Carrie Cecil: Why glamping rocks, what we can learn from women's sports leaders, and where to meet up with other Cats in SoCal

Last week, our daughter Charli had fall break. With Chuck grinding at the Lowell-Stevens Football Facility, Charli and I got off the grid for a girls getaway up north. We hitched up our Glamper — that’s a glamorous camper — to Chuck’s big red Dodge Ram and hit the road.

Outside Sedona, we cranked down the Glamper’s stabilizer jacks along Oak Creek at Lo Lo Mai Springs, the cradle of Hopi civilization. We hiked the Sedona trails, visited Lake Powell and stood in awe inside Antelope Canyon. With no cell or Wi-Fi service and a lot of s’mores and gin rummy, the stress of sports crisis management (for me) and high school (for her) faded away.

Some of my very fondest memories growing up in Tucson are camping with my Deedee and Papaw in their Terry Trailer. My gram taught me how to bait a fishing hook and build a fire while my grandpappy showed me how to back up a trailer and not blow up the propane tanks. I love the smell of the pine needles in the White Mountains to the desert sand after the rain in Madera Canyon, and I’m still a girl filled with the wonder to wander. (You can follow our adventures on Facebook at Glamper Girls).

Back to reality

Charli and I made our way home in time for Saturday’s game between Arizona and Washington. The Huskies were what I expected — big and tough. I have had the pleasure to work for coach Chris Petersen and pal around with the Huskies’ athletic director, Jenn Cohen. Both are integrity-filled leaders — but on Saturday, my metaphorical money was on the Wildcats.

Arizona headed into the game on a four-game winning streak, and I believed we had the momentum to put a checkmark in the win column — especially with more than 47,000 fans in Arizona Stadium at kickoff.

Needless to say, it’s not how any of us wanted the streak to end — but it was great to see the stadium filled like the good ol’ days.

What’s important to remember is that coach Kevin Sumlin and his new regime are rebuilding and that takes time, so we need to keep supporting the team. The best is yet to come. As Chuck echoed to me on Sunday at 6:45 a.m. before he left for the office, “Every kick in the gut, shove to the ground, fist to the face is an opportunity to fuel character and fight better. We need to use it. He later posted a picture on his Twitter account that said: “Failure isn’t falling down, it’s remaining where you’ve fallen.’ ” He’s a wise ’ball coach.

Women sports leaders

Back to homepage

Subscriber Login

Keep reading with a digital access subscription.

Subscribe now

This week, I’ve been chatting with some of the best female leaders in college athletics.

Over 1,000 people attended the 2019 Women’s Leaders in College Athletics summit in Phoenix. The event featured speakers from sports, business, politics and more to help women with leadership development and career advancement in sports.

On a panel entitled “Supporting Coaches & Cultures of Success in the Digital Age,” Georgian Court University athletic director Laura Liesman and Berry College athletic director Angel Mason talked about the ways they are using technology to enhance and strengthen relationships between student-athletes and coaches.

“I work with our coaches about visibility and ways that they can use technology,” Mason said.

She went on to say that technology — like social media — can connect and engage the general student population and entire community. I love seeing women in leadership positions who understand how to differentiate their brands and the brands of the athletics department with digital strategies. I’ve been blessed to speak at the convention on crisis and media protocols, branding and social media strategies. And I deeply value the women who are breaking the glass ceilings, lifting up others and mentoring the next generation.

I also sat down with host Tai Brown for his AthleticDirectorU podcast, where I discussed reputation management for leaders across the sports industry, winning the public narrative and the three biggest threats for athletic stakeholders. Pretty simple: Not having a plan, not knowing your staff’s behavioral issues and not understanding how to monitor, deal with and pivot if and when something happens. The hard fact is that once a headline is out there — true or not — it is incredibly hard to get it removed or to change the audience mindset.

In the sports business, the worst-case scenario isn’t that coaches, general managers or athletic directors get fired; it’s when they’re not able to get another job. One must always control their reputation and be able to clean up brand misconception if they are going to move forward.

Want to give the 24-minute conversation a listen? Visit athleticdirectoru.com/audio/

Heading back to the beach

The Cats are gearing up to take on USC in Los Angeles this weekend. The last time I was in the Los Angeles Coliseum was when Chuck was coaching defense for the Rams. It’s awesome that we’re heading back to get a win.

Going to the game? Connect with the SoCal Cats, the Wildcats alumni group in Southern California. They’re hosting a happy hour at Grunions Sports Bar at 5 p.m. Friday, and will have a Wildcat Nation Football Pregame party starting at 3:30 p.m. Saturday. That party, held on the Sunset Deck at the nearby Banc of California Stadium, is a ticketed event. Visit SoCalCats.com for all the details.

Thanks for reading! Be sure to follow me on Twitter for the latest sports and Cecil news at @carriegcecil