The Queens University of Charlotte men’s basketball team makes history this Friday night.
The Royals will play their first-ever Division I NCAA Tournament game when they take on No. 2 seed Purdue in the first round. To talk more about how Queens got to this big moment, the school’s Director of Athletics, Cherie Swarthout, joined WFAE’s Marshall Terry.
Marshall Terry: First, a big congratulations to you and the team. How are you feeling going into the game?
Cherie Swarthout: Thank you first of all for the congratulations and having me on. It is a historical moment for Queens athletics, and we've had a lot of great, great moments in our history. But this is exceptionally special, and it's something that we've been working towards, obviously, since we went Division I in 2022.
Terry: This was the first year Queens was actually eligible to even play in the tournament. For those who don’t follow sports that closely, can you explain why that is?
Swarthout: Certainly. We had a gift from the NCAA last January when they changed the reclassification period from four years down to three, and we were able to get everything completed that needed to be done that would have normally been done in year four, done in year three. They confirmed that we were a full member last year. That's very special also to be eligible a year early and to be able to capitalize on winning the ASUN championship and making the Big Dance.
Terry: Were you surprised you got there so quickly?
Swarthout: It's a great question because we are humbled by being in this place, but what I can tell you is that it was a goal from the beginning.
Grant Leonard has done an exceptional job because, as you can imagine, we're a very small institution. I think we're probably one of the smallest to ever go to the Big Dance. We had a lot of success in men's basketball in Division II, but Grant has done a phenomenal job. We didn't just flip a switch and have all the resources, as you can imagine, and he's recruited exceptional young men who have exceptional talent and are committed to the main thing, which is getting a great education and playing some great basketball. We're fortunate to be in this place because, as Grant says, the ball bounces funny in March, and it bounced in our way.
Terry: So it seems like there's always a Cinderella story in the tournament, a lower-seeded team that blows up people's brackets. What will it take for Queens to be this year's Cinderella?
Swarthout: Again, I think we're well-positioned to make some noise. I can tell you that our men's basketball team will play very, very hard. They will be very well prepared and they will be very well coached and we will do everything in our power to shut down Purdue.
Terry: Win or lose, how will this impact the basketball program at Queens? And what does it mean for the athletics programs as you prepare for the merger with Elon University?
Swarthout: I think anytime you can raise the profile of your institution or your program through success, I think Grant is a great one to answer what type of impact it's had on his recruiting already, the visibility of his program, all the different pieces. For us as an institution, we knew that if we could get to March Madness, that it was going to have a profound impact on brand awareness, not just locally, not just regionally, but nationally.
People are wondering where Queens is in North Carolina. Overall, the impact raises your visibility certainly, but you hope that it has an impact on philanthropy, you hope that it has an impact on your admissions, all the different pieces that help your university thrive.
Queens University of Charlotte is a WFAE underwriter.
