Athletic Director Debi Gore-Mann's Comments Corner

Nov. 1, 2007

I have wonderful, exciting news to share. In case you missed the announcement on our website (USF Dons.com) I have added a new senior staff member to the University of San Francisco Athletic Department. Desiree Reed-Francois officially started last week as our new Associate Athletic Director for Intercollegiate Services/Senior Women's Administrator (SWA). Desiree comes to USF with a wealth of knowledge and experience at the NCAA Division I level. She will basically run all of our internal operations including, but not limited to, academic services, admissions, financial aid, compliance, events and game operations.

I know the burning question are - is she a former student-athlete? Yes. In what sport? Rowing. With Desiree joining our team, it allows me to focus my efforts towards bringing in much needed resources to our coaches and student-athletes.

As many of you season ticket holders are aware, we have officially launched our new digital ticketing system. USF Athletics acquired a new ticketing partner in TicketReturn. USF Athletics did not have a ticketing system so consequently we do not have a ticket database. Therefore, our first order of business for our Director of Tickets, Kyle Janzen, was to acquire, install and implement a ticketing system that moved us into the modern era. With TicketReturn we now have full services that include: a point-of-sale ticketing network, online e-ticketing, e-ticket transfer, donation and resale options and many more internet marketing features that will allow us to sell more tickets and sell out our home games. All our season ticket holders should have received your Don's Card in the mail by now and we will be ready to use them at the Sonoma State exhibition game this Saturday afternoon.

Since the last time I shared my thoughts, two of our teams achieved significant milestone wins. Our volleyball team defeated our arch rival Santa Clara in three straight games, beating the Broncos for the first time since 1989! They followed this achievement up with a 3-0 win against No. 12 San Diego - the highest ranked win in program history. Also, women's tennis won its first ITA Fall tournament at St. Mary's. Many kudos to Coach Doron and Coach Somers in building a sense of urgency towards winning.

Let me report on our two

Buzz Sessions

held at Fior d'Italia and Johnny Foley's Irish House (two of our sponsors). I met with several friends of USF and we chatted about all things athletics. I believe these discussions were candid and insightful. I offered my first year's experiences as the Athletic Director and shared my insights for the current year. While many opinions and concerns were expressed, I personally gained an added awareness from the sage advice shared. While by no means comprehensive, a few takeaways from our Buzz Sessions were:

We are all in it together. Share our problems and it will help build a sense of belonging with most constituents who support USF Athletics.

Take risks where appropriate.
Pay attention to our internet streaming. People are watching and listening and some improvements can be made in this area.
More communications is better.

Lastly, I must share that I personally was both inspired and emotionally moved this weekend at the West Coast Conference Cross Country championships when senior student-athlete Cheyne Inman captured the men's individual title. The individual and team title has been captured by the University of Portland for the last 29 years. Cheyne was in second place with about 1,000 yards to the finish and surged ahead to set both a USF school record and a personal best. It was four years in the building and all who were there (from all eight conference schools) were visibly moved by this extraordinary effort. The women's cross country team then followed up with a valiant second place finish in their championship race. As noted by our staff, this year's combined finishes by the women student-athletes marked the best in USF women's history.

We congratulated to all the seniors who competed at their final WCC Cross Country championships with flowers and hugs all around.

Hope to see you soon on the Hilltop

Debi Gore-Mann

Go Dons!