Men’s Hockey Shatters Glass Ceiling: First 40 Year Old in College Hockey

Upper Decky Merchant ’27

24 Years Old

On Saturday afternoon, Men’s Hockey made an exciting announcement: they were making history. The newest recruit they’ll be welcoming to their team this fall is Chad Pennington, a 42 year old former investment banking analyst looking for a change of pace. This is the first time any athlete over the age of 40 will compete in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) ice hockey. Pennington played hockey at Indiana University, but is eligible to play one more season in the NCAA after redshirting his freshman year at IU. Pennington first learned of Trinity after moving to Greenwich, Connecticut with his wife and two kids to take a job at Goldman Sachs. His career in investment banking was fruitful, earning multiple six figure commissions and even appearing on the Forbes 30 under 30 list for retired Big Ten hockey stars turned finance executives.

The Tripod sat down with Pennington to understand his reasons for returning to the sport: “I just miss the ice, man” he said. “I mean I miss college too. Like the parties, and the girls, and the beer. And the beers and the girls too.” We also asked him about his retirement from his storied career in banking: “I just didn’t feel fulfilled you know? Being cooped up in that office all day just crushed my spirit. Like I felt like there was a part of me still out there on the ice, just waiting for me to come back. And I mean who wouldn’t want to go back to college? The Aughts fucking ruled!” Pennington also implied he may be joining a frat: “I hear those beauties at AD get mad play, hopefully I can join up with them. I’m sure they’d be accepting of a ferda hockey player like myself”

We also sat down with Paul Russell, assistant Trinity Men’s Hockey Coach to get his perspective on the team’s newest recruit. “I think he’s going to bring a mature energy to this team,” Russell said, “Lord knows we need it.” We asked him about what reintegrating into college life again will be like for Pennington: “It might be a challenge seeing how he is 42 and all, but I believe in the kid; he’s mad ferda with the ladies and can rip upper deckies like a seasoned vet. Also his extensive experience with economics should help him pass Econ 101, although we’ll be keeping a close eye on his grades throughout the year.” To end the interview, we asked him to confirm a rumor about Pennington’s living situation: “Yeah he’ll be living in the freshmen dorms with 18 year old women. Why? Is there something wrong with that?”

Pennington has already obtained an NIL deal from Barstool. He’ll be compensated with unlimited Friday Beers and 12mg Wintergreen Zyns in exchange for use of his name, image and likeness. Barstool promises that shirts with Pennington’s face reading “age is just a number” will be available at the campus store and on Trinity’s website for purchase. To celebrate, when Pennington comes to campus on April 3rd, Barstool will be handing out free merch to the first 50 Trinity students to post #ageisjustanumber with an image of Pennington’s face on their Instagram stories.