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Passion for and loyalty to St. Bonaventure were among the themes newly-appointed Athletics Director Steve Watson emphasized during his introductory press conference on Dec. 13, 2006. "The one thing that really drew me more than anything else was the passion people have for athletics here and the loyalty that they've shown over the years. (Athletics) are important. People care. People are loyal and they've stuck through things, good and bad." "Building relationships is what I think this job is all about. It's relationships on campus, relationships with alumni, relationships in the community, student-athletes and coaches," Watson said. "This (athletic) department is not going to be able to survive without the support and help of everyone. We need support, we need help ... the only way to do that is to build relationships." Watson, 38, was the assistant athletics director for facilities and operations at Eastern Michigan from July 2001 to August 2002. Prior to that, he worked at the University of Dayton from 1999-2001 as director of marketing and promotions; and at the University of Georgia as a marketing assistant from 1998-1999. Among his professional accomplishments, Watson quadrupled corporate sponsorships during his tenure at Dayton and enjoyed a 95 percent success rate in retaining corporate sponsors there; was responsible for administrative oversight for 12 of Eastern Michigan's 21 sports programs; and led a new external operations leadership group that coordinated media and financial support programs for EMU. As a collegiate student-athlete, Watson played basketball at Rutgers for two seasons before transferring to Bowling Green, where he also played basketball and earned a bachelor's degree in interpersonal and public communications in 1990. Watson earned a master's degree in sports administration from Ohio University in 1998. After college, the 6-foot-8 forward spent six years playing professional basketball in Europe and Asia. Watson, 38, grew up in Franklinville, N.Y., and graduated from Archbishop Walsh High School in Olean. Watson's father, Dr. John Watson, has taught in St. Bonaventure's School of Business since 1975 and is the interim dean of the School of Business. His mother, Suzanne, has been a computer science lecturer at SBU since 2001. Watson and his wife, Ann, have three children: Abby, 11, Allison, 8, and Jackson, 5. "This is home. I grew up here. My first memories are in this (Reilly Center). It's in my heart ... I'm passionate about this place." |
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