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Princeton University Athletics
Matthew Winston with his father, Kevin
A Football Journey: Matthew Winston '22
February 24, 2026 | Football
By Warren Croxton
Matthew Winston '22 knows about winning football.
The former Tigers' defensive back was part of two Ivy Championship teams while at Princeton in 2018 and 2021.
The 2018 Princeton team is arguably the greatest team in Ivy history. That squad finished 10-0 with the highest scoring team in conference history while the defense ranked fourth nationally in scoring.
Princeton's 2021 unit was coming off the COVID-19 pandemic and corralled a 9-1 season with its only blemish coming at Dartmouth. The Tigers featured an offense that was in first in the Ivy League scoring while the defense allowed the ninth fewest yards per game.
Winston credits both titles to the leaders from the 2018 team. "I feel like it goes back to the 10-0 season because of the leadership of Mark Fossati, Kurt Holuba '19, John Lovett '19 and Tom Johnson '19," said the former Tiger. "Coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, I think we were all excited to be back together, but we knew what the mission was. We didn't come back just to play football for fun; it was to compete for a championship."
When it was announced the Ivy League would not participate in sports for the 2020-2021 academic year, Winston among many of other student athletes took a gap year. During that time, the former defensive back stayed with teammates for workouts while doing a corporate strategy internship with YUM! under Artie Starrs '98. In the summer before coming back to Princeton, he continued to help the NFL, conducting research that ultimately would help inform key business decisions for their international business.
The 2021 season saw Winston play in eight games, collecting 15 tackles and four pass breakups. Needing a win against Penn to clinch an Ivy crown, Princeton was up 10-7 early in the second quarter. Winston picked off a pass and ran 34 yards for a touchdown, a perfect time for his first career pick-six.
The Tigers scored 34 unanswered points enroute for a 34-14 Ivy clinching decision.
"I only remember getting the interception, running down the sideline and seeing Mr. (Steve) Simcox '83 to the left of me, also running down the sideline," said Winston.
Winston had a job lined up after college with ZS Consulting where he worked for two and half years. To begin his time there, he did market research for pharma companies and finding the the best ways to market their products to its target audiences. In his second year and a half, he was focused on the strategy and transformation side of the data which he would later use in his time with the NFL.
Winston always knew the NFL was an option after college as well. His father, Kevin, had spent the better part of almost two decades in NFL front offices with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New York Jets, Atlanta Falcons and currently with the Carolina Panthers. Winston had also kept in touch with mentors in Hans Schroeder '96, Damani Leech '98 and Chris Halpin '98 even after his internships with the NFL were over.
Schroeder, the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for NFL Media mentioned he had an opening in his department. Winston applied and was hired as a senior coordinator for Broadcasting and Media Distribution.
Winston and his colleagues help manage relationships with the NFL and its broadcast partners. With the league generating new broadcast partners like Netflix and Amazon, Winston works with them on such things like stream capacity and internet service along with production execution.
The NFL season doesn't stop after the Super Bowl. Winston and his group help allocate games among the broadcast partners on the upcoming schedule. The former Princeton defensive back is also involved in key events such as the NFL Combine and NFL Draft. Any event that is broadcasted for the NFL, Winston and his crew are involved with making each event feel as big as possible. One of those upcoming events are the Flag Football Championships with its tie into the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
"It's really neat to get understand the media business of the NFL," said Winston about his current position with the League. "There are so many working pieces that you don't realize from the outside. You have to coordinate with communications, marketing, sponsorship, player marketing, etcetera. It's a huge group effort and the cross functionally is cool to see."
Winston is very proud of his Princeton education and uses it in everyday life with the NFL.
"I think the Get It Done mindset and always being a team player has trickled over from my Princeton experience," said Winston.
The two-time Ivy champion will always have Princeton on the brain. He's in a group chat with the senior class of 2022 and a few other smaller ones where the topics range from new jobs, life updates and of course how the team is doing.
He also keeps his Ivy Championship rings in his apartment as well.
"I have buddies that played at Penn and Dartmouth," said Winston. "Sometimes I tell them, they might have one ring, but they don't have two and they definitely don't have a gold one."
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Matthew Winston '22 knows about winning football.
The former Tigers' defensive back was part of two Ivy Championship teams while at Princeton in 2018 and 2021.
The 2018 Princeton team is arguably the greatest team in Ivy history. That squad finished 10-0 with the highest scoring team in conference history while the defense ranked fourth nationally in scoring.
Princeton's 2021 unit was coming off the COVID-19 pandemic and corralled a 9-1 season with its only blemish coming at Dartmouth. The Tigers featured an offense that was in first in the Ivy League scoring while the defense allowed the ninth fewest yards per game.
Winston credits both titles to the leaders from the 2018 team. "I feel like it goes back to the 10-0 season because of the leadership of Mark Fossati, Kurt Holuba '19, John Lovett '19 and Tom Johnson '19," said the former Tiger. "Coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, I think we were all excited to be back together, but we knew what the mission was. We didn't come back just to play football for fun; it was to compete for a championship."
When it was announced the Ivy League would not participate in sports for the 2020-2021 academic year, Winston among many of other student athletes took a gap year. During that time, the former defensive back stayed with teammates for workouts while doing a corporate strategy internship with YUM! under Artie Starrs '98. In the summer before coming back to Princeton, he continued to help the NFL, conducting research that ultimately would help inform key business decisions for their international business.
The 2021 season saw Winston play in eight games, collecting 15 tackles and four pass breakups. Needing a win against Penn to clinch an Ivy crown, Princeton was up 10-7 early in the second quarter. Winston picked off a pass and ran 34 yards for a touchdown, a perfect time for his first career pick-six.
The Tigers scored 34 unanswered points enroute for a 34-14 Ivy clinching decision.
"I only remember getting the interception, running down the sideline and seeing Mr. (Steve) Simcox '83 to the left of me, also running down the sideline," said Winston.
Winston had a job lined up after college with ZS Consulting where he worked for two and half years. To begin his time there, he did market research for pharma companies and finding the the best ways to market their products to its target audiences. In his second year and a half, he was focused on the strategy and transformation side of the data which he would later use in his time with the NFL.
Winston always knew the NFL was an option after college as well. His father, Kevin, had spent the better part of almost two decades in NFL front offices with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New York Jets, Atlanta Falcons and currently with the Carolina Panthers. Winston had also kept in touch with mentors in Hans Schroeder '96, Damani Leech '98 and Chris Halpin '98 even after his internships with the NFL were over.
Schroeder, the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for NFL Media mentioned he had an opening in his department. Winston applied and was hired as a senior coordinator for Broadcasting and Media Distribution.
Winston and his colleagues help manage relationships with the NFL and its broadcast partners. With the league generating new broadcast partners like Netflix and Amazon, Winston works with them on such things like stream capacity and internet service along with production execution.
The NFL season doesn't stop after the Super Bowl. Winston and his group help allocate games among the broadcast partners on the upcoming schedule. The former Princeton defensive back is also involved in key events such as the NFL Combine and NFL Draft. Any event that is broadcasted for the NFL, Winston and his crew are involved with making each event feel as big as possible. One of those upcoming events are the Flag Football Championships with its tie into the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
"It's really neat to get understand the media business of the NFL," said Winston about his current position with the League. "There are so many working pieces that you don't realize from the outside. You have to coordinate with communications, marketing, sponsorship, player marketing, etcetera. It's a huge group effort and the cross functionally is cool to see."
Winston is very proud of his Princeton education and uses it in everyday life with the NFL.
"I think the Get It Done mindset and always being a team player has trickled over from my Princeton experience," said Winston.
The two-time Ivy champion will always have Princeton on the brain. He's in a group chat with the senior class of 2022 and a few other smaller ones where the topics range from new jobs, life updates and of course how the team is doing.
He also keeps his Ivy Championship rings in his apartment as well.
"I have buddies that played at Penn and Dartmouth," said Winston. "Sometimes I tell them, they might have one ring, but they don't have two and they definitely don't have a gold one."
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