Date Posted:12:06:13 05/11/04 Tue Author:Terrel Jonez HC '83 Subject: Why Holy Cross should leave the PL
UConn's Basketball Championships Prompt Alumni to Open Wallets
By Gary Carskadden
May 11 (Bloomberg) -- Elizabeth Poole spends two nights a week calling University of Connecticut alumni for donations. Her
job has gotten a lot easier since the men's and women's
basketball teams won national titles last month.
The day before the UConn men defeated Georgia Tech to claim
the National Collegiate Athletic Association championship, almost
all of the alums Poole reached gave money. Typically, half the
people turn her down.
``It was my most successful night ever,'' said the 21-year-
old psychology major. ``The hype was up and everyone wanted to
talk about the game.''
The 26,000-enrollment Storrs, Connecticut, school is reaping
the rewards of becoming the first in the top level of college
sports to win both basketball championships in the same season.
Fundraising in April through telephone calls increased almost 30
percent to $209,803 from $163,240 a year ago. The school expects
to double its revenue from licensed merchandise such as T-shirts,
hats and mugs.
``The hype around the two championships is unique,'' said
Denis M. McCarthy, chairman of the University of Connecticut
Foundation and former president of Fidelity Management Trust Co.
``It brings heightened interest on the part of alums and draws
more people in.''
McCarthy retired from Fidelity in 1998 after nine years with
the Boston-based firm. He was named to the foundation's board
seven years ago and it's his third year as chairman.
Six Nights a Week
Poole is one of 30 students who are calling alumni six
nights a week to help the foundation raise money. The group
probably will meet its six-year goal of $300 million by June 30,
said John Martin, president of the foundation.
The campaign will provide money to renovate the health
center library, build an outdoor-sports practice facility and
fund scholarships and academic programs.
More than half the people contacted in the first two weeks
in April donated money, according to the foundation. Less than 40
percent gave in April 2003. Last year the women won the
championship, but the men were eliminated in the regional
semifinals.
Martin secured a $1.5 million donation after the men's team
won the national title in San Antonio on April 5. Martin had been
talking to the donor for a year about the pledge and the victory
sealed the deal.
``He was at the tournament, and he was caught up in all the
excitement,'' Martin said. ``People are moved by what has been
achieved by the students.''
National Profile
Success on the basketball court has done more than provide a
financial lift for the school; it's helped raise its national
profile. Applications have doubled to 19,000 since 1995, when the
women's team won its first of five championships. The men's team
has won two in the past five years.
For the first time, more out-of-state people have applied
than those from Connecticut, and that's because of basketball,
said Dolan Evanovich, UConn's vice provost for enrollment.
``We are on ESPN every 15 minutes,'' he said. ``We couldn't
afford to purchase this national exposure.''
UConn graduate Sheldon Kasowitz, 42, renewed his ties with
his school after the men won their first national title in 1999.
His involvement grew after his former boss and fellow alum, Gary
S. Gladstein, persuaded him to join the foundation's board last
year and start donating money.
Gladstein, 59, was chief operating officer at Soros Fund
Management LLC from 1985 to 1999. Kasowitz worked at Soros for
five years and left in 2000 to co-found Indus Capital Partners
LLC, a $1.6 billion hedge fund in New York.
``Gary realized we both went to UConn and Columbia business
school, and we had a connection,'' Kasowitz said. ``I always
thought it was a great place when I went there. I was always
disappointed by what little reputation it had, particularly on
Wall Street.''
Miami's Football Fundraising
Winning national sports titles has long been a catalyst to
alumni giving at U.S. colleges. For example, fundraising at the
University of Miami jumped by a third to $3.6 million after its
football team won the national title in 2001, its fourth overall
and first in 10 years, said Brian Cockerham, assistant athletic
director.
``There is no question that is based largely on the success
of our football program,'' Cockerham said.
Besides fundraising, Connecticut expects to increase its
revenue from the sales of licensed merchandise.
The weekend after the title games, aisles at the university
bookstore were lined with cardboard boxes filled with
championship T-shirts. Sales of Huskies gear will produce more
than $1 million in revenue for the school, said Timothy Tolokan,
UConn's associate director of athletics for licensing. That's
twice the amount received in an average year, he said.
``Everybody wants to be a Husky,'' said Tolokan, who has
approved more than 300 designs for UConn championship
merchandise. ``It's now fashionable.''
UConn Resume
All the attention the school is getting might pay off more
directly for its students, at least among those looking for work
in the financial industry.
Kasowitz, the hedge fund co-founder and Huskies alum, passed
out 15 UConn championship hats to his colleagues who commute from
Connecticut to Manhattan to help promote the school.
``The next time someone on Wall Street has a UConn resume
cross their desk, at least subconsciously they will have a more
positive view of the resume,'' Kasowitz said. ``The success of
the basketball program has shined a light inside the state and
raised the profile of the school.''
while the oft criticized gary carskadden's journalistic style is far from original, as he has been known to steal material (and microwaves) in the past, he is actually dead on for once as far as this issue is concerned. there are countless examples akin to flutie's effect on bc that demonstrate what a huge impact success in athletics can have on the academic quality of a school. the same thing has happened at maryland, which has increased it's selectivity by leaps and bounds and now has and average SAT score to over 1300 (which it aggressively markets, unlike HC) after being a mediocre school for years.
there is no question that greater success in basketball (and football to some extent) at HC could only lead to a better financial standing through wall st. alums such as the poster mr. jonez, increased applications, and a more qualified and diverse student body. whether or not this can be achieved in the patriot league is debatable however.
Dadominate & Gary Carskadden are right on. In fact, as a former Varsity Athlete (Captain of the Squash team), I must fully concede that the nationwide proliferation of Squash in the late 70's to early 80's was a direct correlation of the aggresive marketing put forward by Ivy League institutions who routinely dominate the anals of D-1 Squash. Couple that w/ a stellar academic student body & one can easily discern as to the popularity and selectivitiy of Ivy League schools rather than a former regional status before the formation of the "Ivy League" in the mid 20th Century thus allowing a school such as Harvard to decrease it's acceptance rate form 35% to 19%. Gary Carskadden is a smart man.
