Growing up, I was a HUGE UConn women’s basketball fan. I idolized players like Breanna Stewart and Katie Lou Samuelson and would watch any game I could with my grandparents. Now, I get to live out my dream. Instead of playing for the team, though, I write for them.
As Associate Sports Editor for The Daily Campus, UConn’s student-run newspaper, I am the beat reporter for the women’s basketball team. That means I cover the team, write articles, and produce content for them for the entire season!
With every season comes a Big East Media Day, where teams from across the Big East go to Madison Square Garden to speak to the media and produce content for various social media platforms.
Here is a look at a day in my life at Big East Media Day 2025!
3:45 to 5:00 A.M. : Leave Storrs + Get on Train
I woke up bright and early, alongside my co-beat writers and photographers, Jake, Sam, Matt, Connor, and Emma to make sure we would be able to get to the train on time to get to New York City. We were all definitely a bit sleepy, but with a nice playlist and a few energy drinks we were all stoked for a fun day in NYC. It was a unanimous decision to play lots of Billy Joel songs on our commute to the New Haven train station, so here is one by the legendary singer we particularly enjoyed:
5:00 to 7:15 A.M. : Take train/Commute to NYC
Once we were safely on the train, people either snoozed for a few extra minutes, worked on homework, or watched some TV. I put my AirPods in and started brainstorming content ideas for my sports-themed TikTok. Then, I decided to work on a base of my article that I was going to submit to the paper: a feature on sophomore Sarah Strong.
Once we arrived to Grand Central Station, it was certainly a learning curve on how to navigate our way to the subways, but with a little banter, we were able to weather the storm and figure it out.
7:15 a.m. to 8 A.M. : Breakfast/Get to msg
Once we got off the subway near Penn Station, we still had a little bit of time before we had to get to Madison Square Garden (MSG). Conveniently, there was a Chick-fil-A up ahead, so that’s where we stopped for breakfast. Once we were fed, we headed over to MSG to get ready to start our day!
8 a.m. to 12 P.M. : MBB Portion
Big East Media day is split between the men’s and women’s teams. This year, the men’s teams were first. We started out by sitting in the stands, listening to an opening statement from the Big East commissioner Val Ackerman. Once she was finished, all the coaches took a picture together and then we were ready to start.
Every year, there are tables with the different teams, so writers have a chance to talk to the teams, their players and coaches. Since I only write for women’s basketball, I used this as my opportunity to wander around the various tables. I visited St. John’s to see their Head Coach Rick Pitino, visted Creighton to talk to the players and then, finally, I went to the UConn table to see Dan Hurley, Alex Karaban, Solo Ball, and Tarris Reed.
I talked to Karaban for a bit about Strong to get some quotes for my article, and then I helped my friend Katie, who works for the radio station at UConn, make a call sign for Ball!
After we had Solo do the call sign, I took a picture of him holding a photo our the trio.
Then, it was time for lunch!
12 p.m. to 2 p.m. : WBB Portion
After lunch, it was finally time for the women’s basketball portion of the day.
Similar to the men’s portion, Ackerman gave another speech and took pictures of the coaches. Then, it was time to break out the teams by team.
Again, I migrated through various teams until Strong and Azzi Fudd arrived at their table. Once they go there, I asked Fudd a few questions about Strong and then I asked Strong how she feels she has developed over the summer and how she plans to take on this new leadership role on the team.
Strong described to me how she feels like this season, her voice is gonna shine out on the court and that she’s working more on her defensive style of play. Back when I traveled to Spokane, Wash. for the Sweet 16 during March Madness this year, Strong mentioned to me she was learning how to play guitar. At Big East Media Day, she said she’s starting to learn some Chris Stapleton and Billie Eilish!
After Strong and Fudd left the table, it was time for Head Coach Geno Auriemma to speak to the media.
Auriemma got asked a lot of questions about his programs 12th National Championship, as well as Paige Bueckers, who joined the WNBA this past summer.
Then, after Auriemma finished the day was done and it was time to take pictures.
2 P.M. to 3 P.M. : Picture time
At Big East Media Day, there are so many fun sets to take photos. All UConn students who attended took photos together. One of my favorites was with my friend Katie and I sitting on a bench in front of a Big East back drop!
3 P.m. to 7 P.M. : Pizza + Head Back to Storrs
After a very, very long day it was time to head back. We took the train back to New Haven and I worked on my article about Strong. Before driving back to Storrs we stopped at Modern Pizza in New Haven, a Daily Campus Big East Media Day tradition!
We were all very sleepy on the ride back, and my AirPods definitely played a lot less Billy Joel. I’ve been into The Marias a lot lately, so that was the soundtrack of my ride home.
Once I got back to my dorm in Storrs, I immediately fell asleep after such a long day. However, the next day I reflected on how lucky I was to have such a special opportunity to cover such a coveted collegiate basketball program. I’m so excited for this season and can’t wait to write more for The Daily Campus and share about my travels!