OSHKOSH — As UW Oshkosh (UWO) hosts part of the NCAA division three men's basketball tournament Friday and Saturday, a lot of work is happening behind the scenes to make it all possible.
After finding out Monday that they'd be a site for the first two rounds of the tournament, UWO Sports Information Director Linnea Kangas and her team got to work immediately to set everything up.
Kangas says she "probably put in 80" hours of work to coordinate the event. She and her team do a little bit of everything, from cleaning laundry and selling tickets to arranging lodging for visiting teams and creating in-arena graphics and video to ensure the event runs smoothly.
Kangas says organizing the tournament is "fun, stressful, but it's where you want to be."
UWO's Assistant Chancellor for Athletics Darryl Sims says hosting the tournament requires a complete buy-in from the whole school, but provides a great boost for the University.
“It’s a great recruiting tool, it’s a great retention tool," said Sims. "We get to be on regional and national television… I’m sure our people in admissions love that we get this kind of visibility and they don’t have to do anything to help us do that.”
For Kangas, hosting an event like the NCAA tournament creates a lot of stress, but ultimately is what she lives for in her job.
“This is where you wanna be in March...hosting an NCAA event," she said.
