Athletics at Brandeis has never played a huge role at Brandeis, but it's been a vital one from its very beginnings. Whether the program has been led by a former football star and future Hall of Famer hired as much for his name as his experience, or a former athletic trainer for whom Division III athletics has seemed like a calling from the very beginning, treading the fine line between athletics and academics has been a challenge that has been answered at every call.

THEN
In "A Host At Last," Abe Sachar wrote of being prudent about the role of athletics at the new University. The department decided to include football among its offerings because of "special problems encountered in attracting a student body that ultimately was to become diversified in its regional and ethnic composition." Recognizing that the success of the program depended on finding the right person to lead it, he called on former Michigan All-American and New York Giant Benny Friedman, a well-known Jewish sports personality.

Sachar promised his soon-to-be new hire that the school would be able to build a football field "soon after we announce our sports program and can say that Benny Friedman is its director." Benny joined the Brandeis family and started to build his own program, deftly deflecting those on the faculty who opposed any compulsory non-academic activities on campus by reminding them of the classical Greeks who believed in sound minds in sound bodies.

Football lasted at Brandeis for nine years, with varying degrees of success, not the least of which was in attracting the diverse student body for which Sachar was hoping. "There were, of course, Goldfaders and Steins and Shapiros," Sachar wrote, "but there were also Baldaccis and Hemingways and Napolis. The message reached the nation's student applicants and their counselors that, through Brandeis was Jewish-founded, it was an interdenominational institution."

Football came and went, ultimately, because of that success. As applications rose, so did the academic profile of the University, making it harder for recruited athletes to keep up. While football was making headlines, Brandeis was also developing women's sports, like basketball and fencing, and a soccer program that included many of the University's Wien scholars.

NOW
Since Benny Friedman led the Athletic Director's role in 1962, 11 different people have filled the Athletic Directors' role, including, from 1986 to 2017, a succession of alumni: Jeff Cohen '72 (1986-2004), Sheryl Sousa '90 (2004-15) and Lynne Dempsey '93 (2015-17).

Since 2019, the role has been held by Lauren Haynie. A Washington, D.C, native and graduate of Penn State University, Haynie began her career in sports as an athletic trainer, starting out at Lane College in Tennessee before her first stint in Massachusetts at Assumption College. She returned home to Washington and Catholic University, where she began to see her impact on student-athletes beyond sports medicine. From there, an administrative role at MIT opened as Special Assistant to the Athletic Director, exposing her to even more of the athletic world. That led to a position as Senior Associate AD at Wellesley, which eventually brought her to Brandeis on the encouragement of a Brandeis alumna and coworker.

Being a former athletic trainer is an unusual path for a college athletic director. Haynie observed that at small schools, where resources are stretched thin, people in support roles like that are exposed to many more aspects of the job than at larger schools.

Having just finished her fourth year at Brandeis – her senior year, if you will – Haynie is quick to identify her biggest accomplishments. At the top of the list is the return to competition after COVID-19. "Losing the chance to compete was so hard on everyone: coaches, staff, student-athletes," Haynie said. "That's what everyone loves about being involved in athletics, so being able to navigate that difficulty was rewarding."

On a more upbeat note, she also proud of one of the newest additions to the Gosman Center, the Barry Harsip '73 Student Lounge. After the sudden passing of the men's soccer Hall of Famer – his induction ceremony came in Haynie's first month on campus - a group of his former teammates formulated a plan to honor him with a space that students across campus could use to relax in. Over the summer of 2022, Brandeis took an underutilized concession stand area on the first floor of Gosman and transformed it into a lounge area, complete with new furniture and a flat-screen TV, that makes the space vital. "For a small investment, the impact that it's made on our community has been really tremendous," Haynie said.

NEXT
At the start of the Fall 2023 semester, Haynie was promoted to Assistant Vice President for Health, Wellness and Career for the entire University. As she embarks on the new journey, she will be heavily involved with the search committee for her successor. One thing she's looking forward to having the next AD continue is the work that she put into first-ever strategic plan. Started three years ago, the plan's first iteration culminated this year. Coaches and staff saw how their contributions to campus life, not just in athletics, were vital to the University's well-being. "As we continue to work with our colleagues in student affairs, I know the next version of this plan will look different," Haynie says. "But to have a document that we can point to, to people both on campus and off, to say, this is what we are working towards, is hugely important."

When asked what else is on the horizon for Brandeis Athletics, Haynie expects competitive excellence to be an increased focus. "We have amazing student-athletes, and an amazing staff," Haynie says. "I want to be able to give them the resources we need to succeed. We will need to be flexible and innovative in how we can do that."