Star Sprinter Returns as Director of Athletics

Princeton’s new Ford Family Director of Athletics brings a wealth of experience in running things — including track and field.

John Mack ’00 was a psychology major and star sprinter at Princeton, scooping up major student-athlete awards — including the Roper Trophy, given annually to a male senior who achieves in sports, scholarship, and sportsmanship — and captaining the men’s track and field team. Since then he has gathered leadership experience in college sports and built a legal career.

“This is truly a dream come true — 25 years in the making,” Mack said in a video announcing his appointment. He was not available for an interview by press time.

President Eisgruber ’83 called the new athletic director “superbly qualified for his new role” in a news release that cataloged Mack’s career. After graduating, Mack worked with facilities and scheduling for Princeton athletics for four years and coached women’s track and field. Then he worked on championships for the Big Ten Conference, and later in marketing for athletics at Northwestern University.

He earned a law degree from Northwestern in 2014, and was most recently an associate commercial and class-action litigation attorney at Bush Seyferth PLLC, in Michigan. His pro bono work included appeals for death-row inmates, according to the firm’s website. 

He’s also the ordained pastor of Greater New Hope Missionary Baptist Church in New Haven, Michigan, and has three young children with his wife, Dr. Alleda Mack ’99.

As a Princeton runner, Mack won five indoor and five outdoor Heps titles. Twice he received his team’s highest awards: the Babb Trophy in 1997 and the Bonthron Trophy in 2000.

Mack started Sept. 1, replacing Mollie Marcoux Samaan ’91, who left to become commissioner of the Ladies Professional Golf Association. The University said it conducted a nationwide search.