By Jim Hague
It’s not every day that an NCAA Division III school hires someone to serve as an assistant to the athletic director in charge of marketing and advertising.
But then again, not every Division III school is located in the heart of New Jersey’s largest city.
Rutgers-Newark athletic director Mark Griffin rationalizes the reason for hiring Ben Badua to serve in that capacity at the school.
“Right at the corner of Warren and University, on our campus, more people pass that corner on a daily basis than sit in New Brunswick for a Rutgers football game,” Griffin said. “We dramatically underestimate the marketing power of our location. We needed to mix things up and develop a marketing and advertising plan that best fits the city of Newark. We felt it was important to develop some sort of marketing strategy.”
With that, the 24-year-old Badua comes on board to Rutgers-Newark’s 16-sport athletic program to try to generate some sort of marketing, advertising and alumni support for the program.
Badua graduated from Rutgers University in New Brunswick in 2007 and spent the past year as the Northeast Conference’s administrative intern, assisting in public relations, media relations and marketing for the NEC.
Badua was the main media relations contact for women’s volleyball, women’s soccer, men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s cross-country, women’s swimming and softball for the past year.
Badua graduated from RU with a degree in journalism and media studies. While attending Rutgers in New Brunswick, Badua served as the staff correspondent for the Newark Targum, a weekly campus newspaper based in Piscataway, but provided coverage of the R-N campus. Badua wrote several articles about the Scarlet Raiders’ men’s basketball and women’s volleyball teams during his tenure with the Newark Targum, so he definitely already has his finger on the pulse to R-N athletics.
“I’m pretty excited to have this opportunity,” Badua said. “I saw the position listed and sent my resume to Mark Griffin. He called me and asked if I would be interested in the position. Essentially, it’s going to be my job to raise more visibility to the program, to coordinate and establish corporate sponsorships and get the community more involved in Rutgers-Newark athletics. We’re going to establish a community outreach program and get more people involved.”
Badua realizes that there are a lot of possibilities based solely on location.
“There is a lot of potential here in Newark, a lot of opportunities,” Badua said. “Newark certainly has a lot to offer. We have a pretty large student body of all ethnic backgrounds and diversity. The campus is located just 10 miles from New York City. There is really a lot of potential here.”
Griffin is pleased to have Badua as part of the ever-growing R-N athletic program.
“He’s a personable kid who should bring a lot to the table,” Griffin said. “He knows people from working in the NEC and the Ivy League. He brings a lot of enthusiasm. He’s positive and outgoing. He’s only been here for two weeks and he’s already made a positive impact.”
Both Griffin and Badua attended a major collegiate conference together in Dallas, where they collected several ideas and tons of information that will benefit R-N in the future.
“I’ve only been here a couple of weeks, but everyone has been great to me,” Badua said. “The athletes and the coaches all have a great attitude and that helps taking over a new position. There are a lot of good things here.”
Badua is a native of the Philippines who moved to New Jersey at a very young age and was raised in Marlboro, N.J., where he attended high school before attending Rutgers University.
Badua said that he always aspired for a career in the sports field. He first believed that it might be as a sportswriter.
“Coming out of Rutgers, I knew I wanted to be involved in sports,” Badua said. “I wrote many sports profiles and articles, so that was a possibility. I didn’t really envision myself as a marketing guy. It wasn’t what I was looking for, but I’m glad it turned out this way, because it’s a great opportunity and I’m looking forward to it.”
Badua said that his first step in the new position will be becoming more familiar with his new surroundings. He will reside in faculty housing on campus.
“Since I just started last week, I’m trying to get to know everyone,” Badua said. “Not just the athletic department, but everyone on campus. That’s my goal.”
Badua knows that he’s entering uncharted waters, acting as a marketing director for an NCAA Division III school.
“It is a little bit different and it should be a challenge at first,” Badua said. “I’m going to be learning things on the fly. But I understand how things work. I’ll be working closely with Mark and we’ll get things done.”
“We’re located in the biggest city in the state,” Griffin said. “It’s time to capitalize on that. We’re going to give this a try and see how it works.”
