On February 20th, 2026, Malvern Prep celebrated its third annual Blue and White Day. This event focuses on giving back to the school to support sports and programs on campus. It all stemmed from 2019 when Malvern Prep was beginning to develop its Friar Club. Mr. Jim Stewart ‘86, Head of Athletics, who arrived at Malvern during that time period, explained the true meaning of the Friar Club.
“But ultimately, the true heart of it was to try to raise funds to enhance the game day experience. So that’s the mission of the Friar Club. While it doesn’t look like tailgates and events, it allows a school or program like lacrosse to do their trips for free if there’s enough funding in the Friar Club account. In other words, we don’t have to charge families,” Stewart explained.
It is a very tangible and exciting experience for Malvern men on overnight trips, and families recognize this. It makes donating to a cause like this so much easier as they see the outcome.
As Mr. Stewart explained, Mr. Matt Mackrides ‘08, Varsity Lacrosse Head Coach and Associate Athletic Director, brought the idea to Malvern.
“[Coach Mackrides] was involved in the college sports scene and saw that a lot of universities have a day of giving for a certain program, or programs, outside of Giving Tuesday. Originally, Malvern introduced the program with two distinct giving time frames,” Stewart said.
This was an attempt to support all sports teams in their respective seasons. There have been many people who make the day as successful as it could be: the development team, the alumni, and the coaches. They have different roles, as the development team puts out the information, the coaches spread the word to their team, and then alumni give back, showing the Friar Brotherhood. Mr. Stewart explained how the live ticker encourages competition.
“[It] shows the leaderboards of each team and makes people more excited in a competition setting,” Stewart said.
The Friar Club is run by Coach Mackrides. Many other people work within the club to ensure the success of the program.
“Jared McKee is the alumni representative, and makes sure that the alumni are excited for upcoming events and or reach out for their support,” Coach Mackrides described.
As part of the Friar Club, last year, they put together a throwback Thursday fact of the week.
This could include an image from a sports team in 1926 or just a random stat about Malvern. The Friar Club already has a date picked out for next year.
“We hold multiple meetings throughout the year, lots of Zoom calls, going down to the Austin Hall’s development team, and planning on how to make it most engaging for the students, the current community, and obviously the alumni. While discussing the possibilities for next year, the team bounces ideas off each other constantly to ensure all boxes are checked,” Stewart said.
Coach Mackrides and Mr. Stewart are both confident in the event growing in the following years.
“We want new families to understand the true message and meaning of Blue and White Day,” Stewart said.
The Friar Club also wishes to iron out flaws in social media marketing while recognizing donors without invading their privacy. The one thing that is constantly changing is the forms of appreciation for the donations. Last year, they used phone calls, and this year, the student body wrote personalized notes.
They want to analyze the data and see where a majority of the donations are coming from. This is to ensure that they can figure out which group of people is not donating. Then they are able, as a team, to implement a way to transition them more into donating on the Blue and White Day.
Our school’s mission of living out truth, unity, and love is prevalent in the athletic department, and especially on the Blue and White Day.
“The concept of giving back is unity and love in a lot of ways. I don’t know if the truth really winds into that, but that’s just one example, the concept of support, giving back to the community. We’re together. So Unitas would be an overarching value that I see is directly connected with the Friar Club,” Stewart said.
The alumni played an important role at Malvern. Mr. Mackrides, being an alum, explained how he is constantly in contact with his Friar Brothers.
“They’re constantly asking about giving back, and they want to give back to the school, to give them so many memories. And I think a lot of our sports programs derive their value system from the schools, because it’s so natural and seamless,” Mackrides said.
Teams at Malvern allow a tighter Brotherhood to blossom in tough situations on the field, court, or pitch. The opportunity to participate in sports at Malvern is part of the further education system. They can learn and grow through practices and then apply those skills in their academic lives.
These donations allow Malvern’s coaches and players to perform and train at the highest level. Through generous donations, the teams and players feel backed and have a full support system behind them.
Mr. Dave Gueriera, Head Coach of Varsity Football, described the effects this backing has on the team.
“When people donate, it shows our players that the community believes in what they’re doing. Football is about more than just the games on Friday nights — it’s about building young men and building pride in our school. When people step up to support us, it reminds our team that they’re part of something bigger than themselves,” Gueriera said.
The support received makes a tremendous impact on the athletic teams. The programs built at Malvern are built on the support pillars of the parents, alums, and the community. Donations allow players to have a fair opportunity to compete at the highest level and propel the programs forward.
The donations received are put right back into the program and the kids. Coach Gueriera described what the donations are going towards on the football team:
“Equipment, training gear, travel costs, and helping make sure every player has what they need to compete and develop,” Gueriera said.
Coach Gueriera wishes to remove barriers and ensure the players can focus on learning, improving, and representing the school in the right way.
“Sports teach discipline, accountability, teamwork, and resilience. Our players learn how to handle adversity, how to work for something that doesn’t come easy, and how to put the team ahead of themselves. Those lessons stay with them long after their playing days are over,” Gueriera said.
Stephen Postek ‘26 is a player on Malvern’s Varsity Baseball team, and he demonstrated what the Blue and White Day donations mean to our players.
“The money goes to resources for us as a team to grow together. [They allow] us to get better as a whole team and succeed in our goals,” Postek said.
The resources provided by the generosity that occurs during Blue and White Day are a cornerstone of building up the teams at Malvern. Jack Arbogast ‘26 is another senior at Malvern and a key piece to the Rowing team. He shared with us how these donations help the players and coaching staff.
“Our coaches don’t have megaphones; you can barely hear them. When Coach Konopka is yelling at us, we can’t hear anything because it can get loud out [on the water] with all those moving parts. I think it’ll definitely help out on a coaching and training standpoint. All the donations we got last year are really what is strengthening this season, because we have all new boats. The boat that we used last year is being used by the younger guys on the team now, so we have all this new equipment that we’re able to use to make us go faster and faster,” Arbogast said.
As Arbogast described, these donations help teams purchase what they need to make their teams get stronger and faster. He also told us how rowing itself affects his life, and how important it is to keep the program running to continue to engrave these lessons into others’ minds.
“One guy is not going to be able to carry the boat across the finish line. It’s all four guys, [who] are going to be in such a tight connection with one another that they’re just going to be able to do it,” Arbogast said.
Rowing is a team sport, and you need to have a connection with your teammates and understand them to succeed at the highest level. Sports at Malvern develop teamwork, a skill everyone should have in this society. Jack also says that it teaches how to overcome obstacles.
“If I were to give a specific lesson, I think it teaches us about fighting mental pain because rowing is such a mentally taxing sport that we learn to be able to control that and just look on the bright side of things. Not to say that rowing is bad at all, but that’s exactly what it does. It makes us mentally stronger and fitter,” Arbogast said.
Being able to overcome adversity is an important trait to have in one’s life, understanding how to move past challenges and continue to look forward.
The most crucial factor to continue our Blue and White Day is the donors, whether that is a parent, grandparent, friend, or alumnus. Anyone who donates makes a difference in these programs. Mrs. Mary Beth Crawford, parent of two Malvern students, gave us insight into her reasons to make this impact.
“I donated because I truly appreciate how much the athletic program not only supports my sons, but supports all of the boys at Malvern Prep, and this is one small way for me to share that gratitude. I hope that my donations go to supporting the boys, the coaches in whatever way they can,” Crawford said.
These donations aid in the programs at Malvern Prep and help all the students participating in them. She also relayed how she believes the donations affect our players.
“It would be hard to tell whether there is growth in a sport because of one donation. But, I do feel like the spirit of giving, and the contributions that come from within our community, play a large part in the ongoing growth of the boys’ sports,” Crawford said.
Blue and White Day has been a big success in the past three years at Malvern. Each year, the number of donations increases drastically. It brings the community of Malvern together to support a common cause. Blue and White Day is going nowhere soon and will continue to be a staple at Malvern for years to come.
