“We had a record-breaking Giving Tuesday,” said Elaine Ezrapour, director of the Fordham Fund. “It’s very exciting to see the outpouring of ‘phil-‘Ram’-thropy.’” 

Held this year on Dec. 3, Giving Tuesday, the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, has become an international day of charitable giving. Since 2015, Fordham has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars each year on this day. But 2019 marked the first year that the University raised more than a million. 

Supporting Athletics

The majority of the 1,589 gifts made this year were for Fordham athletics. More than $300,000 in gifts will help support the Frank McLaughlin Family Basketball Court and University sports teams. That includes the Fordham men’s rugby football team, which is raising money to fly to Ireland for the club’s first international tour in more than 50 years. 

“Working with the Fordham Fund, we’ve created a Give Campus page for each of the varsity and club teams,” said Edward Kull, senior director of development and senior associate athletic director, adding that the student-athletes and coaches create videos for their teams letting everyone know what their needs are. “So it’s a real collaborative effort.” Squash, crew, football, water polo, and sailing were among the top raisers, he said.

Scholarships for Urban Plunge

More than $6,000 was raised for scholarships for Urban Plunge, a pre-orientation program where first-year undergraduate students participate in community service activities throughout the Bronx and Manhattan. The program, run by the Center for Community Engaged Learning, requires a $250 fee for each student that pays for their meals, transportation, and supplies. 

A Double Giving Challenge

This year’s Giving Tuesday offered Rams a double challenge. If 350 donors made a gift by 11:59 a.m. EST, then Susan Conley Salice, FCRH ’82, and Thomas P. Salice, GABELLI ’82, would contribute $20,000. After the goal was achieved, the Salices presented the second half of the challenge: If 200 more donors made a gift by 11:59 p.m. EST, the couple would give another $20,000 to Fordham. Thanks to 550 donors, both challenges were met and the Salices donated $40,000. 

Student Support

Students across the University helped spearhead donation efforts, too. In O’Hare Hall, student callers reached out to dozens of alumni, parents, and friends of Fordham. Usually, they work three hours a day, Ezrapour said. But on Giving Tuesday, they worked from roughly 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. and secured 150 gifts over the phone. 

Further downtown, the Student Philanthropy Committee at Lincoln Center set up a tabling session in the Lowenstein Center. For the first time, they created a “giving tree” fashioned out of chicken wire and multicolored leaf cut-outs. Committee members asked passing students to write on a leaf the things they are grateful for at Fordham—including causes they want to support in the future. 

“They wrote wonderful notes about the different areas on campus that they feel connected to and care about,” Ezrapour said. “It was a great effort on their part, not only in raising awareness about Giving Tuesday, but also demonstrating to the campus community just how many potential areas there are to support.” 

The second phase of updates to the court, which focused on new flooring, is scheduled to be finished by mid-October.

“[It is] a much more modern and professional, state-of-the-art approach for a building that is close to 100 years old,” said Aldo Di Vitto, assistant director of architectural services.

The court is located in Fordham’s historic Rose Hill Gym, a building steeped in 94 years of history. For decades, it has hosted hundreds of basketball and volleyball games. Year after year, it has seen Encaenia ceremonies, Block F Awards dinners, Fordham Prep graduations, and performances by musicians like the Ramones. During World War II, it was even used as a U.S. Army barracks. The gym’s name has stayed the same, but the court was recently renamed the Frank McLaughlin Family Basketball Court in honor of Frank McLaughlin, FCRH ’69, a former Ram team captain, current associate vice president of student affairs for athletic alumni relations and external affairs, and distinguished athletic director emeritus.

Today, the building remains the oldest regularly-used NCAA Division I gym in the country. But nearly a century of wear and tear took its toll on the space. In the last 15 years, the arena has undergone several small-grade upgrades. In 2017, the University initiated a massive two-phase project—the most significant renovation to date. The first phase involved replacing all lower spectator seating; new bleachers with a seating capacity of 3,470 were installed, while chair back seats were placed behind the team benches.

Then just a few days after Fordham’s 2019 commencement, the second phase of renovations began. In roughly four-and-a-half months, the University, in collaboration with Caldwell & Walsh Building Construction, Inc. completely replaced the gym’s flooring system with a modern alternative. The new state-of-the-art wood surface contains shock-absorbing materials that reduce strain on student-athletes’ bodies, as well as a waterproof membrane that keeps moisture away.

“When you come down [on the floor after jumping], you compress your entire body, and you exert a ton of energy through your legs into the floor. You have this tremendous compressive force when you land,” explained John Puglisi, associate vice president for facilities management. “This floor will actually absorb that energy and return it much slower, so you don’t get the shock in your knees and ankles.”

In addition, the “sprung floor” gives student-athletes an extra boost.

“When you compress the floor, you compress these gaskets, if you will, or these pads,” Puglisi said. “And all of the energy gets returned back up to you.”

In a two-minute-long time-lapse video, viewers can watch the lengthy construction process from start to near completion. Workers in construction hats strip away the wooden panels, revealing compacted soil that is soon replaced with concrete. The surrounding walls morph from concrete to sheetrock. The pipes that once ran along the perimeter of the arena now run underneath the floor. Over the next three weeks, the floor will receive its finishing touches, and the bleachers, temporarily moved to a different location during construction, will be reinstalled in the space.

“The concept here was to provide a safer playing surface for our student-athletes,” Puglisi said.

The first basketball game played on the new floor will take place on Nov. 5. The women’s basketball team is scheduled to play Notre Dame University at 7 p.m. and the men’s basketball team will play St. Francis College at 9:30 p.m. There will be a Maroon Club Reception at Bepler Commons prior to the double-header at 5:30 p.m. 

To date, the court’s $2.5 million fundraising campaign has raised more than $1.5 million—more than half of its intended goal. Donations in support of the court renovations can be made here.

But to Frank McLaughlin, FCRH ’69, a former Ram team captain and standout player, the court is simply known as “home.”

“Fordham to me has always been about family,” said McLaughlin, the University’s associate vice president of student affairs for athletic alumni relations and external affairs, and distinguished athletic director emeritus. “I’ve been fortunate to have had a long career in athletics here. I’ve seen a lot of great things happen [at Rose Hill]and shared in a lot of successes.”

To honor McLaughlin’s legacy, the Rose Hill Gym’s basketball court will be renamed the Frank McLaughlin Family Basketball Court as part of a $2.5 million fundraising campaign, which aims to herald a new chapter in Fordham’s athletics program. So far, more than $1.3 million has been raised to support the University’s efforts.

As McLaughlin’s career nears its half-century mark, he said he is especially excited for the future of the Rose Hill Gym, which will be transformed into a more fan-friendly basketball arena equipped with new spectator seating, a state-of-the-art wood surface, and an upper balcony with a hospitality suite. The prospective changes offer the most significant renovation to date for the 92-year-old, 3,200-seat gym, which has had several small-scale upgrades over the last 15 years.

“It provides our coaches with a better opportunity to attract outstanding student-athletes,” he said.

McLaughlin guided the Rams to the National Invitation Tournament in 1968 and 1969. The former hoops star also helped win a record-breaking 23 home games in two seasons, defeating Seton Hall, Syracuse, and Georgetown, among others. Later, he served as an assistant to famed basketball coach Richard “Digger” Phelps on the nationally ranked 1971 Fordham men’s team before serving as the University’s athletics director for 27 years. In 2016, he was inducted into the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference Hall of Fame.

“Frank truly bleeds maroon,” said Darlene Luccio Jordan, FCRH ’89, a member of the Board of Trustees. “He has been a force both on Fordham’s basketball court and then courtside for more than four decades. I couldn’t think of a more fitting tribute to Frank, [his wife]Susan, and their girls than to name the Rose Hill Gym’s basketball court in honor of his family.”

Fordham family

The McLaughlin family has been associated with the Rose Hill Gym since 1945. The son of a New York City police officer, McLaughlin grew up in the Woodlawn section of the Bronx, where he said basketball was the premier sport in his family. His three brothers, Walter, FCRH ’53, Tommy, and Jackie graduated from Fordham Preparatory School on the Rose Hill campus—and they all played on the court.

The McLaughlin family connection continued at Fordham through McLaughlin’s daughters, Tara, GABELLI ’99, Heather, FCRH ’02, and Colleen, GABELLI ’05.

Throughout his career at Fordham, McLaughlin sought to create a supportive environment that would assist student-athletes in reaching their greatest potential on and off the court. He recruited first-rate coaches who understood that being a good athlete and a good student were not mutually exclusive.

“The student-athlete that goes to Fordham realizes that we want to be successful athletically, but it’s not a win at-all-costs attitude,” said McLaughlin. “They realize that the top priority for coming here is to receive an outstanding education, and then to compete at the highest level athletically.”

Returning home 

McLaughlin’s unique leadership and recruitment approach has had an impact on other institutions, too. When Phelps went on to coach at Notre Dame in the early ’70s, McLaughlin followed, helping to guide the top-ranking Fighting Irish to NCAA tournament bids. As the head men’s basketball coach at Harvard University from 1977 to 1985, his record ranked fifth in the school’s history of basketball wins.

“Coach McLaughlin is a tremendous coach and leader who has given back much to the game of basketball and to Fordham University, both of which mean so much to him,” said Tommy Amaker, Harvard’s head men’s basketball coach.

McLaughlin found his way back to his alma mater when he was named Fordham’s athletic director in 1985.

 “Frank was never too busy to do something that was to Fordham’s advantage and interest,” said Edward H. Mank, a Massachusetts-based backer of the McLaughlin Family Court, who first met McLaughlin when he was a coach for the Harvard Crimson.

Advancing Fordham athletics

David Roach, who succeeded McLaughlin as director of intercollegiate athletics and recreation in 2012, said the renovations will be a draw for fans. “The new seating will also allow spectators to have an enjoyable game-viewing experience throughout the season.”

Current and former members of Fordham’s athletic community said the McLaughlin Family Court might usher in a new era of men and women’s basketball at Fordham.

“[Frank] has seen the ups and the downs. He’s seen Fordham ranked nationally,” said University of Colorado Associate Head Coach Jean Prioleau, FCRH ’92, former basketball player who helped the Rams make it to the NCAA Tournament in 1992. “He’s the sounding board for letting a new generation know that it can be done at Fordham because he has seen it happen.”