Coach Rogers thanked the club for their support as he said that not every school has a support group like the Touchdown Club. His players feel the support and they work hard every day to accomplish not only their team and individual goals but also strive to win for the fans. Three starting seniors could have entered the portal but remained to play with their brothers for one last year. Rogers stated that the offensive line will make a big deal about Villanova week. Last year it was, “this is just another game”, but they have decided to make it more about the rivals from the Main Line.

Haley Alioto, the Assistant Director for Football Operations and On Campus Recruiting, told the lunch attendees that her team does everything football except the X’s and O’s. From hotel accommodations to transportation and from non-football student-athlete issues to hosting families of recruits, the Football Operations team proactively ensures that problems are
minimized. This includes going to an away game site the day before the game to inspect the hotels and working with
Admissions and Compliance before a recruit and his family are invited for an official visit.

Haley is a graduate of the University of Delaware with a degree in Sports Management and Event Planning. She was a
synchronized skater during her four years in Newark. She currently is working toward an MBA.

We also heard from Zhaibri Jeffries, Associate Director for Development. “Z” is a graduate of Temple University and has extensive experience in management and development, most recently at Ohio State University. He is working hard to move forward on funding for our pending facilities project. “Z” is a good guy to get to know.