UT Marketing Department Receives Award

ORLANDO, Fla. - The University of Tampa's Athletic Marketing Department received a National Associate of Collegiate Marketing Administrators (NACMA) Best of the Best Group III Bronze Award in the category "Single Day Attendance Promotion-Olympic Sports".

Under the direction of Gil Swalls, associate athletic director, UT Athletics Marketing was honored for its "1K Day" promotion which garnered a net result of a school and conference single game attendance record of 1,145 for its home volleyball match versus Florida Southern, Nov. 3, 2006. The Tampa Tribune called the event one of Hillsborough County's highest attended female sports events for the year.

"We had a great group of students in our marketing department who wanted to establish an exciting atmosphere for our student athletes. They set their sights on an attendance record for that game and got it done," said Swalls. "Coach Chris Catanach credited that event as a pivotal moment in his team's march to the NCAA II National Championship which our marketing group appreciated greatly. It was a team effort all the way around."

The award was presented on June 7 at the NACMA Convention held in the Orlando World Center.