Columbia Women’s Basketball Program Receives $50,000 Grant

Thanks to a new $50,000 grant, the Columbia women’s basketball team will be working alongside Roar-ee and the rest of the spirit squad to enhance attendance and audience participation at its games next season. Awarded as part of the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Grant Program, the funds will be put towards local community outreach and on-campus marketing.

“This grant is a result of the NCAA recognizing the steps and progress that have already been taken within our program ... and the commitment that Columbia and the department of intercollegiate athletics has made to the women’s basketball program,” head coach Paul Nixon said.

The Lions, along with 11 other schools and five athletic conferences, were chosen out of a pool of 70 applicants and are the only Ivy Leaguers to receive the grant. According to the NCAA, the money is part of an “effort to specifically enhance Division I women’s basketball attendance.”

Associate athletics director Jennifer Strawley applied for the grant, laying out a detailed financial plan for the funds. While efforts will be made in on-campus initiatives, the bulk of the money will be put towards reaching out to members of the local community, including Harlem, Washington Heights, and Morningside Heights in what Nixon referred to as “grassroots marketing.”

“You think about what it costs to take your family to a Broadway show versus the cost of bringing your family to what we feel is a high quality Division I women’s basketball game,” Nixon said. “We really want to make sure that members of the local community understand that it is a very affordable family entertainment value. While this is money that has been earmarked specifically for marketing, it’s not like it’s going to go to buying TV commercials. These are definitely going to be funds that are going to specifically targeted groups.”

This past season, the team hosted events such as the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association Think Pink initiative, a night intended to further a national effort to raise breast cancer awareness.

The additional money has come as a pleasant off-season surprise to the Lions, who are now approaching next year with intense focus.

“We’re celebrating by working really hard in our spring workouts,” Nixon said. “We want to make sure that we’re putting the best product possible on the floor, and our team is working to make sure that that happens.”