For brothers Drew and Dawson Prickel, basketball has always been more than a game; it’s been a shared language.

“We were always close,” Drew said. “But working together definitely brought us even closer.”

Both grew up playing the sport, spending countless hours in gyms and driveways. When their playing days ended, that connection didn’t. Instead, it evolved into behind-the-scenes roles with the University of Oregon women’s basketball program, where the Eugene-born siblings work as student managers, with Dawson later serving as a graduate assistant.

“I played basketball all my life,” Dawson said. “I knew when I got to college I wanted to work in sports, and basketball was the one thing I really wanted to stay connected to.”

Drew followed a similar path, finding himself drawn to the same environment.

“I always really looked up to Dawson growing up,” Drew said. “We’ve always had similar interests, and he’s definitely been a big role model for me.”

Both brothers chose to attend the UO due to the opportunities to stay close to home and to work in athletics. Being just three years apart, Dawson joined the women’s basketball program first, reaching out through connections he had growing up in Eugene. Drew later followed, interviewing for the same student manager role and eventually working alongside his brother for two seasons.

Drew currently specializes in apparel presentation, dressing the mannequin for the team that displays uniform combinations to ensure players know exactly what to wear on game days. The responsibilities have been extensive: handling laundry, food orders, equipment and steaming game-day gear, along with assisting during practices, games and team travel.

“On a normal practice day, it’s probably four to five hours,” Drew said. “On game days, it can be anywhere from eight to 12.”

Balancing that workload with academics requires discipline. Drew, an advertising major with a minor in sports business, says the role forced him to learn time management quickly. Classes missed due to game travel leads to constant communication with professors, attending office hours and frequent makeup work.

“It’s pretty brutal,” Drew said. “But it taught me how to be proactive and communicate effectively.”

Kate Hostetler-McLaughlin, a fellow women’s basketball manager joining the same year as Drew, said his dependability set the tone.

“Drew and I have been locked in since freshman year,” Hostetler-McLaughlin said. “We work like a well-oiled machine.”

Dawson, who completed his undergraduate degree in business administration before earning a master’s degree in advertising, transitioned into a graduate assistant role during his fifth and final season. While on top of day-to-day manager tasks, he also helped oversee student managers, attended marketing meetings and assisted with practice operations.

“It was comfortable because I already knew everyone,” Dawson said. “I wasn’t their boss, but I was kind of an extension of the operations staff.”

That consistency of showing up does not go unnoticed by the team. Former Oregon women’s basketball guard and current coordinator of player engagement and operations, Peyton Scott, said Drew’s reliability is key to the team’s success both on and off the court.

“We love Drew; he’s a workhorse,” Scott said. “He always just knows what to do, and I never have to worry. He keeps everything running and upholds the expectations.”

Head coach Kelly Graves said Drew and Dawson are “Mount Rushmore type guys.”

Despite the long hours, both brothers emphasized the culture within Oregon women’s basketball as the reason they continued to return year after year.

“It’s a very family-oriented environment,” Dawson said. “The staff and players are genuinely close, and everyone is treated with respect.”

That sense of family extends beyond the team itself and into the stands, where loved ones are welcomed as part of the program’s community.

“Our grandma comes to pretty much every game,” Drew said. “Sometimes she even makes cookies for the team. All the players know her by name, basically.”

Travel opportunities became some of Dawson’s most memorable experiences, including a tour of Athens and London, and traveling with the team on every road trip during his final season.

“Being in airports together, being on the road, those are the moments you remember,” Dawson said.

Since graduating, Dawson has started work for an ad agency in Eugene. In the future, the Prickel brothers hope to continue to work in sports both expressing passion for women’s basketball and all things sports management.

“Athletics will always be an option,” Dawson said. “I want to do something where every day is different.”