The 2026 Proud to be a Panther Challenge drew remarkable support from nearly 5,000 donors across 48 states, raising just under $1.7 million for Middlebury College's varsity and club programs. The final donor count reached 135 percent of the initial goal of 3,500 contributors.
 
"The record-breaking success of this year's Proud to be a Panther Challenge, both in the number of donors and dollars raised, speaks volumes about the passion and commitment of the Middlebury community," said Todd Phelps, Middlebury's director of athletics. "The generosity of our alumni, families, friends and supporters is truly remarkable. These gifts directly impact our ability to support and enhance the student-athlete experience and provide our varsity and club programs with the resources to pursue excellence. I couldn't be more grateful for the incredible support and pride that our Panther community continues to demonstrate."
 
Varsity programs accounted for over $1.3 million from 3,462 supporters. The final figure rose by more than 57 percent from 2025, while the donor count grew by 39 percent. Varsity gifts alone climbed 72 percent from last year's total of $790,422, breaking $1 million for the first time in the challenge's history.
 
BY THE NUMBERS

• Nordic skiing paced all varsity teams in percentage of donor base met, receiving gifts from 181 supporters to finish at 113.1 percent. Women's lacrosse finished second at 94.1 percent, with a department-high 369 supporters raising $175,671, while softball ranked third at 76.3 percent ($16,350 from 103 supporters).
• Baseball led all programs in dollars raised for the second consecutive year, collecting $216,585 from 269 donors.
• Women's soccer saw one of the largest increases from 2025, bringing in more than five times its total from a year ago ($137,785 from 149 donors).
• Football had 341 contributors give a combined $134,015, more than tripling its total from last fall. Men's lacrosse rounded out the top five in dollars at $96,941 from 301 supporters.
• Men's basketball placed sixth with $76,908 from 151 donors, followed by track and field ($61,133, 310 donors) and men's soccer ($53,311, 171 donors). Closing out the top 10 teams were alpine skiing ($45,686, 156 donors) and field hockey ($45,464), with the latter's 327 total donors ranking third among varsity programs.
• The crew program led all club teams with 611 donors helping raise $156,186. 

Alumni made up nearly half of all donors at 49 percent, while parents (22 percent) and friends (10 percent) were the second and third most frequent donor groups, respectively. Gifts to Middlebury Athletics can still be made here.