Duke in Pics: Creating Memories at the 2026 Duke Football Employee Celebration
Sunny skies, free fun and plenty of touchdowns combine to make for a special Saturday
“It’s been amazing,” Brownlee said about the event.
Drawing several thousand staff and faculty members and their families and friends to Brooks Field at Wallace Wade Stadium, the 2026 edition of the Duke Football Employee Celebration unfolded under sunny skies and saw the undefeated Blue Devils rout visiting William & Mary 62-7.
“I look forward to this weekend every year,” said Price, who visited the pre-game tailgate alongside Duke Vice President for Human Resources Antwan Lofton. “It’s a way for us to show our appreciation for the work of our incredible staff. The heart and soul of the university really are the staff of this institution. They provide all the support that our students, our faculty and our researchers require. And for them to have a chance to relax with their families and come see a fantastic football game, particularly on such a beautiful day, it doesn’t get any better.”
Enjoy these moments from Saturday’s event celebrating Duke staff and faculty.
A longstanding tradition organized by Duke Athletics and Duke Human Resources, Saturday’s Duke Football Employee Celebration featured free tickets distributed to employees, complimentary pre-game meals and a variety of family-friendly activities on Duke Football’s practice field.
Duke Vice President for Human Resources Antwan Lofton said the event, which allows staff and faculty to share a quintessential Duke experience with the people in their lives, is one of the highlights of his year.
“Events like these give us a chance to remember that for every employee, there’s a household that’s represented,” Lofton said. “Oftentimes we see a person as a colleague or the co-worker, but we don’t often get a chance to meet their son or their daughter or the other members of their household. So, it’s great for us to do that even exchange. We get to meet their families and the families get to meet who their parents or family members spend their days working alongside. It’s great to put aside the reports and projects and come together as a community.”
Duke Regional Hospital Clinical Nurse Bridgette Penny and her husband, Corey, brought their daughter, Nellie, to last year’s Duke Football Employee Celebration, but she was too young to take advantage of the inflatable activities at the pre-game tailgate.
But on Saturday, Nellie was finally old enough to bounce around the inflatable obstacle course and zoom down the inflatable slides.
“We’re from Durham, original Durhamites, and we’ve been Duke fans since before I started working here,” said Penny, who has been at Duke for six years. “It’s great that they do this for us.”
Duke’s football captains were joined at the pre-game coin toss by Dan Brooks, Duke’s Duan Family Women’s Golf Coach. In more than four decades at the helm of the Blue Devils’ powerhouse women’s golf program, Brooks has led Duke to seven NCAA titles and mentored 28 All-Americans.
Brooks was selected for the coin toss to represent the three winners of the 2026 University Medals for Distinguished Service, which were presented as part of Duke Founders’ Day Weekend. In addition to Brooks, the other 2026 University Medal winners were former Senior Associate Dean of The Graduate School Jacqueline Looney and former Duke University Board of Trustees member Laurene Sperling.
For Dr. Jon Florance, a joint replacement surgeon who joined Duke on Aug. 1, Saturday’s Duke Football Employee Celebration was the perfect welcome to Duke with his wife and four children.
The Florance family made a full day of their first game, with the kids — ages 11, 8, 6 and 3 — lining up for temporary tattoos before kickoff. Eight-year-old Celeste wore hers proudly: a Duke "D" emblem affixed to her cheek.
Watching his kids dive into the festivities made the day even more meaningful, Florance said.
"Any time you can build community, it's a lot of fun," he said. "I'm kind of a sucker for these kinds of things — I saw it and thought, why not? Bring everyone out."
Florance completed his medical training at Duke for five years before a short departure, and he says returning with four kids encourages him to embrace events such as the employee game.
"Now that I'm on the other side of training, it's nice to be able to do these kinds of things," he said.
Geneva Arness, a Health Check Nurse with LIVE FOR LIFE, made snagging tickets to Saturday's football celebration something of a mission — one she wasn't about to let slip by this year.
"I missed getting tickets last year, so I was real quick to get them this year," said Arness, who has been at Duke for six years and tries to make it to the employee game every season.
This year, her quick thinking paid off for a colleague, too. Arness helped out Connie Griffin-Hughes, an Administrative Assistant who works alongside her at LIVE FOR LIFE.
"I got to share my tickets with her," Arness said.
The two colleagues made a point of attending together with their families, soaking in the atmosphere for Griffin-Hughes’ first Duke football game.
On the field, Duke rolled to a dominant 62-7 victory to improve to 4-0. The 22,003 fans on hand at Brooks Field at Wallace Wade Stadium got to see Blue Devils receivers haul in five touchdown catches and standout running back Nate Sheppard rack up 116 yards and a touchdown.
Dating back to last season, the Blue Devils, the 2025 ACC champs, have now won eight-straight games.
Hunter Seals and Devin Pettiford were best friends before either started working at Duke. After Seals landed his job with Duke Facilities Management four years ago, Pettiford joined two years later – working alongside his friend in the same role as a Utility Distribution Mechanics.
Although Pettiford left Duke in July, Saturday was a chance for the two to deepen their friendship and love of Duke with free tickets to a football game.
For Pettiford, cheering on Duke in the game was only part of the appeal of attending.
"There’s just a togetherness about everybody," Pettiford said. "Everybody gets along here."
Throughout the roughly 90 minutes of the pre-game tailgate, young fans tossed footballs toward holes in an inflatable target. Shuntaro Ito, the son of Duke Senior Research Associate Ryo Ito, was among them, firing several spirals on target.
As Senior Project Coordinators for Duke Human Resources’ Office of Staff & Family Programs, Kathy Dury and Tracey Perry are tasked with helping organize the pre-game meal and activities for each edition of the Duke Football Employee Celebration.
With more than four decades of combined experience with this event, they know that once it’s over, it’s time to start thinking of ways to enhance it for the next year.
“It’s a lot of work, but feels great to see people smiling, eating and having fun with their families,” Perry said as the event wound down Saturday afternoon.
“Just seeing everyone together and enjoying themselves, it makes it all worth it,” Dury said.
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