“The vocal guy on the sidelines isn’t going to be your dad. It’s going to be me,” said Arcadia President Carl (Tobey) Oxholm III as he dropped in to do some cheerleading at a preseason lunch with the fall student-athletes in August.

“It’s a privilege to go to a small university where you will have life-changing experiences and make life-long friends,” he remarked. He shared advice from his grandfather… “brought up in the 1890s, a cross-country runner at college. He told me the reason he did well was because when he got to a hill, he sped up. That’s where he passed the other runners. As you are pursuing your athletic training, just as you are pursuing your studies, you are going to come up against hills. It’s guaranteed. And when you do, just put your head down and run harder.”

As he spoke about his commitment to sports at Arcadia, he took off his tie and his dress shirt—with the student-athletes cheering him on—to reveal an Arcadia soccer T-shirt. He then announced that he had decided to hire a full-time strength and conditioning coach for Arcadia – an announcement that brought cheers and applause from the students and their coaches. “That doesn’t happen a lot in D-III, but if you are going to commit yourself to excellence in sports, I want you to have the opportunity to be the best you can be.”

“My wife, Kim, tells me that the reason I have done so well is that behind every good man,” said President Oxholm, as he peeled off the soccer shirt, “is an even better woman,” revealing a women’s field hockey shirt to even more acclaim.

President Oxholm added to the student-athletes, “You will see me out there exercising. If you do, be sure to say hello—but do not show me up by running past me backward.”