Staff Spotlight: Katie Colbridge Ganzelli

This is the third in a biweekly series spotlighting the men and women behind the scenes supporting Temple Athletics.

Katie Colbridge Ganzelli, who is in her seventh year as a member of the Temple Athletics staff, was promoted to Marketing Coordinator for On-Campus Initiatives in May 2022.

A native of Philadelphia, Colbridge Ganzelli is a 2016 graduate of Temple University with dual bachelor's degrees in Sport & Recreation Management and Media Studies & Production. She earned her master's degree from Temple in Sports Business with a concentration in Athletics Administration in 2019.

Colbridge Ganzelli started her career in athletics serving as an intern within the recruiting department for Temple Football. Subsequently, she continued internships within the marketing department, media and communications department, and served as the administrative assistant intern to the Chief of Staff at Temple Athletics.

Colbridge Ganzelli, who previously held the positions of Administrative Assistant to the Director of Athletics and Administrative Specialist for the Temple Men's and Women's basketball teams,also represents Athletes Helping Athletes as the Faculty Advisor for the Temple University chapter and previously served as Vice President. Athletes Helping Athletes is a non-profit organization providing awareness and community support for special needs athletes in the Philadelphia area through inclusion in athletic functions.

Talk about your connection to Temple Athletics?
"I grew up in a huge Temple family. I am a third generation Temple employee. Growing up I used to come down to main campus all the time to visit my dad and my uncles. A bunch of my cousins also went to Temple. So, all I knew growing up is that I wanted to go to Temple. I wanted to be a part of it.

I used to go to Temple sporting events with my dad, especially when I started playing basketball. Dawn Staley was my idol, so Temple has been a huge part of my life and it was the only school I really wanted to go to."

Talk about your unique steps on this journey to your current role?
"When I first came to Temple, I was in the STHM program and the way that I got into athletics as a freshman was through the Cherry Crusade. The (Cherry Crusade) advisor at the time offered me an internship in the marketing department so I really started working with athletics my freshman and sophomore years. I really loved coming up with different themes and promotions. That led to an internship with the football team, and I just loved it. I loved being able to connect with other students, other organizations and see behind the scenes how operations worked while also seeing how the event turned out.

My senior year I had a full-time internship in athletics administration. When I graduated, I did not have a job lined up but was very fortunate that there was an opportunity in the basketball office working as an admin for the staff while going to graduate school. I think everything happens for a reason. I was promoted to be the athletic director's assistant during Pat Kraft's tenure. There I learned more about the administrative side while working with all our teams directly. When Arthur Johnson came in, he saw an opportunity for me to work back in marketing to connect with the students and find ways to have them come to our games. In this role I have been working with student organizations to have them be a part of our pregame celebration.
I have been very fortunate my entire time here. I really have loved working with teams directly and see student-athletes grow. That is our main focus, being here for the student-athletes. They are the reason I love working in athletics."

Being a recent student, how does that help when trying to market athletics to the current student body?
"I knew what I wanted to see as a student and luckily that is kind of the same for the current students. One thing when I do talk to students, I always ask how they receive their information. When I was a student, TikTok and Instagram were not even around. So, I am trying to understand where they want to be connected, what they want to see, because we cater to them. We want them to have a great experience so they will come back. Hopefully when they graduate, they will still want to come back as alumni."

Where do you see yourself in five years?
"Here at Temple, still working in marketing but more involved with game presentation where I am still connecting with our students. I want to be able to continue to grow our fan base. I think the last couple of years, with the impact of Covid, it really has affected attendance and camaraderie.

I love Temple. I grew up a Temple Owl. I hope in the future I can share that with others. I have seen how much the University has grown since I was a kid until now. I just want to be able to grow our fan base and have students want to come to our games by offering a great experience."

What is your favorite Temple Athletics moment?
"My favorite moment was the 2015 Football season, specifically when we hosted College GameDay on Halloween against Notre Dame. Not only were my family Temple fans when I was growing up, but we were Notre Dame fans as well. So being able to see College GameDay finally come to Temple, putting the school on a national stage was amazing. It was also my senior year so it was the greatest senior year any Temple student could ever have.

At the time I was a reporter for OwlSports Update. I started my day in the crowd talking to fans about the posters and signs that were displayed during GameDay. It was great seeing how much love people had for Temple and hearing all their stories, especially from Temple legacy families. Then later at the Linc, the tailgating was amazing and it was a great game under the lights. Unfortunately, we did not win but just to be able to see a sold-out Lincoln Financial Field and people talking about Temple. It was such a surreal moment."

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Staff Spotlight: Katie Colbridge Ganzelli

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