By Chris Goldberg
Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 5/18/20
Jon Vandenberg said he was stunned today when he learned that the Furman University men’s lacrosse program had been dropped.
“I got a text from my assistant coach (Andrew Athens) this afternoon that ‘The program got cut – no BS!’” said Vandenberg, a Garnet Valley alum who graduated from Furman (Greenville, S.C.) in 2017 as a captain and member of the first Furman senior class. “I texted back, ‘Are you kidding me? This isn’t funny, coach.’
“I texted another assistant coach to see if he was messing with me. He said, ‘Yes.’ I immediately sent a text to alumni. We had not heard any of that. We were all shocked.”
In an effort to address the unprecedented financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Furman University today announced that it would cut the salaries of the president and senior administrators, implement furloughs and budget reductions, and discontinue the lacrosse and baseball programs.
Vandenberg told Phillylacrosse.com that he understood the decision to drop lacrosse as one of the cuts, but felt it was a tough and sudden jolt to alumni and players.
Vandenberg is a 4th year medical student at the nearby University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville (USCSOMG). He plans to become a surgeon and is excited to hopefully begin his 5-year residency next year.
He makes it clear that his experience at Furman was a big reason he has gotten this far in his medical career. Also, there is his keen connection to lifelong friend Kip Taviano, who was supposed to be his college teammate.
Taviano, who played at The Haverford School but grew up in the Garnet Valley School District, and Vandenberg had planned to attend Furman together and were in the first class of recruits for legendary coach Richie Meade. But days after Vandenberg’s prom in May of of 2013, Taviano was tragically killed in a car accident.
Furman embraced Taviano’s legacy and in Vandenberg’’s senior year the program started a tradition of allowing a senior to wear KipTav’s No. 10 jersey that he would have worn. Vandenberg was chosen to wear the jersey and dedicated the season to his friend’s memory. In Furman’s opener, Vandenberg had an amazing 7 groundballs and 2 caused turnovers in a 13-12 loss to Vermont.
“One of the first people I texted (after hearing the bad news) was Mr. Taviano,” said Vandenberg, living in Greenville. “I think that was one of the saddest things for me.
“We have that No, 10 jersey passed down to the senior class and that’s one of the sentimental traditions that makes the program special. I know Mr. Taviano loves the program; it’s like a piece of Kip lives on.”
Indeed, Meade came to the 2nd Kip Taviano @10veEvent Lacrosse Celebration in 2015 to represent Furman and run a clinic.
“This hurts, I definitely feel for Mr. Taviano,” said Vandenberg. “For me, I was very vry thankful for the brotherhood and all of friendships I made.
“They will last forever – they can’t take that away. I think Furman is doing what they can to keep their head above water.”
Vandenberg said the Furman program taught him life skills that he has carried to medical school.
“I think playing D1 lacrosse was a lifestyle; one with a lot of hard work and determination,” he said. “Living that lifestyle, I think I’ve brought a similar mindset into medical school.
“There is a lot of teamwork and leadership needed in medicine and all those qualities were provided to me at Furman, and through my lacrosse youth teams and HS teams growing up. I kind of built my base that I needed to be able to put me in a position to take on the hard work you need for medical school. Furman provided me with tools to make a future career possible.”
Some information for this article came from a Furman University press release
