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10 Hartford Business Journal•November26,2012 www.HartfordBusiness.com Celebrating 20 Years of Business News Connecticut's economic stat sheet, but UConn's two ba sketba ll Ha ll of Fa m- ers — newly retired men's coach Jim Ca lhoun, a nd women's coach Geno Aur iemma – a re a mong those who agree the impact ha s been more tha n pa lpable. "I like to think we, hopefully, can contin- ue to put a great product in Storrs and at the XL Center and it does create a little excite- ment in the community. Maybe if things are going really well economically,'' Auriemma said, "it makes it a little better and maybe if things aren't going so great, it makes things a little more tolerable." The challenge now for both is to keep eye on tomorrow's economic matchups. "Going forward, you've got to keep rein- venting yourself,'' Calhoun said recently. "We've got to take advantage and get ahead of the curve again.'' Most of the curve occurred in the years leading up to Connecticut's championship sports run, starting with the men's basket- ball team bringing home the 1988 National Invitational Tournament trophy in only Cal- houn's second year as head coach. "People said we would never win the NIT,'' he recalled. Yet, UConn couldn't shake the image of its leafy, bucolic college campus amid farmland in the Storrs section of Mansfield. Former UConn professor Peter Burns Jr. says winning basketball has not only packed the school's on-campus arena, Gampel Pavil- ion, and, for most game days, downtown Hartford's XL Center, it also has generated an aura around the university. "The basketball programs created an identity for the university,'' said Burns, author of "Shock the World: UConn Basketball in the Calhoun Era.'' "When I went to UConn in the late 80's and early 90's, the Husky logo and UConn name weren't all that prominent on campus,'' said Burns, a political science professor at Loyola University in New Orleans. "Now, UConn and the Husky logo are everywhere on cam- pus. The UConn degree is worth more now because those programs made UConn into a national brand.'' With the Whalers hockey team gone and despite the presence of the AHL's Wolfpack, UConn men's and women's basketball have since become the biggest sports draws at the XL Center, Burns said. "They create a buzz for the city,'' he said. They also generate dollars for the local economy. While proceeds from tickets, food, drink and apparel concession sales stay mostly with the arena operator and the uni- versity, there is the financial shot from people employed to work the arena, observers say. In addition, downtown bars and restau- rants do a brisk business ringing up pre- and post-game sales, along with fees for parking- lot and garage operators. In Auriemma's case, success on the court has opened the door to business opportuni- ties for him off of it, including four Geno's Fast Break restaurants in the state, with a fifth planned soon for Storrs. "I would like to think that those two things are related,'' he said. "You want to capitalize on the success you have had because then people tend to associate you and your brand with success." Paraphrasing UConn President Susan Herbst's theme to characterize the impact of athletics on UConn, Calhoun said basketball has provided a "front porch'' for the Hartford and state economies and their images. "Everybody benefits when things are going well,'' he said. Says Auriemma: "The No. 1 thing UConn needs to do is make sure we are a leader and that we are a catalyst for growth in Connecti- cut — both economically and intellectually… If UConn is great as a university, then the state of Connecticut has the ability to benefit from that.'' g StorieS 20 Years of W ho doesn't have pride in Connect- icut women's basketball? I remember vividly having the opportunity to bring UConn women's basket- ball to Connecticut Public Television. At the time, I was at the University of Connecticut Health Center, with responsibility for market- ing, among other things. Women's basketball was at a critical juncture and public television was attempting to broadcast more (or all) of the games, but needed the funds to do so. It was a risk for everyone but it was risk worth taking, one that I imagine none of the founding sponsors regretted. We were there when Rebecca Lobo and her team won the national championship. We saw her on the cover of Sports Illustrated. We saw wom- en's sports achieve an entirely new level of respect. Our state does not have a professional sports team, having lost ice hockey, having failed to win the bid to bring the Patriots to Connecticut, but we do have our incredible Huskies. Men and women's basketball get us through the winter in Connecticut, and March Madness is a part of it. And I am proud to say that the business community, including my own University of Connecticut Health Center, recognized the importance of public television and the importance of UConn Women's Basketball to our state ethos. It wasn't sold easily to a room full of academic medical center leaders, but I persevered, as did my colleague at CPTV, and we SOLD this sponsorship, allowing count- less people to see the games from the warmth of their living room, even if games at Gampel or the Civic Center were sold out. Undoubtedly, in the past 20 years, this stands out for me. While the Huskies catapulted the uni- versity to national fame, it is also a great point of pride that the university can now count itself among the nation's leading pub- lic universities. The School of Medicine has brought prominence to the region in allow- ing so many physicians to obtain their resi- dency training in respected and accredited programs throughout the region. Soon the Jackson Labs will be fully operational here in Connecticut, and with any luck, we will be a leader in genomic medicine. The business community, the public sec- tor, and higher education have played key roles in the Capitol Region, and it has been my distinct pleasure to participate in or observe as this has evolved. g Nancy Bernstein is president and CEO, Women's Health Connecticut Inc. Public TV, sponsors elevated UConn women's respectability By Nancy Bernstein "Remembrance" 'It was a risk for everyone but it was risk worth taking, one that I imagine none of the founding sponsors regretted.' Connecticut Huskies carry head coach Geno Auriemma off the court after defeating the Louisville Cardinals 76-54 in the finals of the 2009 NCAA women's basketball tournament at Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Mo. UConn – Continued Champion Huskies Of the 15 national team championships UConn has amassed in four sports, 11 have come in the past 20 years. • Men's Basketball 1999, 2004, 2011 • Women's Basketball 1995, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2009, 2010 • Women's Field Hockey 1981, 1985 • Men's Soccer 1948, 1981, 2000 C O N T R I B U T E D P H O T O