AUBURN - Auburn is one of 14 universities and four conferences chosen to receive grants from the NCAA to aid in maketing of women's basketball for next season.
AUBURN - Auburn is one of 14 universities and four conferences chosen to receive grants from the NCAA to aid in maketing of women's basketball for next season.
Auburn's grant is $26,500 out of a pool of some $750,000. Auburn plans to utilize the funds to further expand a number of existing initiatives and to add new ones.
“We are excited and honored to receive this award and look forward to making the most of it to enhance our marketing efforts,” said Mike Hales, assistant director of marketing.
“Through the collaborative efforts of our coaches, staff, administration and dedicated fans, our women’s basketball program has experienced tremendous growth in recent years both on and off the court. This grant will help facilitate that continued growth in the future.”
Nell Fortner, who took the Tigers to the Southeastern Conference championship in her fifth season, also expressed excitement about the grant.
"I think our marketing department is extremely worthy of it,” Fortner said. “With how much we improved with our attendance this year, the money will only help them in being more creative and giving a tremendous game experience to our fans. This is a real credit to Mike Hales for securing the grant for the program; he has done a really good job of growing our marketing efforts for women’s basketball and I am proud of that.”
A total of 75 member schools and conferences submitted proposals in the
second year of the pilot program. National office staff and representatives from the NCAA women’s basketball marketing consultant firm, Hawkeye Sports and Entertainment, evaluated the proposals.
