PirateCrew: Seton Hall Pirates Football & Basketball Recruiting
The definitive source for all PirateCrew news.
setonhall.rivals.com
PirateCrew: Seton Hall Pirates Football & Basketball Recruiting
The definitive source for all PirateCrew news.
Bryan Felt talks to the Trove, part 1
By JP Pelzman
Much like any fan base, Seton Hall supporters want to see success in March.
Well, in South Orange, that process begins in a very real way for men’s basketball, and all other varsity sports, at the end of April. Seton Hall Giving Day is here once again, Wednesday through Thursday, in conjunction with Pirate Blue Donor Matching Day, which also spreads across those two days.
“Donor Matching Day is a special opportunity for our fans, for our student-athletes to be a part of something where it rallies our Seton Hall faithful to be supportive,” athletic director Bryan Felt said in an exclusive interview with PirateCrew.
“And we’ve shown how successful we can be,” he added, “when we elevate ourselves and when we have these successful fund-raising campaigns. We're always trying to win championships. It sounds like a cliché, but we can’t do it alone. I promise you every single fan is important to us, every single dollar we’ve raised on this day, and every ticket for every team that someone buys, they’re making a tangible difference for our department and for our student-athletes.”
Felt, of course, has worked on fund-raising both in his current position and his former role as executive director of Pirate Blue.
“We're really excited about Wednesday,” he said. “It's a big deal. It's a fun time. It always is.”
Especially with Seton Hall men’s basketball poised to enter a new era on two fronts. Felt confirmed that ground is planned to be broken in the summer of 2023 on a basketball practice facility. And in the fall, favorite Seton Hall son Shaheen Holloway takes over as coach following his incredible NCAA Tournament run at Saint Peter’s.
“Things are going very well,” Felt said. “We have been in an ever-constant fund-raising process. We've had some renderings done.”
He mentioned a gift of $2 million from Pat and Mary Ann Murray, and $1 million from the Torcivia family, both of which were publicly announced.
Felt said they still are in the “silent phase” of the project and fund-raising but that “Our focus is to have more gifts become public in the coming months.
“We'll go from the silent campaign of the facility eventually to a more public phase with more renderings and middle-level gifts,” Felt added.
Felt noted, “It's part of a process. It's going very well. It's an everyday thing. The school is pleased with” the progress.
He lauded the great support of Seton Hall President Dr. Joseph Nyre and the departments of University Advancement and Pirate Blue.
Felt concluded, “We will get to a phase where everybody will see what’s gone on and how much we’ve raised for the project and I look forward to that day.”
However, he admitted that COVID-19 “Slowed it down a little bit,” but indicated the devastating flooding last year did not affect the timeline.
If people want to donate to the construction of the practice facility, Felt noted, “Every year, if somebody makes a Pirate Blue gift, that’s a part of it.”
But, he added, “Don’t forget how important it is to continue to support it annually.”
Seton Hall announced Monday that Holloway would match Pirate Blue donations by 10% in honor of his number from his Pirate playing days. Felt, who also hired Holloway at Saint Peter’s, expanded on why he plucked him off Kevin Willard’s staff four years ago.
“First the obvious,” he said, “I've known Shaheen for a very long time. I’ve known him since the first time he set foot on campus here at Seton Hall when he was 18 years old, to us now both being in our 40s. I was so impressed with Sha in how strategic he is in the things that he does.
“When you’re hiring a (former) assistant,” Felt added, “they’re moving over one chair. Now they’re calling the timeouts. They’re making the substitutions. They’re doing the external things. They’re meeting with the donors. They’re talking to alumni. They’re making speeches. They’re doing all those things. That was the question. Can he do that? I knew he could recruit. I knew he knew how to develop kids. I was confident in all those things.”
Felt added, “But as soon as he arrived at Saint Peter’s, he did such a tremendous job with everything, from deciding who he should have on the staff, to deciding how he’s going to run the program, how he’s going to get involved on campus. I was incredibly impressed with his game preparation, with his in-game management. I think we all got to see that on a national stage in this Tournament.”
And now Seton Hall has a coach who certainly has star quality, in addition to the hard work, Xs and Os and other tangible traits he brings.
Felt laughed and told a story about former baseball star Alex Rodriguez making an appearance on campus recently.
“It was a great speech,” he said. “It was a great presentation.”
And then Holloway showed up to say hello and take some photos with the former Yankee.
“Sha had a longer line for taking pictures and signing autographs,” Felt said.
Well, think about it, how many Elite Eights has A-Rod been to?
