Excerpt from the Dayton Daily News
Victories for college basketball teams can often lead to off-the-court success for schools, something Wright State University’s leaders say their institution needs as it rebounds from financial and legal issues.
Wright State’s women’s basketball team is the only squad in the Dayton region this year that will play in an NCAA tournament, a year after the men’s team lost in the first round of March Madness. The women’s tournament, which had its selection Monday night, starts Friday, according to the NCAA.
Just last week, Wright State received “positive media” coverage of its basketball teams equivalent to around $3 million in ad spending, said spokesman Seth Bauguess, who uses a tool to translate earned media into projected ad dollars. That figure along with potential tournament wins ahead, officials said, can bring together a college that continues to deal with ongoing financial problems and the fallout from a 20-day faculty strike.
“It’s unbelievably exciting. This is the best trajectory our men’s and women’s teams have been on here,” said athletic director Bob Grant. “I think we’re building on the positive exposure it gave the university last year at a time (WSU) really needed it.”
Wright State is in the midst of recovering from years of overspending that drained the school’s reserve fund and forced its leaders to reduce spending by around $53 million in fiscal year 2018. Tensions also flared on campus close to the start of the year when members of Wright State’s faculty union went on strike, forcing the school to temporarily cancel some classes.
The positive attention Wright State will get from postseason basketball can change the national conversation about the college though, Grant said. The WSU men’s team is headed to its first ever National Invitation Tournament this year and they’ll be joined by the University of Dayton men’s team.
