Princeton Athletics Announces Princeton Tiger Performance Endowment
7/14/2021
Princeton Athletics is proud to announce a new anonymous gift in support of Princeton Tiger Performance.
The generous endowed fund provides Princeton Athletics with the ability to expand its sports performance staff and directly benefit student-athletes across the department.
“The mission of Princeton Athletics is to prepare our student-athletes to achieve, serve and lead in all areas, and when it comes to accomplishing those goals there is no greater resource than Princeton Tiger Performance,” said Ford Family Director of Athletics Mollie Marcoux Samaan '91. “We are fortunate to have strong supporters of our holistic approach to sports performance who have stepped up to invest in the staff, facilities, sports science technology, leadership training and education platforms that will optimize individual student-athletes’ physiological and psychological health.”
As part of the Princeton Tiger Performance initiative, Princeton recently hired Mark Ellis to serve as a strength and conditioning coach. Ellis will be the lead performance coach for the men’s lacrosse team as well as other Tiger teams to be determined.
Prior to arriving at Princeton, Ellis was Assistant Athletic Performance Coach at Stony Brook where he worked with the women’s lacrosse and women’s swimming & diving programs. A 2017 Stony Brook graduate, Ellis played for the Sea Wolves’ men’s lacrosse program before playing at Hofstra while earning his Masters’ degree in exercise science. After his collegiate career ended, Ellis moved to the professional ranks where he played in the MLL for the Long Island Lizards from 2019-20. Ellis currently holds certifications with the NSCA as a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS).
“With a high performance model centered around the student-athlete experience, the establishment of this endowment has greatly increased our Princeton Tiger Performance team’s ability to connect with each individual athlete and help them achieve their goals,” said Director of Performance Jason Gallucci. “We are excited to welcome Mark Ellis to Princeton as a member of our Performance team. Mark brings a dynamic personality along with a positive attitude to a team of coaches that excel in providing an environment that breeds success. The support from the Princeton Athletics community continues to allow us to develop outstanding student-athletes by bringing in world-class coaches and staff.”
About Princeton Tiger Performance
Princeton Tiger Performance is a values-based, holistic performance model with a mission to prepare student-athletes to Achieve, Serve, and Lead in all areas of their lives; and to provide leadership to the larger University community around optimizing performance with a sense of purpose and wellbeing.
For information about supporting Princeton Athletics, contact Kellie Staples, Senior Associate Director of Athletics, Advancement at kgale@princeton.edu or 609.258.6696.
