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Tom Beckett, in his 14th year at Yale, has built top-notch facilities, bridged the relationship between Yale and the New Haven Community, helped fill the seats at the large venues and has brought some of the best coaches and student-athletes to the campus during his tenure. President Richard Levin acknowledged his accomplishments when he reappointed Beckett, Yale’s 17th chief of athletics, to a second term a year before his first pact had been completed.
Beckett has considerably raised the profile of an entity that was virtually ignored in the area to one the New Haven Community is proud of and supports. Among the many team accomplishments during his tenure, the men’s hockey team won its first ECAC Championship, the men’s basketball team captured its first Ivy title in 40 years, the volleyball squad became the first Ivy team to win an NCAA Tournament game, the women’s golf team has won six of the nine league championships, lightweight crew captured three national titles and the women’s squash team has won the last three national titles.
Since taking over at Yale, Beckett has made community involvement a high priority for the school’s athletic programs. His leadership in community endeavors paved the way for an endowment to create the award-winning Thomas W. Ford ’42 Community Outreach Program, one that brings area youth to the campus for things such as the National Youth Sports Program and many others.
Beckett has opened the doors of the department of athletics to those who live outside the campus to give them a chance to experience the special environment with the hopes that they will return and support the varsity teams. This has been accomplished through his extensive community outreach program, and it is no coincidence that attendance at Yale football, hockey and basketball games has increased dramatically since he arrived in New Haven. The Bulldogs have been ranked among the top 10 NCAA I-AA football schools in attendance since Beckett has been at Yale and led the nation in 2003. He implemented a Yale Corporate Partners Program, developed a new Yale Athletic Department logo, and strengthened a broad-based Friends of Yale Athletics group, the Ray Tompkins Associates. In addition, his work with corporate partners has ensured that all Yale undergraduates can attend all home contests for free.
Part of Beckett’s original vision was that Yale’s coaches and athletes deserved better facilities. He has worked tirelessly to raise money for improvement projects, and his success is manifested all over the Yale campus. To start with, there is the renovation of the Payne Whitney Gymnasium ¬including the creation of the 57,000-square foot Colonel Lanman Center, the “Ace” Israel Fitness Center, the Brooks-Dwyer Varsity Weight Room, the Brady Squash Center and the McNay Family Sailing Center. In October of 2000 he helped dedicate the new Gilder Boathouse on the Housatonic River in Derby. In addition, Johnson Field (field hockey, lacrosse) and the Dewitt Family Softball Complex were recently built, while renovations on the Golf Course at Yale (site of the 2004 NCAA East Regional) have brought it to an unprecedented level. His latest project was the installation of a banked track inside Coxe Cage named after Frank Shorter ‘69. Beckett is currently overseeing the restoration of the world famous Yale Bowl.
It would be safe to say that very few if any Yale athletic directors attended games as regularly as Beckett does. He relishes the opportunity to show his support of the players and coaches who represent the university, and everyone involved in Yale athletics recognizes the intensity of his commitment to the program.
Working closely with admissions, financial aid and head coaches, Beckett helped streamline the process required to recruit the best student-athletes while improving the relationship between athletics and those two departments. He regularly meets with recruits and has been a vital ingredient in improving the department’s yield rate.
A 1968 graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, Beckett earned three varsity letters in baseball and basketball, serving as the captain of the Panthers’ 1968 baseball team. He earned a master’s degree in education from his alma mater in 1972 and is a 1975 graduate of Harvard’s Institute of Life Science. Beckett played professional baseball in the San Francisco Giants’ organization for five seasons before embarking on a career in college athletics. He coached at the University of Pittsburgh and Butler Community College (PA), and was an athletic administrator at San Jose State University before moving to Stanford, where he served from 1983 to 1994 as associate director of athletics. During his tenure at Stanford, Cardinal teams won 32 NCAA championships, and the program received seven NCAA “Champion of Champions” awards, emblematic of the overall success and excellence of Stanford athletics.
Beckett and his wife, Kim, reside in Guilford with their son, Alex.
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