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Pollio: KWC 'shaking things up'
Forrest Stevens, an installer with Brite-Way Sign Co., prepares to screw in a portion of a new banner onto Kentucky Wesleyan College's Woodward Health and Recreation Center on Monday. The 16- by 70-foot banner features KWC alumni athletes said sports information director Roy Pickerill. The college is implementing a "Team KWC" campaign Pickerill said. "It's a positive campaign with a lot of visuals." This banner is the largest visual associated with the campaign, Pickerill added. The canvas banner will last, "five or six years," Stevens said, "if it's taken care of," which is also dependent on the weather. Messenger-Inquirer Photo by Jenny Sevcik

Pollio: KWC 'shaking things up'

Kentucky Wesleyan College, particularly its Woodward Health and Recreation Center, will have a new look for students who return to campus later this month.

“We're redecorating,” said Mike Pollio, KWC's Special Consultant to the President on athletics. “The appearance in and around the HRC is going to be much better. We're very excited about the improvements.”

Pollio, a former KWC men's basketball coach and athletic director (1980-85) who returned on an interim basis in June, said one look at the HRC convinced him that improvements were in order.

“It's a very nice on-campus facility, but my view was that it was plain,” Pollio said. “I approached (Owensboro businessman) Terry Woodward, the man whose name is on the building, and said, 'We need to dress this up a little bit,' and he agreed to help us out on this project.”

The outside of the HRC will feature a 60-foot mural featuring a collage of KWC athletes from a variety of sports.

“The University of Louisville did this, and it has a very impressive look to it,” said Pollio, a former commissioner of the Mid-South Conference and still part-time fund-raiser at U of L. “Visually, it sort of brings the athletic program to life.”

The changes don't end there.

Inside the HRC, Jones Gymnasium will be replete with banners celebrating Wesleyan's athletic successes, and hallways will feature historic photos in the form of mural collages, as well as the institution's new “Team KWC” logos.

Wesleyan will showcase the new-look HRC at 7 p.m. on Aug. 17. The event is free to the public.
Team KWC

Beyond that, Pollio has been working with Sportscenter manager Hal Mischel.

“We want to make going to the Sportscenter a better experience for our fans,” Pollio said. “They're fixing up the locker rooms, there will be new (KWC) banners in the arena, and they've agreed to sell barbecue sandwiches. Owensboro proclaims itself as the barbecue capital of the world, so barbecue should be made available.”

“We've got a couple of (halftime) acts coming in, we're going to have a Family Night — we're going to do all we can to bring in a new generation of fans to the Sportscenter.”

Long known for his aggressive marketing skills, Pollio said he has been buoyed by the response.

“This community has done it again,” he said. “They've been been absolutely incredible in the way they're stepping up and helping Kentucky Wesleyan. If you don't change, things remain the same — we're shaking things up.

“We've already sold 5,000 game tickets to companies. If we can get fans to come to just one game, we'll show them such a good time they'll want to come back. The Sportscenter is going to be a fun place to be.”

Pollio said he has also received stellar support from KWC's long-standing booster organization, the All-American Club.

“It's a tremendous booster club,” Pollio said. “You can look far and wide, and there's nothing quite like it.

“We'd like to try to build on that by providing free one-year memberships to athletes who have graduated. We want to make it viable for many years to come.”

In addition, KWC will host a Select-a-Seat Night on Oct. 15 at the Sportscenter, in conjunction with men's and women's basketball practices.

Also, Wesleyan is hoping to once again have its men's home basketball games televised on a delayed basis by Time Warner Cable.

“We're off to a good start,” said Pollio, whose contract with KWC ends in September.

In the meantime, KWC could announce its new athletic director within the next couple of weeks.

“The school conducted a nationwide search and a selection committee submitted names to the president (Dr. Craig Turner),” Pollio said. “The president, who I am very impressed with, will make the selection.”

With regard to speculation that KWC athletics is careening toward NCAA Division III (non scholarship) status, Pollio was coy.

“There are a lot of options,” Pollio said, “and the president is exploring them all.

“I'll say this: I'm really excited about the future.”
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