On the eve of a great weekend of her administration, UConn President Susan Herbst said Thursday playing for dual national championships represent a great opportunity for the university.
"Our marketing and communications people are all over this," she said. "We have advertising initiatives going on in Dallas. We are asking people, through the governor's office, that people wear their school colors. We are working closely with so many journalists, taking a lot more calls than we might normally from media outlets.
"This is a major initiative of mine. I have been working on it since I arrived. Now I have the right people in place in leadership roles to carry this out. When you are a winner, you have the chance to tell your story. So many universities have wonderful stories to tell, but don't have the athletics to help get them the aperture."
"We are taking advantage of every opportunity we have, like at Madison Square Garden last weekend. Fairfield County? New York City? We are New York's college team," Herbst said. "I don't know that it could be any more evident than it was in the Garden [at the NCAA men's regional last weekend]. We had a lot going on there, as well, last weekend [marketing initiatives].
"As an academic, worrying about the research mission and development of UConn, you cannot buy the kind of media we get through athletics. It's true for Michigan. It is true for Ohio State. It is true for all the great places. They would not trade [athletic accomplishment] for anything. This is our front porch in a sports-minded country.
http://www.courant.com/sports/college/hc-uconn-men-women-final-four-0404-20140403,0,3139762.story
"Our marketing and communications people are all over this," she said. "We have advertising initiatives going on in Dallas. We are asking people, through the governor's office, that people wear their school colors. We are working closely with so many journalists, taking a lot more calls than we might normally from media outlets.
"This is a major initiative of mine. I have been working on it since I arrived. Now I have the right people in place in leadership roles to carry this out. When you are a winner, you have the chance to tell your story. So many universities have wonderful stories to tell, but don't have the athletics to help get them the aperture."
"We are taking advantage of every opportunity we have, like at Madison Square Garden last weekend. Fairfield County? New York City? We are New York's college team," Herbst said. "I don't know that it could be any more evident than it was in the Garden [at the NCAA men's regional last weekend]. We had a lot going on there, as well, last weekend [marketing initiatives].
"As an academic, worrying about the research mission and development of UConn, you cannot buy the kind of media we get through athletics. It's true for Michigan. It is true for Ohio State. It is true for all the great places. They would not trade [athletic accomplishment] for anything. This is our front porch in a sports-minded country.
http://www.courant.com/sports/college/hc-uconn-men-women-final-four-0404-20140403,0,3139762.story
