(above) University of Denver Press Conference accepting WAC offer
The University of Denver has accepted an invitation to join the Western Athletic Conference (WAC), effective July 1, 2012.
DU Athletic Director Peg Bradley-Doppes spoke at the Press Conference today, then Chancellor Robert Coombe, followed by WAC Commissioner Karl Benson and finally Chairman of the Board of Trustees Trygve Myhren [read entire article from DenverPioneers.com]
DU Athletic Director Peg Bradley-Doppes spoke at the Press Conference today, then Chancellor Robert Coombe, followed by WAC Commissioner Karl Benson and finally Chairman of the Board of Trustees Trygve Myhren [read entire article from DenverPioneers.com]
4 comments:
It was a terrific event. Band, cheerlaeders, dance team, athletes and coaches from all DU teams, and Boone was there too.
Boy, how stupid would it be for DU to let Gwoz get recruited away after Peg mentioned the excellent coaches DU has invested in hiring...
On another note... that shout out to the traditions our alumni have started sounded like a shout out to DG...
And, I couldn't help but notice the shout out to OUR "Mascots"...
The DU Athletic Department has done a great job cultivating school spirit, building the band and supporting the cheerleaders.
The mascot? OK that one's on LetsGoDU and the people who donated the money and supported Boone. Getting the mascot and school spirit mentioned by the AD was great. Props to her.
Now the real challenge begins. Building the basketball fanbase to 5,000+ per game. If DU can harness the energy and enthusiasm of "Pioneer Nation" that was in Magness last Friday night, they just might pull it off.
I agree with DG. Considering where we were 10 years ago, it's no comparison. DU has only been a full D-I institution in the last 10 years, and the amount of sports success the school has had is actually somewhat staggering...
Almost every DU sports team is already in the top half of NCAA in its sport, and many of DU's teams are NCAA tourney level contenders year in and year out - skiing, hockey, women's golf, both soccer teams, tennis, both lacrosse teams and gymnastics, etc. And DU athletes have better GPAs and graduation rates than the regualr DU students.
The point is is despite all that success, only hockey draws well. Getting more people to enjoy the high level of DU sports is a challenge in this oversaturated market.
But given the trajectory of where things are going, I could see basketball and men's lacrosse becoming much bigger fan attractions.
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