When Lisa Campos was hired as NAU’s vice president for Intercollegiate Athletics, the goal was clear: elevate NAU Athletics. Since her arrival in the summer of 2012, NAU Athletics has begun its revitalization.
Under Dr. Campos’ leadership, NAU won the Big Sky President’s Cup, an award presented to the most academically and athletically successful athletic program in the conference. During the 2012-13 academic year, NAU secured four conference championships, while earning five Conference Coach of the Year honors. In 2013, after capturing its seventh straight Big Sky Championship, the men’s cross country team finished second nationally, while the football team made its first appearance since 2003 in the Football Championship Series (FCS) NCAA Playoffs. All five fall sports programs qualified for post-season play, including men’s and women’s cross country, football, soccer and volleyball. Currently, NAU is tied for 25th in the Learfield Sports Director’s Cup.
The City of Flagstaff, NAU alum, and supporters have taken notice of the transformation NAU athletics is experiencing. During the 2012-13 season, attendance grew in record numbers, and the trend continues for the 2013-14 season. Ticket growth highlights include a 24 percent total increase in revenue from football paid attendance and a 131 percent total increase in revenue from men’s basketball paid attendance during the 2012-13 seasons. This past fall, the NAU football team played a nationally televised game in front of a sold-out crowd of Lumberjack faithful. This was the first sell-out since 1995.
NAU Athletics has also garnered national exposure for the institution and city of Flagstaff. Through its partnership with Fox Sports, NAU athletics was on national or regional television 40 times, including in the only FCS spring football game to be nationally televised. In the fall, NAU reestablished its partnership with the Phoenix Suns, bringing thousands of fans to their public exhibition game in the J. Lawrence Walkup Skydome. During the summer, NAU sports programs brought thousands of kids from all over the region to attend summer camps on the NAU campus and for the past two summers, the men’s basketball program has hosted clinics for coaches. These clinics have brought close to 200 high school and college coaches from around the region, including California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Wyoming, to the NAU campus. The clinic’s coaching staff has been joined by sport legends such as Steve Kerr, Damon Stoudamire, George Karl, Josh Pastner and Luke Walton. High altitude training has also been a part of the NAU athletics tradition as NAU continues to host elite athletes from all over the world. Other events such as the Wine and Dine in the Pines have helped to attract NAU supporters to visit Flagstaff and support the local Division I athletic program.
So what does a revitalized athletic program mean for the city of Flagstaff? The NAU athletics program continues to have a positive economic development and quality of life impact in Flagstaff. From the athletic department recruiting students to attend NAU from all parts of the world, to direct and indirect spending in the local community, to bringing visiting teams and their fans to Flagstaff, NAU athletics continues to play a role in our local economy. NAU athletics also provides the community, fans, alumni and supporters a place to unite, connect, and celebrate Northern Arizona University. QCBN