George Washington University Presidential Search (gwu.edu)

One thing that can only be seen as a positive is that the Athletics Department got its own separate section, and it specifically mentions how vital success in basketball is to the university.  I will forgive them saying we only had one NIT game at the Smith Center because if not for UF's renovations that would've been the case.
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The Department of Athletics at The George Washington University is committed to the principles of integrity, ethics, diversity and equality. In doing so, it strives to bring pride, admiration and loyalty to the students, alumni, faculty, and staff of the institution. The main objective of the Department within the framework of an educational community is the holistic development of student-athletes to their highest potential in an atmosphere committed to winning and in the spirit of sportsmanship.

The Department of Athletics, as an integral part of The George Washington University, requires a high degree of dedication and commitment to excellence and strives to work together with all constituents to be the positive and visible display of excellence for the entire University.

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In 2016, GW Men’s basketball earned a bid to the NIT Tournament. The 2016 NIT run included four games on either ESPN or ESPN 2, including one game on campus at the Charles E. Smith Center. With wins over the Hofstra, Monmouth, the University of Florida, San Diego State and Valparaiso; GW concluded the run in the historic Madison Square Garden by capturing the championship in front of approximately 750,000 viewers on national TV.

Each of our 20 programs are visible as our coaches and students travel throughout the country and internationally wearing the GW brand. The majority of GW competitions are streamed on the web and/or available on regional or national television. From 2014-2018, several of our men’s basketball games were also televised in Japan due to the popularity of alumnus Yuta Watanabe. Viewership numbers for the NIT were measured between 500k-750k in the span of three weeks in March/April. The two-plus hour “commercials” for GW put our University’s brand into homes that our admissions staff simply can’t reach at times when high school seniors and potential transfers are making college decisions. When the department is thriving, specifically in the sports of men’s and women’s basketball, GW Athletics is the most-covered-by-media unit on campus.

As stated above, GW competes in the A-10 Conference which is basketball centric (non-football). It is considered a top 8 Division 1 league (in addition to the Power 5 conferences plus the Big East and the West Coast Conference). Annual success (finishing in the top 4-6) gives a team the best chance to compete for an A-10 Tournament Championship title, which comes with an automatic qualifier to the NCAA Tournament. The men’s basketball tournament bids pay out over six years bringing approximately $340,000 per game played annually to teams who qualify for the tournament. 

In July 2020, GW announced that the University was streamlining the Department of Athletics from 27 varsity programs to 20. This effort was designed to more closely align the size of the department with our market basket and conference schools while also allowing for a reallocation of funds into our premier sports. The global pandemic disrupted the reallocation; however, the plans continue to look for ways to optimize and enhance our men’s and women’s basketball programs in order to be a perennial contender for the A-10 Championship and a birth to post-season play in the NCAA or NIT.

In July of 2021, the NCAA granted student-athletes the freedom to benefit from the use of their name, image and likeness (NIL). This allows for student-athletes to be compensated on a quid-proquo basis for their NIL to be used by third parties. Given our strategic placement in the heart of the nation’s capital, in a Top 10 media market, and considering the academic prestige of our university, our student-athletes stand to potentially benefit significantly in this space given their national visibility and influence. The evolving landscape is one that is paramount to be understood to best position GW Athletics as a national player. Our department has partnered with multiple units on campus to creatively and strategically consider how best to position current and future student-athletes. 

Last edited by GW0509 (10/11/2022 3:22 pm)