Princeton University Athletics
Monday TigerBlog - The Patriot All-American
December 29, 2025 | Tiger Blog
So Baylor's men's basketball team is going to have a new addition?
His name is James Nnaji, a 2023 second-round draft pick. That's NBA draft pick.
To this, TigerBlog says: Good — with one condition.
Nnaji needs to be an enrolled student who is on track to earn a degree in four years, subject to classroom attendance checks and academic progress updates. Should he fail to meet that standard, then he'd immediately (and permanently) be ineligible. The same is true with anyone else who 1) has been a pro athlete and 2) never played in college. For the latter, the five years to play four years rule still applies.
Why not? At least that would bring a bit of "college" into the equation for these college athletes, no? Otherwise, what's the point of pretending that Power 4 football and basketball players are students too. In that case, just let them play.
Either way, the case of Nnaji will probably be a tipping point. Either the football players who fill those massive stadiums need to also be college students or they don't.
And, as this year has clearly shown, the fans will continue to watch and root for those teams either way.
In the meantime, if you're tired of stories that are all about money for college athletes, then you need to read up on an event that is beginning today in Arizona. It's the The Patriot All-American golf tournament, where Princeton will be represented by four athletes.
This isn't just another tournament. It's one that is all about honoring fallen service members and first responders. Each golfer was given a bag at the opening ceremonies yesterday with the name of someone in whose honor he or she will play.
The tournament begins today and runs through Wednesday, with 54 holes of stroke play.
Princeton's four golfers are Olivia Duan, Thanana Kotchasanmanee and Sarah Lim of the women's team and Eric Yun of the men's team.
Beyond the golf, though, there's the matter of Air Force Captain Thomas Gramith, Police Officer Robert Zane, U.S. Marine Corps Major Megan McClung and Sergeant First Class Jason Lee Bishop.
These are the people whose memories the Princeton golfers are playing to keep alive. Here, you can read about them yourself:
Air Force Captain Thomas Gramith, 27, of Eagan, Minnesota, was assigned to the 336th Fighter Squadron out of Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, NC. He died on July 18, 2009 in an F-15E crash near the Ghazni province, Afghanistan. A team of U.S. and coalition forces immediately responded to the crash site, secured it and recovered the Airmen. He was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star. Capt. Gramith was born in St. Paul, MN and attended St. Thomas Academy in Mendota Heights. He attended North Dakota State University where he earned a degree in aeronautical engineering. He was also a member of the ROTC program and entered the Air Force in 2005 as a 2nd Lieutenant. Colonel Clark Wigley, Capt Gramith's first Professor of Aerospace Studies reflected, "Tom, like so many before him, was an uncommon young man who will certainly be missed. He died doing something he loved and probably would have done it for free knowing how much he looked forward to being an aviator."
Capt. Gramith is survived by his wife Angie and twin daughters Stella and Eva.
Police Officer Robert Zane, 45, of New York, NY died on May 12, 2009, from illnesses he contracted while inhaling toxic materials as he participated in the rescue and recovery efforts at the World Trade Center site following the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. Officer Zane died of metastatic renal cell carcinoma (kidney, lungs, brain and vertebrae). Officer Zane had served with the New York City Police Department for 16 years and was assigned to the Transit Bureau.
Islip Town and the Sayville community honored Zane with a street renaming and dedication ceremony in September 2020. The intersection of Versa Place and Lowell Road was renamed Robert A. Zane Jr. Way. Officer Zane posthumously received the NYPD Distinguished Service Medal in 2011 and his name has been added to memorials across the country including the 9/11 Responders Remembered Park, the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C., and the New York City Police Officers memorial wall. He is survived by his wife Tracy and their two children, Robert "Bobby" Zane III, and Abigail.
U.S. Marine Corps Major Megan McClung, 34, of Coupeville, WA, was assigned to the I Marine Expeditionary Force Headquarters Group, I MEF, Camp Pendleton, Cali. She died December 6, 2006, while escorting Newsweek journalists into downtown Ramadi when a massive improvised explosive device destroyed her Humvee, instantly killing McClung and two others. While in high school and college, Maj McClung competed as a gymnast. She was also a triathlete (having competed in six Ironman competitions) and a marathoner. Maj McClung graduated from the Naval Academy and was commissioned in 1995. She served on active duty until 2004, when she entered the Reserves. She joined Kellogg, Brown, and Root, an American engineering and construction company and worked in Iraq as a private contractor. In 2006, she returned to active duty with the Marines and was deployed to Iraq as a public affairs officer with the I Marine Expeditionary Force. Major Megan McClung was buried with full military honors in Arlington National Cemetery on December 19, 2006. Her headstone bears a phrase she coined while training military personnel on how to conduct interviews with the press: "Be Bold. Be Brief. Be Gone."
Sergeant First Class Jason Lee Bishop was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 33rd Cavalry, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, of Fort Campbell, Kentucky. He was killed January 1, 2006, when his patrol came under fire. They were called in to investigate a report of a suspicious vehicle in a ravine. He got within 150 meters; the engine revved up and then blew up. SFC Bishop was killed because he stepped in front of a suicide bomber and saved his fellow soldiers. SFC Bishop graduated in 1993 from Holmes High School in Covington, then went to Fort Knox for training, eventually becoming a drill sergeant. For over 12 years, SFC Bishop served his country. He was awarded the Purple Heart and Bronze Star posthumously following his death. A proud father, SFC Bishop loved his daughter and son fiercely. He was known for his strong sense of humor, and often had jokes to tell his loved ones. He was a loyal friend, who made sure to tell his friends before he deployed to remind his children what he was like if he didn't return. He is survived by his wife Katrina, his daughter Morgan, and his son Matthew.
This is what college athletics is supposed to be — actual students who are competing athletically at a high level and trying to be the best they can be at both.
It's why TB has always been happy at Princeton and couldn't imaging being anywhere else.
