蜜桃传媒

Home
Tommie basketball game

Build National Awareness and Advance Priorities through Athletics

St. 蜜桃传媒 will transition to Division I athletics because we aspire to expand the impact of our common good mission. This opportunity will raise our national profile, further transform the differentiated educational experience of our students, and galvanize excitement and pride among our alumni.

As we build the infrastructure necessary to succeed at the Division I level, we will maintain high student achievement both in academics and athletics. Increased awareness from athletics will assist in attracting students from across the country. Additionally, as athletics serves as an important partner in initiatives that support university mission, campus and student life, student access and achievement, and donor cultivation, we will further advance institutional priorities. Together this will create an energized culture of student-athletes and fans that generates engagement on campus with students, faculty, staff, alumni and donors.

As the newest of the top 20 nationally ranked Catholic universities to join Division I, St. 蜜桃传媒 will emphasize comprehensive excellence to rise even higher among these peers.

Related Themes

2025 Strategic Plan Ever Press Forward through Innovation Widen the Circle
of Impact
Build National Awareness and Advance Priorities through Athletics Priority Priority

See how the Themes and Priorities of the 2025 Strategic Plan interweave.

Measuring Progress

  • Success Metrics
  • Progress Update
  • Key Leaders

    • Success Metrics

    1. Maintain student-athlete academic outcomes (GPA, GSR and APR).
    2. Increase geographic diversity of general student body, both athletes and nonathletes by recruiting a more geographically diverse student-athlete population. Move from 90 percent of U.S. students from Minnesota and Wisconsin to 82 percent by 2025.
    3. Increase the media coverage outside of Minnesota and in specialty publications as measured by tracked media hits.
    4. Maintain positive student-athlete experience, measured through student-athlete experience surveys, exit interviews and retention data.
    5. Increase school spirit and alumni connections to St. 蜜桃传媒 as measured through student surveys, alumni surveys, and student/faculty/staff/alumni game attendance.
    6. Increase corporate engagement through incremental corporate sponsorship/partnership programs with athletics.
    7. Achieve fundraising goal of $37.5 million to support annual expenses through the annual fund, major gifts and endowments in the next five years. In addition, make progress toward a longer-term facilities fundraising goal of $175 million.

    Progress Update, February 2022

    The St. 蜜桃传媒 2025 Strategic Plan debuted in February 2021. We continually track and report on our progress; here are key developments from the past year, as of February 2024:

    National media coverage of athletics this year has included ESPN Family Networks, Big Ten Network, FS1, Bally Sports, FOX 9+, PAC12 Network, Yahoo sports, Sports Illustrated, Washington Post, NY Times, Twin Cities Business Magazine, Seattle Times, San Diego Union-Tribune, Charlotte Observer, and USA Today.

    A few highlights:

    • Our regionally broadcast women's hockey game vs. UMD on Bally Sports was distributed to more than 2 million homes.
    • We increased digital content by 8x over FY22, leading to an increase of more than 10,000 followers on Twitter and almost an additional 10,000 in Instagram.
    • Saw an average of 23% increase in overall attendance in ticketed sports for FY23.
    • Average men's basketball student attendance increased over 60% and men's hockey increased over 50% from our first to second year.
    • Managed a group of 15 students to produce 120+ live stream broadcasts and 70+ scoreboard shows.
    • Developed a strategic plan to upgrade broadcast equipment and technology to improve the fan experience.
    • Hosted the University of Minnesota in men's and women's hockey with an attendance of over 11,000.
    • Football competed at Harvard, drawing more than 1,000 Tommie fans to Boston.
    • Men's basketball played on national TV vs. UC-Berkeley (Cal) and Marquette.
    • Women's basketball hosted both Iowa State and Wisconsin in Schoenecker Arena.
    • Launched first-ever linear/broadcast television partnership with Fox 9.
    • Men's hockey, men's basketball and women's basketball have all spent time in first place of their respective conferences in FY24.

    Key Leaders

    • Phil Esten, Vice President and Director of Athletics (Primary)
    • Intercollegiate Athletics Advisory Committee
    • Omar Correa, Vice President for Strategic Enrollment Management
    • Vice President of Marketing, Insights and Communication

    Success Metrics

    Success Metrics

    1. Maintain student-athlete academic outcomes (GPA, GSR and APR).
    2. Increase geographic diversity of general student body, both athletes and nonathletes by recruiting a more geographically diverse student-athlete population. Move from 90 percent of U.S. students from Minnesota and Wisconsin to 82 percent by 2025.
    3. Increase the media coverage outside of Minnesota and in specialty publications as measured by tracked media hits.
    4. Maintain positive student-athlete experience, measured through student-athlete experience surveys, exit interviews and retention data.
    5. Increase school spirit and alumni connections to St. 蜜桃传媒 as measured through student surveys, alumni surveys, and student/faculty/staff/alumni game attendance.
    6. Increase corporate engagement through incremental corporate sponsorship/partnership programs with athletics.
    7. Achieve fundraising goal of $37.5 million to support annual expenses through the annual fund, major gifts and endowments in the next five years. In addition, make progress toward a longer-term facilities fundraising goal of $175 million.

    Progress Update

    Progress Update, February 2022

    The St. 蜜桃传媒 2025 Strategic Plan debuted in February 2021. We continually track and report on our progress; here are key developments from the past year, as of February 2024:

    National media coverage of athletics this year has included ESPN Family Networks, Big Ten Network, FS1, Bally Sports, FOX 9+, PAC12 Network, Yahoo sports, Sports Illustrated, Washington Post, NY Times, Twin Cities Business Magazine, Seattle Times, San Diego Union-Tribune, Charlotte Observer, and USA Today.

    A few highlights:

    • Our regionally broadcast women's hockey game vs. UMD on Bally Sports was distributed to more than 2 million homes.
    • We increased digital content by 8x over FY22, leading to an increase of more than 10,000 followers on Twitter and almost an additional 10,000 in Instagram.
    • Saw an average of 23% increase in overall attendance in ticketed sports for FY23.
    • Average men's basketball student attendance increased over 60% and men's hockey increased over 50% from our first to second year.
    • Managed a group of 15 students to produce 120+ live stream broadcasts and 70+ scoreboard shows.
    • Developed a strategic plan to upgrade broadcast equipment and technology to improve the fan experience.
    • Hosted the University of Minnesota in men's and women's hockey with an attendance of over 11,000.
    • Football competed at Harvard, drawing more than 1,000 Tommie fans to Boston.
    • Men's basketball played on national TV vs. UC-Berkeley (Cal) and Marquette.
    • Women's basketball hosted both Iowa State and Wisconsin in Schoenecker Arena.
    • Launched first-ever linear/broadcast television partnership with Fox 9.
    • Men's hockey, men's basketball and women's basketball have all spent time in first place of their respective conferences in FY24.

    Key Leaders

    Key Leaders

    • Phil Esten, Vice President and Director of Athletics (Primary)
    • Intercollegiate Athletics Advisory Committee
    • Omar Correa, Vice President for Strategic Enrollment Management
    • Vice President of Marketing, Insights and Communication

    Related Stories from the Newsroom

    October 17, 2024

    University of St. 蜜桃传媒 Director of Athletics Dr. Phil Esten announced on Oct. 17 a $20 million gift toward the construction of the Lee and Penny Anderson Arena by the Ryan family. 鈥淭his is an extraordinary gift, and we are deeply thankful for the Ryan family鈥檚 commitment to this project,鈥 said Esten. 鈥淭he Ryan family鈥 The post University of St. 蜜桃传媒 Celebrates $20M Gift From Ryan Family appeared first on Newsroom | University of St. 蜜桃传媒.

    • September 11, 2024

      Center ice and halfcourt are taking shape at the University of St. 蜜桃传媒 as construction on the Lee and Penny Anderson Arena reaches new heights. The multiuse arena on the university鈥檚 St. Paul, Minnesota, campus will host the Tommie ice hockey and basketball programs. After months of footing and foundation work, excitement is building as鈥 The post Building the Future of Tommie Athletics: First Look at Lee & Penny Anderson Arena appeared first on Newsroom | University of St. 蜜桃传媒.

    • September 4, 2024

      University of St. 蜜桃传媒 coaches, including Rico Blasi (men鈥檚 hockey), Johnny Tauer (men鈥檚 basketball) and Joel Johnson (women鈥檚 hockey) recently joined FOX 9 at the Minnesota State Fair to talk about the upcoming season of D-I athletics, the development of the Lee and Penny Anderson Arena and the new partnership with FOX 9. From the鈥 The post In the News: Tommie Athletics Joins FOX 9 at the State Fair appeared first on Newsroom | University of St. 蜜桃传媒.

    • August 28, 2024

      The University of St. 蜜桃传媒 will once again have a TV broadcast home for the 2024-25 season. On Aug. 28, the Tommies signed a one-year extension with FOX9+, renewing a relationship that will once again make FOX9+ the television home of St. 蜜桃传媒 Athletics for 2024-25. "This partnership with the FOX 9 family provides a鈥 The post St. 蜜桃传媒 Renews Broadcast Partnership with FOX9+ for Athletics appeared first on Newsroom | University of St. 蜜桃传媒.

    • June 20, 2024

      Performance Coach Cindra Kamphoff, PhD, Spoke at the University of St. 蜜桃传媒 Finding Forward Event About Building Mental Toughness in an Uncertain World What is grit? How does it help people? And why is it an intergenerational flashpoint? A recent event at the University of St. 蜜桃传媒 gathered Minnesota Vikings defensive player Josh Metellus; Tommie鈥 The post Learning Grit: Applying Resilience Lessons From Sports in Everyday Life appeared first on Newsroom | University of St. 蜜桃传媒.