• News
    • Campus
    • Local
    • World
  • Arts and Entertainment
    • Performing Arts
    • Visual Arts
    • Music
    • Film
    • Fashion
  • Lifestyle
    • Campus Happenings
    • Community Happenings
    • Food
    • Business
    • Travel
    • Calendar
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Video
    • Globe News
    • What’s Bruin
    • Bruin Lens
    • Film
    • Music
  • Radio
  • NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
Sign in
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Privacy Policy
Password recovery
Recover your password
Search
46.5 F
Salt Lake City
Thursday, March 4, 2021
  • Newsletter Signup
  • Contests
  • About The Globe
    • Staff
    • Jobs
    • Issue PDFs
Sign in
Welcome! Log into your account
Forgot your password? Get help
Privacy Policy
Password recovery
Recover your password
A password will be e-mailed to you.
The Globe The Globe
The Globe The Globe
  • News
    • Campus
    • Local
    • World
  • Arts and Entertainment
    • Performing Arts
    • Visual Arts
    • Music
    • Film
    • Fashion
  • Lifestyle
    • Campus Happenings
    • Community Happenings
    • Food
    • Business
    • Travel
    • Calendar
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Video
    • Globe News
    • What’s Bruin
    • Bruin Lens
    • Film
    • Music
  • Radio
  • NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
Home Features Labor of love: SLCC Athletics works to promote championship-caliber teams
  • Features
  • Online Exclusive
  • Sports

Labor of love: SLCC Athletics works to promote championship-caliber teams

By
Dillon Anderson
-
February 12, 2015
0
Small crowd in Bruin Arena
One major challenge for SLCC Athletics is to increase student and community attendance at SLCC home games. (Rachael Folland)

In the quiet of a cool February afternoon, Kevin Dustin sat at his desk calculating, recalculating, and recalculating. Tirelessly reviewing budget reports, he stopped only because he was finished.

Kevin Dustin
Kevin Dustin has been director of SLCC Athletics since 2014. Dustin previously worked at Utah State University. (Courtesy of SLCC Athletics)

For the 55-year-old Dustin, his playing days are only just getting started.

When longtime Salt Lake Community College athletic director Norma Carr retired last spring, the search for her replacement followed in short order. Among many candidates was Dustin, a Utah State University alum who once served as an associate athletic director at his alma mater, who to his own surprise was chosen to succeed Carr.

“It’s very attractive and a great place to work,” Dustin says. “So like everybody else, I put my name in a hat, went through the interviewing process, and was fortunate enough to get the position.”

In his first year on the job, Dustin faces the daunting task of energizing a student body short on awareness. But while managing his own backyard may be the foremost priority, Dustin’s desired outreach won’t stop at the borders of SLCC.

Despite a competitive local sports market that includes the Utah Jazz, University of Utah, BYU and others, increasing relevance within the wider marketplace remains a goal for Dustin.

Elsa Paulsson Glantz on defense
Elsa Paulsson Giantz plays fierce defense vs. USU Eastern earlier this season. The Bruins are No. 6 in the latest NJCAA rankings. (David Winkworth)

“We’d love to be more visible in the community,” Dustin says. “We’d love more people to come to our games and realize what’s happening here. I think the rest of the valley would be shocked if they knew we had a top 10 women’s basketball team here.”

The women’s basketball team currently ranks sixth in the NJCAA Top 25 National Poll; Salt Lake also leads the Scenic West Athletic Conference with an 11-1 conference record. In addition, the Bruins are in the midst of an 11-game winning streak.

And yet, even with the recent success of the women’s basketball team, some in the athletic department feel that the squad isn’t receiving the acclaim they deserve.

Newly-hired sports information director Rachel Rowan was outspoken about her mission to create greater student pride and attendance, she views SLCC Athletics as something of a hidden gem.

“Ultimately, what I want is for people to realize that not only do you have athletics here, but you have really good athletics here,” Rowan says. “The majority of our sports are within the top 25 of the nation and a lot of people don’t realize that. I want to get us more visual; I want more students at the games.”

As it is, the efforts of any athletic department, at any level, come back to generating revenue—the lifeblood of collegiate sports. Save for a few outliers, the backbone of a sports program is only as strong as it’s resources.

In this way, “growing the brand” becomes a relative priority everywhere.

“We’d like to see increased external revenue because the costs of doing business are going up,” Dustin says. “The external revenue, and increasing that, is a priority.”

  • TAGS
  • Athletic Director
  • Baseball
  • Bruin Athletics
  • Kevin Dustin
  • Men's Basketball
  • NJCAA
  • Rachel Rowan
  • Salt Lake Community College
  • Softball
  • Sports Information Director
  • Women's Basketball
Dillon Anderson

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

Coach Cyndee Bennett

2021 SLCC softball season preview

Anastasia Tuifua

Photos: No. 15 SLCC volleyball rises to the top

Freshman guard Naelle Bernard

Photos: SLCC basketball continues winning ways

Basketball on hardwood floor

SLCC basketball teams play scrimmages before seasons begin in January

Justice Hill slaps hands with teammates

Justice Hill races to Murray State after ‘incredible’ season at SLCC

The Globe
ABOUT US
FOLLOW US
  • About The Globe
  • Staff
  • Contact Us
  • Jobs
© 2021 The Globe