Letter from the AD
The growing level of support from our fans has been appreciated by our coaches and student-athletes throughout this past school year. Northeastern Athletics has seen an increase in the number of fans attending many of our home games and athletic events. Our efforts to market our events and strengthen our fan base are paying off. We experienced a SOLD OUT basketball game on February 8th for the first time since 1995 when the Men’s Basketball program battled Vermont down to the wire. The Boston Globe’s Dan Shaughnessy was quoted as saying the atmosphere in Cabot was "one of the best in Boston". In addition to the Vermont game, Men’s Basketball drew over 2,800 fans in Matthews Arena to watch the Huskies face cross-town rival Boston University. This marked the second time this season the Huskies left the Cabot Center to play in Matthews Arena. Our plan is to schedule more games next season to accommodate our growing fan base and to project a nationally ambitious image.
Our athletics administrative team has focused their time and attention on creating a fun, fan-friendly, first-class atmosphere during all home events. I hope you’ve noticed the pre-game tailgates, student/fan giveaways, and tickets discounts newly offered this season. One of the student centered events that we revitalized was Midnight Madness in mid-October. That event allowed our basketball programs to start the season off with excitement by offering fans the chance to watch our men’s and women’s basketball teams showcase their skills, while featuring student giveaways, contests, and a faculty/student scrimmage. Midnight Madness drew over 1,000 students to the Cabot Center. A fabulous night!
Our goal is for our fans to have a positive experience each time they travel to Parsons Field, Matthews Arena or the Cabot Center for a Northeastern athletics event. Although our attendance numbers may vary from game to game, our commitment to provide our fans a first-class and exciting environment will always remain the same.
Over the last year we have begun an aggressive campaign to market our athletics program. In order to help establish the Northeastern athletics brand regionally and nationally, we have developed a marketing plan that included: Logo Redesign, Television Media Partnerships, and Enhanced Non-Conference Scheduling.
In the fall, we released several new athletic marks to positive reviews. We believe the new logos will eventually create a consistent uniform "look" for our teams. The new logos will also provide fans more options for athletic specific merchandise. Fans can purchase the new merchandise at most events and online at huskystore.com. We have also started pushing our merchandise to the local retailers in the Boston marketplace.
Northeastern Athletics partnered with Comcast-CN8 in 2003-04 to produce and air six (6) Football, Men’s Ice Hockey, Men’s Basketball and Women’s Basketball Games. Through the CN8 partnership – 6.2 million households from Baltimore-to-Boston were able to follow the Huskies. This media partnership was in addition to the America East and Hockey East TV partnerships that featured several of our games on NESN and other carriers.
We have pushed to strengthen our non-conference schedules. We just announced that our Football Program will play NAVY in Annapolis, Maryland on September 11, 2004. Men’s Basketball faced such national opponents as the University of Florida, West Virginia, Villanova, Fordham, and Rhode Island this season. The baseball program will play an exhibition game against the Boston Red Sox on March 5th in Ft. Myers, Florida. These competitive non-conference match-ups have provided Northeastern Athletics with exposure to new markets to cultivate fans and increase Northeastern University’s visibility as a mid-major Division I program.
I would like to thank you for continuing to support our athletic programs this season. If you have any suggestions or would like to assist in supporting our athletic programs, please give Brett Burchette, Assistant Athletics Director – External Affairs a call in the Husky Athletics Club Office at 617-373-2037. Thanks again for your support.
Go Huskies!
Dave O’Brien
Previous letters
February 2004
Hello Husky Fans!
Director of Athletics
• January 2004
• December 2003
• November 2003
• Summer 2003
• June 2003
• May 2003
• April 2003
• March 2003
• February 2003
• Q & A with Dave O'Brien
