Moon Township, Pa. – As part of the University's
fifth annual Day of Giving, RMU announced Wednesday that Russ Olsen has made a six figure, multi-year pledge to fund an annual Multi-Team Event (MTE) Basketball Tournament to be hosted by the men's basketball program at the
UPMC Events Center for a minimum of three years. The tournament is being established in honor of Richard Bennett and Philip Urban, two childhood friends of Olsen.
"Russ is a great friend of Robert Morris University, and we are grateful for the opportunity to establish what will become a marquee university event for years to come," said RMU President
Dr. Michelle Patrick. "We join Russ in celebrating and honoring the memory of his friends Richard and Philip."
Olsen, a 1982 graduate of RMU with a Business Administration degree in management, most recently served as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Triad Life Services, Inc., an emerging regenerative medicine company with a groundbreaking FDA-cleared technology platform engineered to address unmet clinical needs in complex surgical wounds, chronic stalled wounds and burns.
Olsen owns over 35 years of experience in executive management, sales and marketing and has held senior positions for various Fortune 500 companies, including Bristol-Myers Squibb and Smith & Nephew. Olsen has also served as Global President for Derma Sciences, President of North America Straumann AG and Keystone Dental and CEO of BioD, LLC, and CloudDDS.
"We couldn't be more excited as well as thankful for the generosity of Russ Olsen for the gift to create a home tournament," RMU Pat Gallagher Head Coach
Andrew Toole said. "Having the opportunity to showcase the UPMC Events Center and host multiple games in a tournament atmosphere is not only exciting for our program, but it's great for the University and local and regional communities, as well. We're looking forward to being able to put on a first-class event that everyone can both rally around and be proud of."
In recent years, MTE basketball tournaments have emerged as a key strategy to help programs increase its number of home games and bolster community engagement. The Colonials are taking part in an MTE Tournament during the 2022-23 season, visiting Savannah, Ga., for the
Hostilo Hoops Community Classic Nov. 25-27. The Colonials will play three games in three days around the Thanksgiving holiday at Enmarket Arena, including Mercer (Nov. 25), Evansville (Nov. 26) and South Alabama (Nov. 27).
Toole enters his 13th season as head coach of the Colonials in 2022-23 and has overseen the most successful stretch in program history during his tenure. Since joining the staff as an assistant coach in 2007, RMU has earned four automatic bids to the NCAA Tournament (2009, 2010, 2015, 2020), made three appearances in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) (2008, 2013, 2014) and accepted two invitations to the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) (2012, 2019).
Season tickets for the
2022-23 season are on sale now and can be purchased by calling the RMU Ticket Office at (412) 397-4949. Starting at $125, lock in the same seat for the entire season and receive exclusive season ticket holder perks. The Colonials open their 47th season of NCAA Division I basketball Monday, Nov. 7, at Ohio State, and the first of four non-conference regular season home games at the UPMC Events Center is set for Wednesday, Nov. 9, when RMU hosts Pitt Greensburg.
ABOUT ROBERT MORRIS UNIVERSITY (rmu.edu)
Robert Morris University is a nationally ranked doctoral-granting university enrolling approximately 3,700 undergraduate students in more than 100 undergraduate and graduate degree programs. RMU offers fully online courses as well as a traditional residential college experience at its campus on 230 scenic acres 17 miles from downtown Pittsburgh. The Colonials compete in 17 NCAA Division I sports, including basketball, football, volleyball and lacrosse.
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