Each month, we interview USC athletic director Pat Haden to keep you updated on all the happenings around Heritage Hall.
Q.) What are your thoughts on the new Pac-12 media rights deal?
It was a signal to the collegiate world that our conference was meritorious of this kind of contract. This is recognition of the kind of world class student-athletes that we have in the Pac-12. And second, there is going to be access for fans, friends and family across the country to watch every sport. Larry Scott did a remarkable job of putting this together with two very capable partners in ESPN and Fox.
Q.) How will the increased revenue aid your fundraising efforts?
We are still going to lose money in 19 of our 21 sports. Does that mean we should not do them? Of course not. We want to give every student-athlete the opportunity to get a USC education and compete at the highest level. That is what USC is about! This money will help, but it does not solve everything. We are always going to need people that are passionate about this university and are willing to make donations, small or large, to the athletic department. Over the next 10 years, my focus is on endowing all of our scholarships and we cannot do that without the generous support of the Trojan Family.
Q.) What are your thoughts on weeknight football games?
I would love to be able to play every game at 12:30 on Saturdays. It is not the athletic director's call. Ultimately, the television networks need to drive eyeballs to these games and their research will tell you that you have to play sometimes on Friday nights or Saturday nights. I have made it known to all the broadcast networks that anything we can do to not play at 7:30 is important to our fan base.
Q.) How is women's sand volleyball progressing?
Everybody seems to be taking a go slow approach to sand volleyball. There is really not going to be a championship game until 2014. We are going to ease into it with scholarships. We are developing plans to build courts, but there is not quite as much urgency as we originally thought.
Q.) Are you excited for next week's student-athlete graduation?
The student-athlete graduation ceremony is a wonderful touch. We need to see our student-athletes through that prism as well. This year, we have two scholar-athletes in Zara Lukens and Cara Bickers who are two of the top 10 Renaissance Scholars. Of all the students, they are in the top ten! That is truly remarkable. And the other exciting thing is the great athletes who came back to finish their degrees like Keith Rivers and Tim McDonald who will be speaking at the student-athlete graduation. Our women's golfer Lizette Salas will also tell her remarkable story and she is one of the 25% of our student-athletes who are first generation college students.
Q.) What is the new Legend of Troy award?
We are honoring former student-athletes who have really had an impact on the USC athletic community. Our first two recipients are Lou Zamperini (photo) and Gordon Marshall. They are both incredible World War II veterans who have an amazing story to tell about overcoming adversity.
Q.) What are your thoughts on the new Pac-12 media rights deal?
It was a signal to the collegiate world that our conference was meritorious of this kind of contract. This is recognition of the kind of world class student-athletes that we have in the Pac-12. And second, there is going to be access for fans, friends and family across the country to watch every sport. Larry Scott did a remarkable job of putting this together with two very capable partners in ESPN and Fox.Q.) How will the increased revenue aid your fundraising efforts?
We are still going to lose money in 19 of our 21 sports. Does that mean we should not do them? Of course not. We want to give every student-athlete the opportunity to get a USC education and compete at the highest level. That is what USC is about! This money will help, but it does not solve everything. We are always going to need people that are passionate about this university and are willing to make donations, small or large, to the athletic department. Over the next 10 years, my focus is on endowing all of our scholarships and we cannot do that without the generous support of the Trojan Family.
Q.) What are your thoughts on weeknight football games?I would love to be able to play every game at 12:30 on Saturdays. It is not the athletic director's call. Ultimately, the television networks need to drive eyeballs to these games and their research will tell you that you have to play sometimes on Friday nights or Saturday nights. I have made it known to all the broadcast networks that anything we can do to not play at 7:30 is important to our fan base.
Q.) How is women's sand volleyball progressing?
Everybody seems to be taking a go slow approach to sand volleyball. There is really not going to be a championship game until 2014. We are going to ease into it with scholarships. We are developing plans to build courts, but there is not quite as much urgency as we originally thought.
Q.) Are you excited for next week's student-athlete graduation?The student-athlete graduation ceremony is a wonderful touch. We need to see our student-athletes through that prism as well. This year, we have two scholar-athletes in Zara Lukens and Cara Bickers who are two of the top 10 Renaissance Scholars. Of all the students, they are in the top ten! That is truly remarkable. And the other exciting thing is the great athletes who came back to finish their degrees like Keith Rivers and Tim McDonald who will be speaking at the student-athlete graduation. Our women's golfer Lizette Salas will also tell her remarkable story and she is one of the 25% of our student-athletes who are first generation college students.
Q.) What is the new Legend of Troy award?
We are honoring former student-athletes who have really had an impact on the USC athletic community. Our first two recipients are Lou Zamperini (photo) and Gordon Marshall. They are both incredible World War II veterans who have an amazing story to tell about overcoming adversity.
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