supports First Tee, an organization committed to empowering children through the game.
In his many experiences on golf courses, Fireman has seen firsthand how important the game is to business. Play a round with someone, far away from the office, and relationships form.
“I know it sounds cliché, but it is so true,” says Fireman, co-founder and managing partner of Growcore Investments, a venture capital and private equity firm, and founder and managing member of Windrose Advisors, a wealth management firm. “Those informal experiences on the golf course are so critical in business.”
With his love for golf and an understanding of its role in business, not to mention his appreciation of the College and what an MBA meant for his career, Fireman recently made a transformational gift to the Babson men’s and women’s golf programs. His donation is meant to strengthen each program and help take them to a higher level of prominence.
For the men’s team, ranked 21st in the preseason poll for the upcoming season, that means aiming to become a consistent national title contender. For the women’s team, beginning only its second season, that means continuing to grow and establish a burgeoning program.
“Women in sports are having a moment right now,” Fireman says. “There are great historical things happening in women’s sports. I want to be a part of that.”
Competing on a National Level
Jeff Page, head coach of both the Babson men’s and women’s teams, was stunned when he heard about Fireman’s gift. “This is a game changer,” he says.
Page is now in his 12th season as head coach at Babson. The Golf Coaches Association of America has named him the Division III Region I Coach of the Year three years in a row and four times overall. As coach, he enjoys watching his players grow and mature, both on and off the course. “I have seen how they blossom,” he says. “They handle themselves better. They are more confident.”
A big reason Page considers the Fireman gift a game changer is that it allows Babson’s golf teams to travel more, to be more actively participating in tournaments and playing against top programs from around the country. “This allows us to compete on a national level,” Page says.
“I love Babson. It did a lot for me. It really changed my life. It nurtured me in a way. I felt more confident about business.”
Dan Fireman MBA'00, co-founder and managing partner of Growcore Investments, and founder and managing member of Windrose Advisors
That’s critical for the men’s team, which has been knocking on the door of the upper echelon of golf programs. Last year, it finished 16th and just missed qualifying for the national championship tournament. “The main goal every year is to get to the nationals,” Page says. “That’s all we want is a shot.”
In its inaugural season, the women’s team was ranked as high as 67th nationally, a solid accomplishment for the nascent program, which had only one junior and four first-year students on the squad. This season, the roster has doubled to 10 golfers, and Page would like to see the team climb into the top 35. Fireman’s gift will help to make that possible. “It will help us put the women’s team on the map faster,” Page says.
In addition to travel, Page says the gift will boost the teams in other ways, including with clothes and equipment. “You got to look good to play good,” he says. Fireman also plans to serve as a sort of advisor to the teams, helping the young golfers to see how the game’s place in their lives can extend beyond their time playing for Babson.
Golf and Business
Fireman’s relationship with Babson began as an MBA student, and he credits the College with helping to alter the course of his career. Before going to Babson, he had been working at Reebok, where his father, Paul, was the longtime owner and CEO, but Fireman was looking for a change.
“I love Babson. It did a lot for me,” Fireman says. “It really changed my life. It nurtured me in a way. I felt more confident about business. I felt my professors really understood me and mentored me since I wasn’t a natural student.”
After Babson, Fireman worked with his father to transform an industrial area in Jersey City, New Jersey, into the picturesque Liberty National Golf Club. Opening in 2006, the prestigious course would go on to host PGA and LPGA events, though its costly construction took years. One challenge was convincing New Yorkers to make a short ferry ride to New Jersey. “They thought Jersey City was another country,” he says. “They never thought about going there.”
Members of the men’s golf team played with Fireman at Liberty National this summer. Fireman hopes to spend time with Babson’s golfers, educating them about career opportunities that exist in the golf industry, such as in manufacturing, apparel, and golf course management. “He’s trying to connect students to business on the golf side,” Page says.
Fireman also wants them to understand how much golf can complement a business career. “Golf and business—it’s like a ham and cheese sandwich or peanut butter and jelly,” Fireman says. “It is another tool in your toolbox to do business.”
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