Tuesday morning I was able to sit down for a second meeting with Craig Pintens, senior associate athletic director for marketing and public relations.We chatted about his position within the athletic department, his background and his mission to bring Oregon to national brand status.
This is Pintens’ second year here at Oregon. He’s a native of Wisconsin and comes to the University of Oregon fresh from an assistant athletic director job with the Louisiana State University Tigers. Pintens was awarded his position here just one week before the Ducks took the field against his former employer last year in Dallas at the Cowboy Classic.
“The first thing my son asked me when I told him we were moving was, ‘Well, who do I root for?” Pintens said.
He answered his son’s question with another question, “Well, who do you think you should root for?”
His response was to root for the Ducks, but on one condition: his dad get him a new Oregon Ducks football jersey to replace his once-beloved Tigers jersey.
A week later Pintens arrived in Eugene and hit the ground running, serving as the athletic department’s liaison for all external business communication, including the athletic department’s media partner IMG and the then-yet-to-be-formed Pac-12 Network.
After just one year on the job, Pintens has caught up to speed with the athletic department’s marketing techniques, and from the way he sees it, he has one task: to improve an already extremely strong marketing campaign in order to make Oregon a national and international icon.
To hear the full story on Pintens’ endeavor to bring Oregon to national brand status, pick up the Monday edition of the Emerald.