New York University Athletics

• Basketball
  • Men’s Team
  • Women’s Team
• Cross Country
  • Men’s Team
  • Women’s Team
• Fencing
  • Men’s Team
  • Women’s Team
• Golf
  • Men’s Team
• Soccer
  • Men’s Team
  • Women’s Team
• Swimming
  • Men’s Team
  • Women’s Team
• Tennis
  • Men’s Team
  • Women’s Team
• Track & Field
  • Men’s Team
  • Women’s Team
• Volleyball
  • Men’s Team
  • Women’s Team
• Wrestling
  • Men’s Team

NYU's "Tear It Up!" Campaign Wins National Award

01/23/08

The National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) cited the New York University Department of Athletics, Intramurals and Recreation with a 2007 NASPA Excellence Gold Award for its highly successful “Tear It Up!” campaign, one of three awards earned by NYU’s Office of Student Affairs.

The “Tear It Up!” campaign was acknowledged in the category of “Athletics, Recreation, Physical Fitness, Non-Varsity Sports” for its continuing ability to ignite strong student support for the Violets’ varsity athletic programs.

"Receiving the NASPA award really says something about our student body and its commitment to the athletic programs at NYU,” said Associate Athletic Director Noah D. LeFevre, who established the “Tear It Up!” program. “It is a true honor for one of our promotional programs to be recognized nationally from an organization as terrific as NASPA."

NYU’s “Tear It Up!” program was established as a the result of a December, 2005, meeting between LeFevre, NYU Vice President of Student Affairs Marc Wais; Director of Athletics, Intramurals and Recreation Christopher Bledsoe; athletic team leaders and captains; and members of the NYU Student Athlete Advisory Committee. The idea behind this gathering was to connect all of the University’s diverse student groups, as well as to build a fervent fan base to support the Violets’ athletic exploits.

The first example of the impact of “Tear It Up!” came during a basketball doubleheader on February 17, 2006. With free food, non-alcoholic beverages and t-shirts bearing the “Tear It Up!” logo being offered to students, the Jerome S. Coles Sports Center was chock full of “Coles Crazies” that night: the 2,137 fans on hand proved an increase of 92 percent over the average attendance of 1,115 for the 2005-06 season.

Not content with only boosting its basketball fanbase, the “Tear It Up!” campaign changed the fan culture at men’s and women’s soccer games, as well as men’s and women’s volleyball matches. Each of those programs enjoyed at least a 24-percent elevation above their average fanbase. At a women’s volleyball “Tear It Up!” event on October 6, 2006, the nationally ranked Violets drew 830 fans – a 300-percent increase over the seasonal average of 204.

During the 2006-07 campaign, the NYU men’s basketball team averaged 2,418 fans during three “Tear It Up!” designated contests, a 141-percent boost above the season average of 1,002 per home date. The Violet women’s basketball team that reached the NCAA Division III Final Four saw a 58-percent spike in fans for “Tear It Up!” affairs (1,648) as opposed to non-designated games (1,066).

NYU became the first university to ever collect three NASPA citations in one year.

In addition to NYU’s “Tear It Up!” campaign, the University’s Office of Student Affairs also garnered a NASPA Excellence Gold Award in the “Off Campus, Commuter, Non-traditional, Graduate, Professional” category for its Student Resource Center, as well as a NASPA Excellence Bronze Award in the “International, Multi-cultural, Cultural, LGBTQ, Spirituality, Disability” category for the Center for Multicultural Education and Programs’ “ISM Project”.

With more than 11,000 members, NASPA is the largest international professional association for student affairs' administrators, faculty and graduate students.

The National Awards for Excellence continue to recognize exemplary institutions and programs.