An anonymous donor made a gift of at least $2.5 million to endow the women’s head swimming & diving coach position at Princeton University.
“Head Coach endowments are so impactful for our programs,” said Princeton Athletic Director John Mack. “We are thrilled that the swimming & diving programs will benefit in such a meaningful way.”
At Princeton, a gift of $2.5 million endows a head coaching position while a $1 million gift endows an assistant coaching position.
Coaching position endowments are typically invested, and a portion of yearly returns go to the sport budget. A news release from Princeton says that both the womens’ and mens’ team will benefit from the endowment, suggesting that at least some of the money will go to shared resources.
Endowment contributors get the coaching position named after them (for example: the official title for all Yale head football coaches is called the Joel E. Smilow ’54 Head Coach of Yale Football). A name for this anonymous endowment has yet to be determined.
“(The endowment) signifies a commitment to the growth, development and success of our women’s swimmers and divers, both in the pool and in life,” said Abby Brethauer, Princeton’s current head women’s coach. “The future of Princeton women’s swimming & diving is bright and I am thrilled to see what opportunities are created moving forward because of this incredible gift.”
Brethauer is entering her second season as the head coach of the women’s swim and dive team after winning Ivy Coach of the Year in her first. She previously served as an assistant coach on the Princeton men’s team, and before that she was an Associate Head Coach at Dartmouth.
The Princeton women’s swim & dive team just entered its 55th year of competition. In 2024, they earned their 25th Ivy league championship, the most of any Ivy swim team.
Princeton becomes the latest of several recent Ivy League head swim coach positions to receive an endowment. In 2022, a University of Pennsylvania swim alumnus endowed the program’s head coaching position. A couple months later, the women’s head coach position for Cornell swim & dive received an endowment. According to Newsweek, Princeton ranks fourth among all U.S. universities by total endowment.
