Pit Stop #77 came about as a bit of an odd twist. On Saturday, November 16, a group of my wife’s family convened on the campus of the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA to watch the Crusaders host Bucknell University in football. My grand-nephew, Sam Milligan, plays for the Bucknell Bisons (and scored two touchdowns in the first half!) — a great way to mark my very first NECHE football game!
It was a beautiful, sunny, 60-degree day and these two teams played all-out against each other. I admit I did leave half-way through the fourth quarter, missing the nail-biter victory by Holy Cross. I’ve been known to make an “Irish exit” in the final minutes of many sporting events, but my premature leaving gave me plenty of time to stroll across this stunningly beautiful campus.
Holy Cross enrolls almost 3,200 students, with 62% coming from outside Massachusetts. It’s another one of NECHE’s Jesuit institutions, founded in 1843, and the only one devoted exclusively to a four-year, undergraduate, liberal arts education. Holy Cross is highly regarded nationally and boasts some impressive statistics: a 94% first-to-second year retention rate, a 90% graduation rate, and an endowment of over one billion dollars. It’s also been listed among the 53 most beautiful college campuses in America, according to Architectural Digest (and me).
Thanks to its endowment and passionate alums, Holy Cross is one of a select group of colleges (fewer than 100) that meets 100% of a student’s demonstrated financial need. Families with an income of $100,000 or less typically receive a full tuition grant. No wonder so many grads stay involved and choose to give back!
In the stands, I sat between two Holy Cross alums (both football stars in their day), one class of 1978, the other 1955. The younger fellow brought one of his three daughters who had also graduated from Holy Cross and he was equally proud of that distinction. In my judgement, a few calls went against the Bisons unfairly, but I kept quiet, not wanting to alienate my two new friends. And in the end, they were triumphant– with Holy Cross besting Bucknell 40-38.
Oh, the never-ending joy of college athletics!
