Revered as a brilliant coach and inspiring educator, Buddy Teevens ’79 blazed trails and changed lives over the decades he led Dartmouth’s football teams onto Memorial Field. A year after his death, family, friends, alumni, and athletes gathered in the shadows of a picture-perfect sunset on Friday to dedicate the stadium to Teevens and name it in his honor.
“Tonight, we bestow one of the greatest honors endowed upon us as an institution,” President Sian Leah Beilock told more than 700 attendees assembled at the main gate. “We dedicate a building—this majestic stadium, the home of Big Green football—and in doing so, we proudly hold up the example of one individual so that generations of future Dartmouth students, along with football fans everywhere, will always know and remember the great Buddy Teevens.”
Teevens, she said, was a visionary leader.
“Tough, independent, competitive to the last down, never afraid to stand up for what was right or try things in a new way,” she said. “And above all, a belief in team and community, in the idea that everyone, no matter who you are, has a role to play. ”
A Champion of Excellence, Equity, and Safety
As a quarterback and Ivy League Player of the Year, Teevens led the Big Green to the Ivy title in 1978. As coach, his record was 117-101-2, including 83-70-1 in Ivy League play. He racked up five Ivy League championships.
But safety, for Teevens, was always as important as winning. To minimize concussions, he banned tackling in practice and, working with Thayer School of Engineering, developed the Mobile Virtual Player, a robotic tackling dummy reducing injuries for teams at all levels, including the NFL.
Teevens also made history by recruiting and hiring the first full-time female football coach in Division I football.
And yet, his wife Kirsten told the gathering , the humble Teevens would have been embarrassed by this dedication ceremony, even though, for his family, the stadium was almost a second home, “and better than any day care center. I would let my toddlers loose after practice each day and they were entertained by dozens of adorable and goofy college boys. They also got a precious few minutes with their dad. Often they wouldn’t see him again until the following day’s practice.”
Kirsten Teevens also shared favorite memories of pre-game rituals.
“When the players were stretching before each game, I would watch Buddy walk around to each one of them,” she said. “He would touch a helmet or tap a shoulder. And I know he was telling them how proud he was of them, or that he believed in them.”
Her parting words, “Renaming the stadium reinforces that all that he was and all he stood for will not just be part of history but part of the future too,” brought a standing ovation.
The “Teevens Way”
“Coach Teevens was so much more than a coach for us players. He was truly a mentor in every aspect of our lives,” said Micah Green ’25, a Big Green linebacker.
For example, Teevens told his players to sit in the front row of class, introduce themselves to their professors, leave spaces cleaner than they found them, and remove hats and headphones in the dining hall. To Green’s amazement, Teevens modeled that work ethic when, after each snowstorm, he shoveled off the “D” in the middle of the football field.
“I quickly learned that it was Buddy’s love for Dartmouth which made the seemingly impossible possible,” said Green.
Formally accepting the stadium, Elizabeth Cahill Lempres ’83, Thayer ’84, chair of the Board of Trustees, said, “Today’s dedication recognizes Buddy for his decades of leadership, mentoring, advocacy for player safety, and love of all things Dartmouth.”
As the Dartmouth Marching Band played on the sidelines, a cloth covering was dropped to reveal, in large letters over the entrance gate, “Buddy Teevens Stadium.” The ceremony ended just as Coach Teevens, win or lose, concluded every game, by leading his team in singing Alma Mater.
Carrying on the Teevens Tradition
Over the past two years, a growing cadre of alumni and friends have honored Teevens’ legacy by committing, to date, $40 million in investments developing and promoting pathways to athletic excellence, student leadership and well-being, and equity
On Oct. 1, which would have been Teevens’ 68th birthday, President Beilock announced three major initiatives.
The Kirsten and Eugene F. “Buddy” Teevens ’79 Center for Peak Performance will extend to all undergraduates Teevens’ holistic approach to performance, mental health, and well-being.
The Kirsten and Eugene F. “Buddy” Teevens ’79 Scholarship Fund will support four Teevens scholars, one in each undergraduate class.
Strategic investments in coaching and facilities will ensure that Big Green football will continue to thrive. Gifts to the Friends of Dartmouth Football will support recruiting and team-building of students and staff and upgrade facilities and technology.
More to Come
Today, additional tributes to Teevens will kick off Dartmouth’s Ivy League season opener against Penn, starting at 1 p.m.
“We always come in here with the attitude that we’re gonna represent Buddy. Represent his values. And just the fact that we’re able to see his name on Floren and on the front of the stadium every day just means so much to us,” Micah Green, the linebacker, said following the dedication. “It’s a visualization of all the hard work and the values that we try to live every day.”
