There was a lot to celebrate this Alumpics season. Not only did the Ivy+ competitors bring their photographic A-game, but they also got to cheer for their own in the Olympics. There was a staggering amount of student and alumni Olympians competing this year. Stanford dominated the Ivy+ representation in Rio with over 30 athletes, including swimming superstar and future Cardinal, Katie Ledecky. Princeton had 13 Tigers pounce on the scene, Dartmouth brought some Big Green–ery to the games with their nine athletes, Cornell celebrated big time with six Big Red Bears, and five Columbia Lions also clawed their way to the games. And Penn has been celebrating their alumni wins from Olympics past, such as Susan Francia, who won gold with Women’s Rowing in 2008 and 2012.

The Alumpics themselves were full of surprises this year. Columbia, failing to earn a single medal in the 2014 games, came back swinging and was able to clinch the gold all five days, due to their highly engaged Instagram audience. In a sudden turn of events, Stanford bowed out of the competition on day three, possibly to concentrate on celebrating their incredibly successful Olympians. If they had added #alumpics to their Olympic Instagram posts, they might well have given Columbia a run for their money.

The competition to watch was Cornell and Dartmouth, as they duked it out for second place each day. By the end of day 5, both Big Red and Big Green had three silver medals. In the end, as Cornell did not medal on day one, Dartmouth was able to just win that coveted silver medal and Cornell was awarded the bronze.

Though Princeton and Penn didn’t make the final podium, they didn’t walk away empty handed. Princeton came in just behind Dartmouth and Cornell, with two silver medal pics and two bronze. Penn put up a valiant fight, and was able to snag a bronze medal on day 5.

Thanks to all who followed the Alumpics this year. We hope you enjoyed exploring the 27 sun-kissed photographs from the six institutions as much as we enjoyed taking them.

Instagram was new Alumpic territory and it was thrilling to see alumni, students, and friends get online to support their schools. Who knows? Maybe Snapchat will emerge as the new battleground at the 2018 Winter Alumpics. Until then, we’ll all be stretching out photographic muscles.

On the last day of the Alumpics, the competitors showed off their amazing school spirit.

Columbia took gold with an energetic shot of some of this year’s graduates from the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA), which got 574 likes. Cornell, Dartmouth, and Princeton tied for silver, with photos of a spirited Slope Day, an emotional Olympic debut, and a strong turnout at the popular P-rade, respectively. The second-place finishers received 363 likes (Cornell), 344 (Dartmouth), and 173 (Princeton).

Penn didn’t go down without a fight, securing the bronze with a photo of Penn’s Class of 2016 cheering on the Red and Blue. They received 83 likes.

Stanford again bowed out of this round, using their Instagram to celebrate their talented group of Olympians, including a photo of alumnus Erik Shoji, of the U.S. Men’s Volleyball team.

Columbia, Gold Medal Winner

Cornell, Silver Medal Winner

Dartmouth, Silver Medal Winner

Princeton, Silver Medal Winner

Penn, Bronze Medal Winner

Thank you all for a great week of ALUM-pic competition! See you in 2018, when we’ll face off during the 2018 Winter Olympics, in PyeongChang, South Korea.

With only one day left in the Alumpic games, the vintage look was all the rage as the Ivy+ competitors took on day four’s Throwback Thursday (#TBT) theme. There’s something about that hashtag that really brings out the sepia tone in all of us. Refreshingly, the time stamps for the submissions really ran the gamut from the early 1900s to 2012, proving that vintage doesn’t necessarily mean old.

Taking the top prize, for the fourth day in a row, is Columbia with 483 likes on its archival photo depicting the unveiling of the University’s iconic Alma Mater statue in 1903.

Columbia, Gold Medal Winner

Ties abound this Alumpic season! In the race for the silver medal, Cornell and Princeton tied with sporty pics. Cornell’s shot of some mighty impressive tobogganing on Beebe Lake (circa 1900) earned them 329 likes. And Princeton broke free of the black and white filter, bringing in 181 likes for a thoroughly Olympic tribute to alumna Caroline Lind, who earned a gold medal in 2012, as part of Team USA’s women’s eight rowing team. Fun fact: This photo was an Alumpics silver medalist in the 2012 games as well!

Cornell, Silver Medal Winner

Princeton, Silver Medal Winner

Dartmouth clinched the bronze with 236 likes for their cool 1990 shot of some students moving onto campus.

Dartmouth, Bronze Medal Winner

Penn threw it back several decades to 1908, when alumnus John Baxter Taylor was the first African-American to earn gold in Olympics history. They received 45 likes.

Stanford was a no-show again. But we can’t fault them too much. They have a lot to celebrate during this year’s Olympic games in Rio. Future Cardinal, Katie Ledecky has been on a swimming hot streak with 3 gold medals thus far. And Simone Manuel (Stanford junior) tied for the gold medal in the 100-meter freestyle, becoming the first African-American woman to win an individual Olympic title in swimming.

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The final day of competition is upon us. Show us your best school spirit!

Things heated up on day three of the Alumpics, as the competitors put their best summer photos forward. Long distance shots of campus, places of interest, and the night sky abounded.  Except for Cornell’s freeze-frame action shot, the day three submissions were downright peaceful. Maybe it’s the heat that makes summer the most tranquil of seasons.

Now, to the medals:

Columbia scored a gold medal three-peat with 557 likes, and Big Green out shined Big Red for the silver, with a stunning starry sky. Dartmouth received 350 likes for that sparkly shot, and Cornell got 361 for a GORGES photo of Ithaca Mayor Svante Myrick ’09 fulfilling his promise to jump into the water in a full suit if enough money was raised for hunger.

Columbia, Gold Medal Winner

Dartmouth, Silver Medal Winner

Cornell, Bronze Medal Winner

Princeton didn’t snag a medal this time, but came through with an explosive picture of the final night of Princeton Reunions, receiving 126 likes.

Princeton

Penn came in fifth place and 47 likes, with a “Summer in the City” shot of Penn Park with the Philadelphia skyline in the background.

Stanford called a time out this round and did not post a photo.

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Take a look back at day one and two of the Alumpics.

Columbia’s campus — and gold medal — shone brightly Tuesday as the Lions secured first with 567 likes on Day 2. Cornell was close behind, with 407 likes of a beautiful sunset snap. Dartmouth followed suit with another sky shot, getting 291 likes and tying with Princeton for the bronze medal. Princeton went a different route, with a photo that captured the experience of peering through one of its many amazing arches on campus. It received 166 likes.

Columbia, Gold Medal Winner

Cornell, Silver Medal Winner

Princeton, Bronze Medal Winner

Dartmouth, Bronze Medal Winner

Stanford, which received 229 likes, employed the talents of alumnus and photographer Tamer Shabani ’14, MS ’16, who snapped a gorgeous photo of a palm tree and sunset on campus.

Stanford

Penn asked its alumni to show their love for College Green, receiving 54 likes.

Penn

Day three of the competition is set to heat up with the Summer theme. Good luck to all!

Columbia athletes took over Low Library steps — and day one of the Alumpics — as the Lions captured the gold medal for the “Athletics”-themed day of competition, with 641 likes. Dartmouth stood tall in second place, with 524 likes for track star Abbey D’Agostino ’14 on the podium, and Princeton scored the bronze medal and 207 likes with a photo of Ashleigh Johnson, an alumna and one of the top water polo goalies in the world.

Columbia, Gold Medal Winner

Dartmouth, Silver Medal Winner

Princeton, Bronze Medal Winner

Stanford came in fourth with 291 likes of a reunion in Rio — alumna and sports analyst Ros Gold-Onwude courtside with volleyball stars Kawika and Erik Shoji, brothers and fellow alumni:

Stanford

Cornell and Penn rounded out the group, with a tie for fifth place. An adorable puppy stole the show at Cornell, with a photo of the University’s unique yoga class for dog owners, started by Vet College students.  The photo garnered 189 likes. Penn joined Princeton, Dartmouth, and Stanford in the Olympics theme with a shot of alumna Susan Francia ’04, who won gold with Women’s Rowing at the 2008 and 2012 Games.

Cornell

Penn

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Be sure to check back tomorrow for the winner of the Campus-themed day of competition. Good luck!

It’s 12:00 PM ET, the flame is lit, and the pics are cropped, filtered, and posted. The games are officially underway for the 2016 Summer Alumpics!  Time to head to your favorite Ivy+ school’s Instagram account, check out their first Alumpic photo (today’s theme: Athletics), and do what you’ve got to do to help your school win.

We wish all of the competitors the best of luck in this friendly competition.

It’s been two and a half years since Ivy+ competitors faced off for Alumpics supremacy. The last go-round was an icy battle in winter 2014, with Cornell garnering gold. Now, four years since the epic inaugural summer slugfest of 2012, the heated competition returns to the warmth of summer.

The 2016 competitors will be the Lions of Columbia, the Big Red of Cornell, the Big Green of Dartmouth, the Quakers of Penn, the Tigers of Princeton, and the Cardinal of Stanford.

A new arena will serve as the playing field for Alumpics 2016: Instagram.

On each day of this feverish competition, each of these schools will post a themed photo on their Instagram account and put their social media savvy to the test as they try to get the most likes on their schools’ pics. At the end of each day, gold, silver, and bronze medals will be awarded to those who battled best. At the end of the week, one alumni association will stand as the Alumpics 2016 champion.

The games begin on August 8.

An epic run by Penn in the final two days of the Winter Alumpics nearly upended the stalwart consistency of Cornell, but Big Red’s social media savvy ultimately won out. Skating to the finish line with the overall Alumpics gold, Cornell won just one daily gold medal on Day 1 but stayed strong the rest of the way by snagging four straight silver medals. No one could have forecast the turbulent race for the remaining medals.

Princeton was on fire early on, landing a silver, gold and bronze on the first three days of the competition. But the Tigers were frozen out of medal contention on the final two days. On the flip side, Penn initially got iced a few times in the beginning of the week, but surged ahead by the end, winning back-t0-back gold medals to go along with an early bronze. Stanford struck gold with a California spin on a weather photo and played strong throughout, earning three bronze medals along the way. Columbia, close on several occasions, got snowed out of earning a medal in the 2014 games.

Penn hailed the overall silver medal for its strong finish, while a cooled off Princeton narrowly edged Stanford for the overall bronze.
While these top three alumni associations have landed atop the snow-capped Alumpics mountain, there was much more won during this competition. Alumni from the five institutions sampled 25 frosty photographic treats and, through social media endurance, propelled their schools down the icy slopes of Alumpics glory.

Training is under way for the 2016 Summer Alumpics.

With the last day of the Alumpic games falling on February 14, our five Ivy+ competitors all put forth their best and last efforts to woo their alumni with the Alumpic theme of the day: Valentine’s Day.  In the end, the gold went to Penn, with a total of 469 ‘Likes’ and ‘Shares’ on its alumpic of spring and Robert Indiana’s iconic LOVE sculpture.  Let brotherly love endure!

As we know, love comes in all shapes and sizes, and that couldn’t be more true for Cornell’s alums, who gave their collective Big Red hearts to their beloved PMP – “Poor Man’s Pizza”.  With a total of 405 ‘Likes’ and ‘Shares’ on this heart-stopping classic, Cornell is setting the Alumpic stage on fire with its fourth straight silver medal.

And over on the sunny Farm, Stanford alums felt Cupid’s arrow for its alumpic, which brought in a total of 343 ‘Likes’ and ‘Shares’ (and numerous Stanford couples!) to land Stanford the bronze medal for the second day in a row.

Although Princeton came in fourth today, the Tigers wooed its alums with an alumpic and a sonnet so sweet, it made our hearts skip a beat!  As for Columbia, while this Winter Alumpics may not have been the source of the Lion’s pride, we know there’s no greater love than a Lion’s for his Alma Mater – and we’re not LION!

And this concludes the 2014 Winter Alumpics.  We can’t think of a lovelier sentiment on which to end the games.  Thank you everyone who participated, and stay tuned for the “Closing Ceremonies” post!   Happy Valentine’s Day!