Growing up on the south side of Allentown, Andy Vandergrift ’79 attended Louis E. Dieruff High School, where he excelled academically and demonstrated success on the football field and the track.
He liked math and science, completed the college preparatory classes, and set his sights on studying engineering while playing football at the collegiate level.
Regional colleges were actively recruiting him. Following up on a recruiting visit to Lehigh, offensive line coach John Whitehead P’86 came to the house one evening to meet with Vandergrift’s family.
“I remember sitting at the kitchen table, watching how easy it was for Coach Whitehead to talk to my father about football, all while assuring my mother that Lehigh would offer a great college experience,” says Vandergrift.
Eventually, they asked Andy to leave the room as Whitehead worked to close the deal.
Andy would go on to attend Lehigh — the first in his family to go to college. He earned a four-year need-based scholarship that helped make it possible.
Lehigh’s investment in him left a lasting impression on Vandergrift and helped motivate him and his spouse, Marybeth, to make a $2.5 million lead gift to name the Vandergrift Family Head Football Coach. When fully realized, the $5 million endowment will fund the position currently held by Kevin Cahill.
To remain competitive, Lehigh, like many NCAA and Patriot League programs, is creating endowed head coaching positions to help attract, develop, and retain exceptional coaches. This endowment will serve as a linchpin to the program’s long-term success.
Success is something that Vandergrift has experienced in all facets of his life — academically, athletically, professionally, and personally.
Football at Lehigh
His first taste of success came at the very beginning of his freshman year. An unusual number of injuries to offensive linemen during training camp prompted Whitehead to see if his local recruit could come fill in. Vandergrift’s work that summer helped him make the varsity travel team as an offensive line backup and special teams player.
That season, the team won the Lambert Cup as the best small college football team in the East. Joe Sterrett '76 G'78 P'03 P'05 P'07 P'09, former dean of athletics, played quarterback and led the team to the playoffs. Although Lehigh lost in the first round, finishing with a 9-3 record, Vandergrift had experienced his first taste of NCAA playoff football.
Since he was local, his parents, family, and friends regularly came to Taylor Stadium to enjoy the Lehigh gameday experience. Parents of players became friends and soon formed a core group traveling to road games as well. At home games, the day usually ended with his family at the Alpha Tau Omega house for dinner and cocktails.
Having home so close was a blessing for Vandergrift, who could occasionally escape the bustle of campus for a home-cooked Sunday dinner and freshly washed laundry.
The following year, head coach Fred Dunlap moved on to Colgate, and Whitehead assumed head coaching duties. He ran a different team with his hard-nosed, old-school approach. That season, the team achieved marginal success.
By his junior year, Vandergrift earned the starting position at left offensive tackle. The team finished with a 9-2 record, won the Lambert Cup, ranked seventh in the nation, and returned to the playoffs.
Lehigh went on to win the Division II National Championship with road victories over UMass and UC Davis. The championship game took place in Wichita Falls, Texas, where Lehigh beat Jacksonville State, 33-0.
Over Vandergrift’s four years, Lehigh football compiled a 35-13 record, including a 3-1 mark in the Rivalry. But more than victories, Vandergrift cherished his relationships with teammates. To this day, the team reunites every five years and looks forward to celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2027.
Life After Lehigh
After graduation, Vandergrift moved to Delaware, where he worked at the Department of Transportation.
One fateful day in 1983, as Lehigh played the University of Delaware, Vandergrift experienced firsthand the power of the Lehigh alumni network. A chance introduction to Ralph Fortney ’52 P’80, DuPont’s director of human resources for corporate research and development, led to an interview and landed him a job at DuPont, where he held various sales, product management, and sales management positions over the next 14 years. It was the beginning of a successful 40-year career in the medical devices and diagnostic imaging industry.
It was while he was with DuPont that he was transferred to Danbury, Connecticut, where he met Marybeth. Their next transfer was back to Delaware where their two children, Lauren and Andrew, were born. After leaving DuPont in 1998, they returned to Connecticut where Vandergrift spent the next 12 years at FujiFilm Medical and the final 14 years of his career at NVIDIA where he was responsible for building the medical device business which is the genesis of NVIDIA’s current healthcare business.
Giving to Lehigh
The main campus and Goodman Stadium have always offered a great family environment for game day. When they were young, Vandergrift recalled taking his children to games where they preferred sitting on the grass bank in the endzone over sitting in the stands. After the games the family would take a quick ride through campus and follow it with some Greekers.
Vandergrift appreciates what Cahill brings to South Mountain. In spring 2024, he was invited to attend a football alumni event by teammate Tom Giordani ’78 of the ’77 championship team. Over the years, tailgating at the Rust Family Football Pavilion provided Vandergrift meaningful opportunities to reconnect with alumni and stay engaged with the football program.
This time, Giordani was part of a group of alumni actively supporting Cahill and his vision for team culture, The Nest, which emphasizes a tight-knit community among players, coaches, and alumni. Alumni involvement ranges from career nights for seniors and mentoring players to attending spring practices and participating in some team meetings.
This approach has come at a critical moment, as collegiate athletics continues to evolve amid name, image, likeness opportunities and the transfer portal. Player decisions are increasingly influenced by coaches, facilities, equipment, financial aid, and alumni engagement.
For the Vandergrift family, their investment in Lehigh reflects the relationships forged on South Mountain, gratitude for their good fortune, a belief that philanthropy inspires impact far beyond oneself, and confidence that Lehigh offers the football program and coaches today’s scholar athletes need.
Winning big games, defeating a rival, earning playoff bids, and aspiring to championships certainly don’t hurt, either.
