"I use the analogy that athletics are the front porch of the university. If someone has never heard of UC Davis, they might see one of our teams playing — they might be on television … they might want to learn more about the university and it might cause interest among respective students.

"When we were on television at the NCAAs a couple of years ago, it generated quite a bit of interest for people who did not know about UC Davis prior to that. It was all positive."