This week, Oberlin College will welcome back their own athletic legends of the past. The campus will be buzzing with Yeomen and Yeowomen, old and new, as the sports teams compete in rivalries, senior days, and alumni games. It will be a celebration of the Crimson and Gold’s athletic past, and a reminder for what it means for present players to don the Oberlin uniform.
The marquee matchup this Saturday will take place at Knowlton Athletics Complex when the Yeomen football team takes on their rival Kenyon Owls at 4 p.m. But the game will have some extra meaning to it. The football program will also be celebrating the induction of running back R.V. Carroll, OC ’09, into the Heisman Club Hall of Fame this weekend. Carroll was a three-time all-NCAC selection. In 2006, he was named a Third-Team Don Hansen’s Football Gazette All-American, and a few years later, he was named to the NCAC All-Decade Team (2013–23).
One of the stronger annual alumni traditions is the men’s lacrosse’s alumni game. This weekend, dozens of former Yeomen lacrosse players will return to Bailey Field to take on the current players.
“You might get 30 guys,” Head Coach Ryan Polak said. “You might get 45. You might get 50. It’s a special group.”
Coach Polak emphasizes the importance of this event for his program. He describes it as a mentorship and a two-way relationship between current players and alumni that extends to realms beyond the field.
“Everything that is possible for our program started at some point with somebody,” Polak said. “Whether it was 20 years ago, 50 years ago, five years ago, they play a huge role in what this program is.”
The team intends to build off of a strong 2025 season, where they finished 11–5 and were at one point ranked in the top 25 nationally. This weekend will be a celebration of brotherhood in both the past and the present, as they build for success in the future.
The women’s lacrosse program is hosting an alumni game of their own. For them, it will be a first.
“It’s a celebration of old players and new players connecting together in ways that we haven’t had the opportunity to do in past alumni weekends,” fourth-year midfielder and captain Olivia Corradi said.
The goal is for this event to stick and allow alumni to remain involved and strengthen the program through a newfound tradition.
“Having the alumni around will change the dynamic of the team in that it will give us some additional motivation and energy,” Corradi said.
Football won’t be the only program celebrating an inductee into the Hall of Fame. Both basketball programs have inductees of their own. On the men’s side, Jordan Beard, OC ’09, will be honored.
Beard led the conference in shooting over multiple seasons, excelling from the 3-point line and the free throw line en route to first-team all-NCAC honors in 2008-09.
On the women’s side, Christina Marquette, OC ’15, the program’s all-time leading scorer, will be inducted. Marquette was a four-time all-NCAC selection.
As the cross country and track and field programs welcome back their alumni, they will celebrate the induction of Madeline Travis, née Schultz, OC ’10, to the Heisman Club Hall of Fame. Travis boasts an incredible 20 NCAC titles over her four-year career in numerous events.
Plenty of other athletic programs will be competing on campus this Saturday. The men’s soccer team takes on Wittenberg University at 1 p.m. as they celebrate the 50th anniversary of their 1975 team. Swimming and diving will have their alumni back as they host an invitational from Friday to Saturday. The tennis program will dedicate their brand-new outdoor courts with alumni present, and volleyball will host their senior day against Wittenberg University at 1 p.m. on Saturday as well.
“The alumni can help our present team learn from them and how they battled challenges, while also performing their best each day they touch the court,” second-year setter Genna Gauthier said, emphasizing the importance of their senior day. Gauthier also believes the alumni presence on campus will motivate Oberlin athletes.
“Having the alumni back in Oberlin for the weekend might make everyone feel more eager to perform,” Gauthier said.
The lone event on campus this Sunday will be on Dill Field, as the baseball team welcomes back their alumni for their own alumni game.
Owen Potter, OC ’25, who returns this weekend, reflected on the baseball team as family that he could fall back on. Now, working his first job after Oberlin, he believes playing college baseball made him better suited for the professional world.
“Baseball taught being coachable and understanding how to grow into your own role,” Potter remarked.
Current fourth-year catcher and captain Anton Shelton describes this Sunday as a weekend for the team to learn and grow.
“Getting to meet alumni you never played with provides a unique opportunity to learn from leaders you didn’t get to be around,” Shelton said.
Head Baseball Coach Johnathan Ray also emphasizes the importance of learning from alumni. Multiple members of the 2015 NCAC Championship team will be returning.
“It gives more to the reality that this can be done and achieved here,” Ray stated.
Ray also hopes current players will use the weekend to build connections with alumni that extend off the field.
“[With] us being a program that is made up of guys from all over the country, knowing that there is an alum or two … that you can always reach out to for support is really nice,” Ray said.
As a collective, this weekend, players of all sports get to look back upon their team’s past and see what their programs have been able to accomplish.
“You get to meet a piece of history,” is how Ray puts it.
Meeting that piece of history, learning from the alumni, and building those relationships will inspire today’s athletes. The weekend serves as a reminder that the importance of Oberlin Athletics stretches far beyond the lines of the field. This weekend will contribute to strengthening the Oberlin athletic community and building relationships that will last a lifetime.
As for the game this weekend, Shelton is excited to take on and hopefully beat the baseball alumni.
“Some guys are coming back with a vengeance and old man strength,” Shelton joked.
