Photo courtesy of NBC Connecticut

The name came out of left field yesterday evening; David Benedict was the selection to replace the departing Warde Manuel as athletic director at UConn. While fans and media alike turned to Google to answer the standard initial reaction of, ‘Who?,’ Benedict was making his way to the Nutmeg State from Auburn University, where he served as the Chief Operating Officer for the Tigers athletic department.

The next day, there was Benedict, joking with his wife Lisa and twin thirteen year old boys, Jake and Sam, at the front of the room, thirty minutes before the most important press conference of his life.

As the event began, the scene was spectacular; standing room only. In attendance were the university board, major donors and the majority of the Huskies coaching staffs’, including head football coach Bob Diaco, who played host for this morning’s event inside the large team meeting room in the Burton Family Football Complex.

While the official press conference was a short one, just three questions of the utmost importance about the power five and conference affiliation, today is about Benedict, on a day where he and his family feel like, “they’ve won a national championship.”

Benedict, who was able to speak further on himself and what his plans are in a more intimate setting with the media after stepping away from the podium, shared his vision for UConn athletics, in what he called the ‘pillars to OUR athletic department.’

1. Competitive Excellence: “We are going to compete at everything. We are going to win on the fields and the courts of play, as well as in the classroom.”
2. Academic Excellence: “This has to be a top priority and we are going to do it the right way.”
3. Student-Athlete Experience: “We must deliver on the promise that we make during the recruiting process. This will be a responsibility not just of our coaches, but the entire athletic department staff.”
4. Engagement w/Former Letter Winners: “It’s important for former student athletes to remain engaged at UConn. We need to foster an environment where our student athletes feel welcomed and engaged in their university.”
5. Game-Day Experience: “This is really important. To our members of UConn Nation everywhere; alumni, fans, residents of the great state of Connecticut and our student body, who are critical in this. I want to make our game-day experience one of the best in the nation, but we can’t do this without you. I will seek your feedback and we will do our best to make sure all of our events are entertaining for all who attend. In return, we need you to come out and support our student athletes by buying tickets.
6. Integrity: “Without integrity, nothing else matters.”

His final statement on integrity were fitting as he stood at the podium between signs hanging in the team meeting room that have gone up since Diaco took over the football program. Vince Lombardi on one side, and a simple quote that talks about everything Bob has preached since coming to UConn, “you can’t start winning, until you stop losing.”

From a football standpoint, this hire was an important one, paramount to the continued resurrection of UConn football. It’s no secret that Diaco originally came to Storrs because of Warde Manuel and what his football background looked like. Their relationship had only grown in the two years he’s been in Storrs, but after meeting the new AD, it’s safe to say that Diaco will like the choice.

Benedict played football at Southern Utah and like Diaco, was a linebacker. He served as a graduate assistant at New Mexico Highlands, while he pursued his master’s degree. More importantly, however, he understands what coaches go through during a season and the pressures that mount with each successive game.

“I grew up the son of football coach and obviously as a young boy wanting to spend time with my dad, I saw how hard he worked and everything he went through,” Benedict said. “Coaches are in such a difficult position because they work extremely hard and their life can be changed by even just one injury. So, I’ve experienced the ups and downs of a coach with my father.”

Benedict will sit down with Diaco, Geno Auriemma, Kevin Ollie and the rest of the leaders of UConn athletics to learn about their programs, how they run daily operations and what’s important to them. Each of these high profile coaches have different personalities, but all have the same goal in mind, success for UConn.

The plan for each?

“The way I deal with coaches is the same way I deal with everybody,” Benedict said. “It’s going to be about trust and respect. Certainly, in the position that I’m in, I have to hold people accountable. So, those are the three things that I really feel are important; trust, respect and accountability. If you do those things, typically you are going to be able to have good relationships with people, whether they are head coaches of very high profile programs or not.”

What does he want to get out of his initial meetings?

“First, I want to learn about them as people,” the new athletic director replied. “I think it’s very important that we all know each other, what’s important to us. I talked to you about some of the pillars that are important to me and our program; well I want to know what’s important to them and their programs.”

It’s no secret that UConn football had a rough three year stretch under the leadership of Paul Pasqualoni, following a BCS bowl appearance on January 1, 2011. Bob Diaco has turned that ship around drastically, leading the Huskies to a bowl game this past season. Benedict is aware that UConn has had success in the sport that was of utmost importance at Auburn and it will be a focal point for him in Storrs.

“I’m not going to go through the year by year records of our football program since we’ve moved up to the FBS level,” he said. “What I can tell you is the success that we’ve had tells me that we can be successful, we can be competitive at the highest level. We have a great leader in Coach Diaco, I look forward to working with him and partnering to ensure he has the resources to be successful. What we have accomplished tells me that we can continue to compete at the highest level.”

While at Auburn, Benedict improved the game-day experience for their fans in all sports, including football games at Jordan-Hare, where the largest video board in the nation is currently being constructed. While the Huskies attendance has dipped since Big East football folded, as well as the lack of consistent winning seasons, there is a plan to re-engage the fan base.

“The most important thing is when our fans come and sit in those seats, that they have a good time, regardless of the outcome of the game,” Benedict said. “There’s a lot of different reasons why someone will come to a game and sit in a seat to watch an event. We need to make sure we are addressing all of those different items with our fans.”

“It might just be that we are making it affordable for a family to come out to an event and have a good time and be able to go to concessions and not spend $100,” he continued. “We want people of all different constituent bases to enjoy themselves, whether that’s our students, our fans, donors, alumni and even people that don’t come often that are just coming to town to visit, we’ve got to create an environment where people have fun.”

Benedict is aware of the current conference situation and the competitive imbalance among the power five, compared to the group of five conferences. He’s well aware of what UConn brings to the table, as well as the impatience of UConn Nation, after three seasons in the American Conference.

“We are a great institution of higher learning and have an unbelievable history of basketball,” he said. “The tradition of basketball here is a national brand. I was fortunate, when I was at VCU, I was at the Final Four in Houston and saw UConn play Kentucky. We have tremendous athletics, with great coaches, who run great programs.”

Yesterday, the university ran an advertisement in a Texas newspaper, the Dallas Morning News, ahead of the upcoming men’s basketball showdown against SMU on Thursday. It’s also a not-so-subtle touch of marketing done by UConn athletics in the heart of Big 12 land.

“I wasn’t aware of that, I read about it this morning, but I didn’t sign the bill for that one,” Benedict joked. “I think it’s important that you tell your story because if you don’t, there’s a chance that no one else will. How we tell it is something I look forward to working with President Herbst and others on, but we know it’s important to tell that story.”

That last statement may be the most important one Benedict made on a day that saw the new leader of UConn athletics, introduced to Connecticut.