Claudine Gay Is Still Rooting for Harvard

Claudine Gay may have been boxed out of Harvard’s top job by politics and scandal, but nothing will keep the former president from her courtside seat when the Harvard women’s basketball team takes the floor in Raleigh, N.C., on Saturday in its first NCAA tournament appearance in 18 years.

“Being courtside is a joy and a privilege, and where I feel most at home at Harvard,” Gay wrote in a statement to The Crimson about her love for the team.

The feeling is mutual, head coach Carrie Moore said in an emotional interview after winning the Ivy Championship. “She is and always will be this team’s president,” Moore said, tears welling as she spoke. “We love her to death.”

Since being ousted in January 2024, Gay has maintained — and even deepened — her superfan status, taking solace in the team’s embrace even as she largely receded from public life at Harvard.

Just four days after stepping down, she was courtside at Lavietes Pavilion watching the Crimson defeat the Yale Bulldogs. And last weekend, she was at center court with Moore, clutching the Ivy League trophy — and posing for a photo — just minutes after the Crimson dispatched the Columbia Lions to clinch their first March Madness berth since 2007.

“She held it like it was her own,” Moore said. “And I hope she felt that triumphant moment with us because she deserves that as well.”

Amid plagiarism allegations and backlash over her administration’s response to pro-Palestine campus protests, Gay ultimately lost the confidence of the Harvard Corporation that elected her president a year earlier. But while the University’s governing board turned against Gay, the women’s basketball team welcomed her with open arms.

Moore recalled feeling filled with pride when she noticed Gay sitting on the sidelines at the first home game after she stepped down from her historic role as Havard’s first Black president.

“I saw her and almost got emotional mid-game, just knowing that she feels like she has a place where she can come and just be seen and accepted for who she is and not judged,” Moore said.

From November to March, Gay’s constant presence at home games has made her a fixture at Lavietes for women’s basketball games, a celebrity die-hard fan with an assigned seat like Spike Lee at Madison Square Garden watching the New York Knicks or Jack Nicholson at Los Angeles Lakers games.

“I just can’t think of a game when she hasn’t been there at home,” Moore said in an interview. “It’s almost more surprising when I look over and she’s not there.”

Gay watching from courtside as Harmoni Turner shoots. By Samuel A. Ha

This season, shortly after the Crimson completed a 91-35 blowout victory over the Yale Bulldogs on Jan. 25, Gay stood up from her seat to congratulate the team. Each player and member of the coaching staff received a hug and a few words of praise.

It is a ritual Gay and the team practiced week after week, regardless of the final score. But this year, Gay missed just one home game due to travel, and those hugs usually followed a Crimson win as the team played to a 10-2 record at Lavietes and 22-4 overall.

Junior guard Saniyah Glenn-Bello told The Crimson that Gay’s “love, commitment, and respect for this program motivate us daily.”

“She is more than just a fan, she is a leader who embodies leadership, integrity, and unwavering dedication — qualities that elevate everyone around her, especially our team,” Glenn-Bello added.

As dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences in 2022, Gay supported Harvard Athletic Director Erin McDermott’s efforts to hire Moore to lead the women’s basketball team. Though Moore had no prior head coaching experience, she had just helped lead the Michigan Wolverines to an Elite Eight NCAA tournament run.

“Being my first head coach hire here, getting support from Claudine for the person I felt was the best coach for Harvard was critical,” McDermott wrote in a statement about Gay’s support for the Crimson. “Claudine became an instant fan of Carrie’s and in extension, the women’s basketball team.”

“It is incredibly rewarding and touching to see the joy Claudine and the team bring each other and the genuine affection they have for each other, knowing it all happened because Claudine was so supportive of Carrie coming to Harvard,” McDermott added.

Claudine Gay as dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. As dean, Gay was part of Moore's hiring process. By Julian J. Giordano

Gay has also forged close relationships with many members of the team, becoming a mentor and an inspiration to players like star senior guard Harmoni Turner. Gay also served as a freshman adviser for one student who joined the Crimson as a rare walk-on.

In an interview, Turner called Gay a “role model.”

“She has a lot of courage and a lot of support and a lot of love, and I admire that,” Turner added. “I really cherish that relationship with her and I’m just so happy that she’s a fan of Harvard women’s basketball.”

When the players are on the court, Gay, who often sits between her husband, Christopher C. Afendulis, and McDermott, is laser-focused on the action. In response to a particularly impressive play by the Crimson, Gay will usually throw back her head in delight, then enthusiasticlly applauds.

She also ensures that her outfits match the uniform color the players are wearing during any given game. And if someone asks, Gay doesn’t hesitate to rave about the quality of basketball played by the Crimson.

“There’s no question that the players are smart, skilled, and agile. But what I love most about watching them play is their communication on the court,” Gay wrote in her statement. “They are present and tuned in to one another. It’s seamless and awesome to witness.”

In return, Harvard’s athletes love the support.

Senior guard Elena Rodriguez cried after the final home game of the season when she realized it was likely the last time Gay would watch her play in a Harvard uniform. As it turned out, there would be at least one more chance for Gay to see the Crimson’s seniors play.

Though she was unable to attend the Crimson’s Ivy Madness semifinal against Princeton, Gay and her husband streamed the game on their flight, 30,000 feet in the air. As they gripped their armrests, Turner dropped a record-breaking 44 points to will Harvard into the final.

Gay immediately began to plan her trip to Providence for the final against Columbia.

“Claudine never fails to surprise me,” Rodriguez wrote in a statement. “Having the opportunity to share such a special moment with her was something I’ll never forget.”

One day after the championship win, Gay was at the Murr Center for a Selection Sunday watch party where the Crimson awaited news of its first round NCAA tournament opponent. A small crowd of spectators cheered as the players arrived. Gay, beaming, filmed the scene on her iPhone like a proud parent.

After the team learned it would face the Michigan State Spartans in North Carolina, the room erupted in celebration. When the dancing and hugging died down and the crowd began to disperse, Gay lingered for a bit longer.

As if they just finished a game at Lavietes, the team formed a line to greet Gay. She offered hugs and words of praise to each player as they headed back to the locker room.

Then, following one final scan of the room to make sure no one was accidentally missed, Gay quietly left the Murr Center and went home.

She needed to book a flight to Raleigh.

—Staff writer Miles J. Herszenhorn can be reached at miles.herszenhorn@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @mherszenhorn.