Emily McNamara, known to many of us as ‘Mac,’ has been a women’s ice hockey coach for close to twenty years, at both Middlebury College and Hamilton College. She is a passionate, competitive, and dedicated coach who is deeply committed to her players on and off the ice. She is also a fiercely loyal friend and teammate and a loving and beloved daughter, sister, aunt, and wife to Dave Campbell, the Middlebury men’s lacrosse coach.

Mac is tough and determined and brave, genuine and intelligent and thoughtful, feisty and funny and kind. We are so lucky to have her in our lives.

On March 20th, 2026, Mac was in a car accident while driving from her home in Vermont to the athletic facilities at Middlebury. A sudden and unexpected ice storm caused her car to lose traction and collide with a tractor trailer traveling in the opposite direction. She sustained life-threatening injuries, including multiple fractures to her face, neck, clavicle, ribs, and pelvis, as well as a traumatic brain injury.

It is hard to articulate what Mac has endured over the last four months. After receiving emergency care at Porter Hospital, she spent six weeks in the neurological ICU at UVM, where she underwent multiple surgeries and received around-the-clock critical care. She was medically sedated and on a ventilator until her pain management was stable and she was able to breathe on her own at which point she was moved from the ICU to the general hospital at UVM.

On April 29th, she was transferred to Spaulding Rehabilitation Center to begin the next phase of her recovery. At Spaulding, Mac participated in daily physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech and language pathology sessions with talented and dedicated practitioners. It will surprise none of you to know that she worked as hard as she was able in every session and that the nurses and therapists at Spaulding loved working with her.

On July 6th, Mac was transferred from Spaulding to her family’s home in New Hampshire to continue her recovery. Mac’s family has been by her side day and night in emergency rooms, the ICU, at Spaulding, and now at home, where they are providing her ongoing care. Her at-home care requires daily supplies, equipment, transportation, and outpatient treatment, as well as the support of in-home nursing and therapy services. The financial burden of Mac’s recovery is significant, including any care, rehabilitation, or equipment that insurance does not cover. Recovery from a traumatic brain injury can be a long and unpredictable process and our goal is for her family to continue to be able to choose the best possible care for Mac at every point without reservation.

We know that many of you want to support Mac and this is one way that we can stand beside her on the long road ahead. Whether you are Mac’s family or friend, player or opponent, a Panther or a Continental, you are on her team. Every contribution, no matter the size, will help ease the burden on Mac and her family and allow them to focus on what matters most: her recovery.

This fundraising effort is being coordinated in partnership with Mac’s family and all funds raised will go directly toward her recovery. If you are planning a larger donation or would prefer to donate by other means, please contact us directly.

If you have previously given to the fund created by Sam Walther (Hamilton '18), thank you. Those funds will continue to go toward the ongoing medical bills and costs that Mac’s care has incurred.