by Spencer Thomas | editor-in-chief
On and around campus, the Duquesne community celebrated their men’s basketball team’s miraculous run to the second round of March Madness. They won an NCAA Tournament game for the first time since 1969, taking down the BYU Cougars in Omaha, NE.
While there Senior Vice President of Athletics Dave Harper sat down with his Chief Revenue Officer, Bryan Colonna, to answer a simple yet enormously important question – now what?
In the month of March, Duquesne played games prominently on major networks like TNT and CBS. Clips of LeBron James gifting the team shoes racked up hundreds of thousands of views, as did their spot during ABC’s Good Morning America.
According to Google Trends, during the week of March 17 to 23, searches for “Duquesne” went up by over 1000% percent, a level of relevance that for schools of Duquesne’s size happens once in a blue moon. It became Harper’s and Colonna’s job to capitalize on it.
“You have to capture momentum,” Harper said, “because if you don’t, it’s a big mistake.”
Since then, the athletic and marketing departments at Duquesne have been trying to build upon the fame the basketball team earned in March Madness, whether that’s in brand recognition, corporate partnerships or cold hard cash.
“Nobody had a roadmap of what the next steps were. It’s something that hasn’t happened in my lifetime,” Colonna said. “We’re sitting in Omaha trying to figure out, okay, what are the next steps? How do we continue this high?”
Despite massive changes to the team’s roster and coaching staff, the program wanted an offseason characterized by celebration. “Not only internally, but also externally as well, with our alumni, fans and friends,” Colonna said, “to continue that excitement throughout the summer, throughout the fall, leading into that first game in November.”
This began with a trophy tour of the Pittsburgh area. Throughout the summer and continuing into the fall, Duquesne lugged the three-foot-tall Atlantic-10 Trophy, which Colonna estimates to weigh over 60 pounds, to display during restaurants celebrating a happy hour in honor of the Dukes.
“We decided, ‘Hey, let’s treat this like the Stanley Cup,’ Let’s take it everywhere.” Colonna said. “That trophy needs to be part of the community.”
From Shadyside to Sewickley to PNC Park and all over campus, Duquesne fans and alumni gathered to celebrate. Large donors were even afforded the opportunity to display the trophy at private home gatherings.
“You have to say thank you,” Harper said. “The trophy is a symbol of what everybody did for us… It’s a symbolic piece of how your support mattered to us.”
At the start of August, the entire team showed up for a meet and greet at Dick’s Sporting Goods in Ross Park, something that may not have drawn such an interest before they became the city’s Cinderella. It’s how Harper says they want to build up a brand in the city, one fan at a time.
Things like this allowed Duquesne to build on their fanbase, which will in turn lead to more support. One alum told Colonna the story of how she watched the championship game with her 90-year-old father, who broke down in tears when the final buzzer sounded.
Connecting with the fans is all well and good, but in the era of NIL and paying players, it’s about how that engagement balances the books.
Now that Duquesne has captured the national spotlight, they’re a much more enticing entity to buy into. Colonna said the uptick in financial contributions involves a healthy split between previous partners doubling down, as well as new partners throwing their hat in the ring.
“A lot of people like investing in success,” Colonna said. “It’s been a lot easier getting people to return your phone call, to put it that way, than it has been in the past.”
It’s also allowed for a domino effect when building teams to contend in the future.
“I think it’s allowed us to look a little bit different at recruiting,” Harper said. “Maybe going after some guys in the past we thought we may not get. You’ve got to reach higher and higher.”
There’s been a tremendous uptick in season ticket inquiries – Harper says they’ve sold more than ever in his nine years at Duquesne – as well as premium seats.
Harper said that events will ramp up again before the season starts, including a meet-and-greet for season ticket holders, and a private ring ceremony.
The fame also allows Duquesne to prop up other programs as well. On opening night of the 2024-25 season, Duquesne will host a doubleheader, where the women’s team will host Princeton, and the men face Lipscomb in the first game back since their tourney run.
“We’ll be able to share again,” Harper said. “Show the trophy, show the banners.”