Upper School Science Teacher Mike Willey has been coaching football at the school since 2008 and became head coach in 2013. This year, his role has a new name: The Kulkarni- Kewalramani Family Head Coach of Football. With a gift from the Kulkarni-Kewalramani family, Coach Willey became the only coach at the school to hold an endowed position.
The family donated $500,000 to fund the role of head football coach in perpetuity. The school invests all of its endowments and uses the income to support its endowed positions.
Jay Kulkarni ’23, a former Varsity Football co-captain who now plays for Bowdoin College, wanted to recognize the impact the school’s football program had on him.
“It first started with a conversation with my mom where I mentioned that if I could give to the school, it would be to help someone related to the football program because of my connection to it,” Jay said.
The family was inspired by John Fish, a Bowdoin alumnus, who endowed the college’s football head coach position. Jay wanted to do the same for the school’s program and honor Coach Willey, who remains a big influence in his life, he said.
“I think every senior that’s able to go on and play college football can attribute a large amount of that success to Coach Willey and the role that he plays for his athletes on and off the field. I think that being able to keep someone like that at that position for the years to come is super important.”
Jay’s father, Abhijit Kulkarni P ’23, also noticed the impact being on the football team had on his son, he said.
“The life of a scholar-athlete is challenging, requiring a constant balance between two demanding pursuits. Throughout Jay’s journey at BB&N, we often discussed the importance of keeping his academics on par with the best. After all, being a scholar-athlete means prioritizing scholarship alongside athletic dedication—‘scholar’ comes first for a reason.”
Football didn’t distract Jay from his academics. Instead, it reinforced his routine, Dr. Kulkarni said.
“It instilled a strong sense of discipline in him. While Jay may have had it before, joining BB&N brought it out in a profound way, as he simply had to rise to the challenge.”
The family wanted to recognize a coach’s ability to affect athletes on and off the field, he said.
“Coach Willey has profoundly shaped how Jay approaches life, and the purpose of this gift is to preserve that lasting influence. The goal is to continually attract exceptional coaches, ensuring there is always a leader at the helm who embodies those same values.”
Coach Willey was touched by the family’s gift, he said.
“I’m very humbled by their generosity. The reason why I do this job is to hopefully have a real impact on young people’s lives. This type of thing just makes me want to double down on the efforts to continue to help people and hopefully impact their lives in a positive way.”
Coach Willey echoed the Kulkarni- Kewalramani family’s sentiments about Jay. “He is a true student-athlete: great in the classroom, hardworking on the field, in the weight room, in the off-season. He’s a model for what we’re trying to do here.”
Athletes should never compromise their education to play football, Coach Willey said.
“We’ll never let football use us,” he said. “We’re always going to use football. We always want to use football to get a better education.”
This philosophy is what initially impressed Jay’s mother, Reshma Kewalramani P ’23, when they first met.
“He told me that if it ever came down to football or academics, academics would always win, and he just won me over with that.”
Even though the gift specifically endows the role of head football coach, it’s more about recognizing the school’s impact on its students, Dr. Kewalramani said.
“Great schools are great because they’re special in some way. BB&N has a lot of history. Their students go to the best colleges, they’re known to be kind, and it has a long reputation of excellence in scholastic education. We wanted to add excellence in athletics as a firm point of BB&N.”
She hopes this gift will add to what makes the school special and encourage others to do the same.
“My real hope is that this inspires a lot more giving, and I really hope that the next coach that’s endowed at BB&N is to a women’s athletic team.”
