There are moments in an institution’s life so epic that even a university president becomes just another face in the crowd.
Not that Ken Gormley of Duquesne University is complaining.
In the 36 hours since its men’s basketball team achieved something it hadn’t in 46 previous years, the Catholic university in Uptown Pittsburgh has been running on euphoria, knowing it has secured a berth in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.
Madness only partly describes it, and Gormley, who’s been going on almost no sleep since before dawn Sunday, has been living it up close.
In a celebratory team photo posted to Duquesne’s website, Gormley is the smiling face just to the right of head coach Keith Dambrot. Gormley took a predawn flight to New York City for the Atlantic 10 championship game on Sunday, staying late to witness the team joyfully react to its tournament selection. He then boarded a charter flight after 4 a.m. Monday with the players as they received a police escort onto campus.
Gormley enthusiastically snapped photos of players reacting to their berth in a Brooklyn, N.Y., Hyatt. Earlier, in the Barclays Center, he took part in cutting down the net after the team defeated Virginia Commonwealth University, 57-51. He could be seen during the CBS Sports telecast embracing players on the court seconds after their win.
“You know, I felt like a kid myself,” Gormley said Monday.
The excitement among students, alumni and employees is beginning to build toward Thursday’s game against Brigham Young University of Provo, Utah. A screening of the game is planned for the Power Center on Duquesne’s campus at 12:40 p.m. Thursday, spokesman Gabriel Welsch said.
He said an event celebrating the team’s departure for Omaha, Neb., the site of the game, also is being planned.
Suffice to say that professors will be tempted to exercise flexibility with class attendance so students can take part in a university-wide experience. Gormley said commitments he could not break likely will keep him home Thursday. He’s hoping a win will give him another chance to see the team in person.
Almost any college administrator will say a bump in visibility accompanies a bid to March Madness. The deeper into the tournament, the bigger the publicity bounce.
To become one of the 68 tournament teams, the Dukes defeated VCU on Sunday and claimed the NCAA Division I Atlantic 10 Conference title.
Whether it will produce a post-tournament bounce in student inquiries and applications for the university of 8,200 students isn’t yet known. But, on the X social media platform, one alumnus reflected the mood.
“Graduated from Duquesne University 51 years ago. Only once, 48 years ago, did their basketball team, the Duquesne Dukes, get into (briefly) the March Madness of the NCAA,” he wrote. “But congratulations Dukes …”
Gormley said he spent part of Sunday texting former Duquesne great Norm Nixon, who played on the Dukes’ last NCAA tournament team. Nixon went on to be an All-Star in the NBA.
“My phone has literally not stopped belching up messages, emails from all over the country. Just friends, alumni, people from other universities,” Gormley said. “We’ve been talked about on ‘Good Morning America,’ NPR.”
Not to mention receiving shout-outs on social media from NBA great LeBron James, once coached by Dambrot, as well as Steelers coach Mike Tomlin and the governor.
“This puts Duquesne in the national spotlight,” Gormley said. “It puts Pittsburgh in the national spotlight. And we are loving it.”
“The last time it happened was 47 years ago, so, obviously, we don’t even fully know,” Gormley said of the impact to the university. “Things have changed since then. So it’s a much bigger deal because of, you know, just the prominence of media in our lives and basketball.”
Gormley was a college undergraduate in 1977, the last time Duquesne made it to the tournament.
Beyond the mere feat of making the tournament, Gormley said the team has demonstrated something perhaps even more important long term. It’s become evident to him during the time he has spent with the squad.
“They’re just wonderful young men. I’m so proud of them,” he said. “For such fierce competitors, they are kind of a gentle bunch with hearts of gold, who really just love being around each other.
“To me, we’re supposed to be producing student-athletes here. And that’s such a great reflection on the university that they are reflecting everything we care about.”
Bill Schackner is a TribLive reporter covering higher education. Raised in New England, he joined the Trib in 2022 after 29 years at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, where he was part of a Pulitzer Prize-winning team. Previously, he has written for newspapers in Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island. He can be reached at bschackner@triblive.com.