For the Penn football program, 2014 is set to be a season of firsts and one, all-important last.

The former Penn basketball guard formally signed with the Dutch Basketball League’s Aris Leeuwarden on July 23rd, ending a search for a professional contract that began after Commencement.

As the summer winds down and students begin to wander back to campus over the next few weeks, it only seems fit to reflect on the summer that was for Penn Athletics.After all, it’s been an eventful summer.

After impressing on the mound this past spring, Penn lefty Ronnie Glenn was provided a summer opportunity most college ballplayers only dream of – a chance to play in the Cape Cod Baseball League.

Rising sophomore Stephanie Cheney, who played in 22 games for the Quakers last season, has left the program, leaving the team without a piece in the post that coach Mike McLaughlin could have utilized.

Following an outstanding season in which the Red and Blue captured their first Ancient Eight title since 2003-04, Penn will bring its summer to a close with a 10-day trip to Italy in mid-August before the semester begins later in the month.

As we march towards a future with dwindling attendance and a steadily aging donor base, Penn Athletics needs to figure out how it can once again be part of the culture, part of the true Penn experience.And with a new AD in place and renewed energy around the department, the time is now.

After two Second-Team All-Ivy selections in his first two years as Penn’s second baseman, Vilardo is set to graduate early and head to Purdue to take advantage of his final two years of baseball eligibility and pursue a masters degree in management.Vilardo’s latest move, one he contemplated deeply, was years in the making.

Early Monday afternoon, Penn Athletics announced that Alex Tirapelle has been named the newest head coach of Penn's wrestling program.Tirapelle becomes the program's 19th head coach after former Penn coach Rob Eiter resigned in late May.

Nearly three and a half months after her position was announced, new Athletic Director Grace Calhoun began her term at the beginning of July. Calhoun had previously been the Athletic Director at Loyola of Chicago and is Penn’s first female athletic director.

There was no fanfare. No big overpriced ceremony. But there was no need for any of that. That’s because Calhoun doesn’t seem to be seeking the spotlight and instead is simply getting down to work.

Penn is, first and foremost, an academic institution. Athletes here do not use their time playing for the red and the blue as a stepping stone to the pros. Rather, athletes come to Penn to be student-athletes.

In the upcoming 2014-2015 season, the Quakers will open on the road in Knoxville, TN on Nov. 14 as they visit the University of Tennessee to face the Lady Volunteers in the first ever meeting between the teams.

All-Ivy outfielder Rick Brebner, a 2014 graduate, was at the center of Penn baseball’s success this past season. Relieved to give his body a rest but unsure of his next move after a sports-centric youth, Brebner reflects on an exhilarating senior season, lost MLB dreams and having his own parody Twitter account.

McLaughlin and his assistants continue to demonstrate their willingness to match the Red and Blue up with some of the nation's best teams.And that's the right move.

It was a fitting end to a career: a huge win over Princeton to clinch the Ivy League title, followed by the program’s first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2003-2004.Most players would decide to hang up their shoes after such a successful career, but Alyssa Baron has never been most players.

After a colorful Penn baseball career and an additional season as a Blue Devil, 2013 graduate Ryan Deitrich’s big league dreams are still alive and well.After a successful campaign in his final year of eligibility at Duke as a redshirt senior this spring, the slugger was signed by the Evansville Otters, a professional minor league club that plays in the independent Frontier League.