Media access to Redhawks shrinks as coverage grows

After men's basketball's recent upset over Utah State, sports information director Jason Behenna found himself flying back to Seattle to work the women's basketball game the next day—with a meeting in his schedule to boot.


It was at that meeting, as he saw how many people were tweeting about Redhawks basketball, that it hit Behenna: Division I has brought the big time to Seattle University.


"That was my ‘Oh my god' moment," Behenna says.


As men's basketball has stormed to a 4-3 start under new head coach Cameron Dollar, the Redhawks have been getting unprecedented media coverage ranging from bloggers' reports to Sports Illustrated mentions and Associated Press stories that have been published in newspapers across the country.

Behenna, whose responsibilities include media relations, publishing on GoSeattleU.com and managing Athletics' social networking accounts, says media attention on the Redhawks has increased "10-fold" this year.


He notes that every year since he's been here—corresponding with the gradual transition to Division I status—more and more people are talking about the Redhawks.


That national attention to Seattle University, once known as a "sleeping giant" of an institution, was one of the main arguments administrators gave for making the controversial move to Division I athletics.


An e-mail to the university from President Stephen Sundborg, S.J. after the Redhawk men's opening home game win against Fresno State was full of references to the new-found spotlight.


"As our student-athletes rise to the challenge of Division I competition," wrote Sundborg, "our university as a whole is gaining more attention for the special kind of education we provide."


Athletics officials say a combination of several things is propelling coverage and interest in men's basketball. The deal to play home games in KeyArena, which seats up to 17,000 for basketball, has the team playing on a bigger stage than every mid-major in the country, notes athletic director Bill Hogan. Hiring Cameron Dollar from the University of Washington signaled that the program intended to get serious, and when Dollar hired his dad as an assistant coach, media and the public made note of the rare reversal in college basketball coaching—a father working for a son. And star player Charles Garcia, who came to Seattle U after his admission to the University of Washington fell through, is considered by many to be a prospect for professional basketball.


As the Athletic Department's profile rises, it has instituted tighter media policies similar to other Division I institutions.

Interviews with players and coaches must now be arranged through Behenna or his graduate assistant, a move Behenna says is for the protection of players.


"It's a policy that should have been in effect right from the start," he says.


Gonzaga University and others like it have two full-time sports information officials and a graduate assistant.

But for now, Behenna and graduate assistant Diana Chamorro alone are handling continual attention Seattle University hasn't seen in decades.

Speaking on the phone Monday with a voice gravelly from a cold, Behenna put it this way:
"It's very demanding. My intention today was to come in, have a meeting […] I intended to go home at 1 p.m. But here I am still at 4 p.m."