The University of Connecticut’s athletic success propels the state’s economic success, according to the state’s Chief Marketing Officer, Anthony Anthony.
Last year, UConn athletics contributed more than $240 million to the state's GDP, according to their annual NCAA financial report.
But Anthony said the impacts aren't just quantitative. He pointed to UConn’s national titles, most recently an NCAA championship for the women’s basketball team, as a driver for the state’s economy in qualitative ways, too.
“You see things like state pride skyrocket,” Anthony said. “I think you see things in terms of state identity and having a firm spot in people's hearts and minds. That all has, at least from a soft measure, an impact on the state's economy.”
Each year, Anthony’s office surveys 1,000 travelers from Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island and Florida. It’s called the Brand Perception & Health Research study.
“If you look at three pillars, willingness to recommend Connecticut as a place to live, willingness to recommend it as a place to work, and willingness to recommend it as a place to visit, we have seen them all go up over the last few years,” Anthony said. “And I can say without a doubt, part of that is UConn.”
Those numbers have gone up 114%, 107%, and 175%, respectively, according to the study.
Among its other findings, state pride was at a record high of 61% last year.
“When you see UConn consistently winning when you see that you have the state's flagship university with national and international brand recognition and people feeling good about what's coming out of the state, whether it's academics, sports, economics, population growth, I think all of these things come together,” Anthony said. “UConn is one piece of the puzzle, but a big piece of the puzzle.”
And UConn’s teams and players are more prominent than ever before. That's thanks to NIL deals that allow players to appear in advertisements for Connecticut-based companies like Athletic Brewing, Goff Law and Monaco Ford.
Why are they the right people for Connecticut businesses to partner with?
“Greatness,” Anthony said. “There's nothing more to it.”
