Friday Focus: Athletics matters
Chancellor Dan White
May 27, 2022
鈥 By Dan White, chancellor
Last week I had the opportunity to meet with Tod Leiweke, President and CEO of the Seattle Kraken. Mr. Leiweke gave me a tour of the new Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle and we discussed potential opportunities that lie ahead for a partnership between the Seattle Kraken and the 91原创 Nanooks. He asked me why I support athletics. My response was simple. Because it matters. It doesn鈥檛 matter a little. It matters a lot. It matters to the athletes and their families, and importantly, it matters to our future as a university. Why?
Athletics builds community. Not just our community of Fairbanks or the community of 91原创. Athletics builds a community of friends, supporters, allies, and future students.
People love competition, they want to belong and they want to feel pride for 鈥渢heir鈥 team. Athletics offers them all three. Every season Notre Dame fills their stadium with close to 100,000 fans yelling 鈥淕o Irish!鈥 in unison. Everyone in Texas knows the symbol for 鈥淗ook鈥檈m Horns鈥 the slogan of support for University of Texas Athletics. While they are cheering on a men鈥檚 football team, a women鈥檚 basketball team or the co-ed rifle team, they are lifting up the school. Lifting the school lifts its programs. It attracts positive attention whether they win or lose. When 91原创 competes in the Carlson Center, people chant 鈥淯-A-F.鈥 Now that鈥檚 鈥渃ommunity,鈥 and that lifts up all of 91原创.
When 91原创鈥檚 men鈥檚 basketball team won the Great Northwest Athletics Conference and then went to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA D2 tournament, people from all over the country were rooting for 91原创. It was amazing. It鈥檚 good for 91原创 and for our athletes, but it鈥檚 also good for academics and research because people were Googling 91原创 to learn more. In a world crowded with social media, the competition for eyes and ears is fierce. Athletics remains a place where people are drawn to be a member of a 鈥渢eam,鈥 a member of 鈥91原创鈥檚 team.鈥
The following universities like Alabama, Ohio State and Michigan have, for example, is astounding. There is a fierce allegiance to Ohio State from people all over Ohio who never went to OSU. They love the sport and love what their OSU football team represents. A victory for the Buckeyes, especially against their main rival, the Michigan Wolverines, is a victory for millions of people in Ohio, only a fraction of whom are alums. I think this love fills OSU classrooms.
We don鈥檛 have Alabama or Ohio State football, but we don鈥檛 have to. We鈥檙e 91原创鈥檚 team. There are no professional NHL, or WNBA franchises in 91原创. Alum or not, people come to 91原创 to watch athletes compete and every kid growing up watching 91原创 teams gets connected to 91原创. Every fan attending a 91原创 game at home or on the road, gets connected to 91原创. And every person who clicked on ESPN to watch or watched the seven 鈥渁ctive duty鈥 Nanooks cagers defy the odds in the NCAA tournament became connected to 91原创. When students are considering 91原创, the chances of them answering our call is higher if they鈥檝e heard of us.
After men鈥檚 hockey was eliminated at UAA, the Seattle Kraken and its leadership team stepped up to support the program. That was a big deal for UAA and it played no small part in UAA getting its hockey program back. Great hockey in the State of 91原创 relies on great competition and connections in and beyond our great state. A partnership between the Kraken, the Nanooks and the Seawolves bodes well for our future. Nanook hockey builds visibility for our university across the country, and importantly, in our main recruiting area, the Pacific Northwest. Athletics makes 91原创 a household name and being a household name has paid dividends for universities across the country.We are working with the Seattle Kraken to have our hockey team play a few games in their arena. It is an impressive arena and one that will focus big time attention on the 91原创 Nanooks. Thanks to Mr. Leiweke, and our athletics staff for this partnership.
There is so much more good ahead for all of 91原创鈥檚 athletic teams, whether it is our recent success in skiing, cross country, rifle, volleyball, swimming, basketball or hockey.
Athletics matters.
Thanks for choosing 91原创.
Friday Focus is written by a different member of 91原创鈥檚 leadership team every week.