John Mack ’00, a former captain of Princeton’s men’s track and field team, was named the University’s Ford Family Director of Athletics, succeeding Mollie Marcoux Samaan ’91, who stepped down to become commissioner of the Ladies Professional Golf Association.
“This is truly a dream come true 25 years in the making,” Mack said. “There is no place in the world that means as much to me as Princeton, and to be given the opportunity to serve as the next Ford Family Director of Athletics is really beyond my wildest dreams.”
During his four years as a 200- and 400-meter sprinter, Mack won a total of 10 Heptagonal championships on the track, helping Princeton to the indoor and outdoor championship each of his last three years. He set the school record for the indoor 200-meter, and in 2000, he was named one of the top male senior student-athletes at Princeton.
A practicing lawyer whose legal practice focused on complex commercial litigation and products liability cases, Mack began his career in college athletics as assistant director of intercollegiate programming at Princeton in 2000; he coordinated facility use and competition schedules for all varsity programs as well as event operations for home contests. He also served as assistant women’s track and field coach from 2002 to 2004.
From 2004 to 2006, Mack served as associate director of championships for the Big Ten Conference, and from 2006 to 2011, he was senior associate director of athletics for sales and marketing at Northwestern University. He earned his law degree from Northwestern in 2014, graduating with cum laude honors.
When Mack begins on Sept. 1, he will become Princeton’s sixth director of athletics, all of whom were also former Princeton student-athletes. In addition to Marcoux Samaan (women’s soccer, women’s ice hockey), he joins a group that includes Ken Fairman ’34 (football, men’s basketball, men’s lacrosse), Royce Flippin Jr. ’56 (football), Bob Myslik ’61 (baseball), and Gary Walters ’67 (men’s basketball).
“Princeton has the power to change lives, it has the power to change the world, and when I look at the incoming student-athletes … I’m excited about what the next four years and beyond holds for Princeton University and Princeton Athletics,” Mack said. “I commit to our coaches, to our staff, to our students, to our faculty staff and alumni, that I will work every day to continue the proud tradition of excellence here at Princeton University and Princeton Athletics.”
Read the full announcement on the Princeton University Athletics website.
