One of Arizona’s biggest fans, you share with him on social media and don’t know its him and his ZonaZoo marketing crew, its time you learn more about this special and prolific Wildcat.
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We see Tweets and Facebook posts on from ZonaZoo Official, we get rally balloons in the ZonaZoo section, and we are kept in the loop on everything happening within Arizona Athletics. Gabe Encinas is the guy at the helm of this great Marketing campaign.
Gabe is a Junior studying business and accounting at the University of Arizona. He is also the ZonaZoo Crew’s Marketing Director and on top of all that he is a Writer/Recruiter for SB Nations AZ Desert Swarm. So not only does he lead the cheering with his crew on social media and during the game, he gets to write about it as well.
We were fortunate to catch up with Gabe after his ZonaZoo Crew led the campaign to earn the title and trophy for for the NCSSA (National Collegiate Student Section Association) Student Section of the Year! Arizona made it to the finals against the Florida State Gators student section, and after a day and a half of voting, it was announced at half time one minute after the end of the first half of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship. The ZonaZoo had won by about 200 to 300 votes.
CONGRATS ZONA ZOO for being awarded the NCSSA 2015 #LoudAndProud Student Section of the Year!https://t.co/GStu9ZK9vR pic.twitter.com/U0qpQq1SWh
— NCSSA (@ncssa_official) April 7, 2015
ZZ: You’ve done a great job this year with ZonaZoo Marketing, what new things did you carry out this year that people may not know about?
GE: This year there are quite a few things that I implemented with the help of some of the other directors on board. From a social media standpoint, I really wanted to establish a relationship with a lot student sections from conferences across the country so I would try to follow as many as I could find.
I would typically wish them good luck or comment on a great idea for a giveaway they had and it eventually led to phone calls, emails and Twitter conversations about how each student section really operates. I think social media is a great way to interact with other student sections and get to learn more about how they operate and maybe steal some ideas that could be useful for the ZonaZoo.
The great thing is that throughout this past year, I’ve really made some great connections with the student section leaders of Virginia, BYU, Indiana, TCU and quite a few more.
One of my platforms I also developed when interviewing for the position revolved around the lack of presence the ZonaZoo had in the residence halls. As a former resident assistant, I really felt that we could capitalize on the 8,000 or so residents that live on campus every year. This year we created schedule posters, bulletin boards and programming models for all the residence halls to learn more about ZonaZoo and get them out to our events. I’ve received a lot of positive feedback from a lot of the community directors and hope to see this continue to gain momentum.
ZZ: What would you like to see happen next year?
GE: Next year my goal would be to get ZonaZoo trending on Bleacher Report for the right reasons. All year long in the office we always talk about ideas that can potentially go viral so that we can really gain exposure for the ZonaZoo. When we pull out the flag at halftime for football and basketball games, we always made sure the flag wasn’t going to be upside down, because otherwise we’d be on Bleacher Report for the wrong reasons.
ZZ: Is the ZonaZoo Crew allowed to support school club sports like Rugby, Hockey and Lacrosse? We wrote a few articles about the LaxCats, and they are extremely dedicated, we wanted to let people know they are a competitive team.
GE: We are not allowed to promote any of the club sports on social media since we run under Arizona Athletics. I personally love going to hockey games every once in a while and have a few friends on the women’s rugby team who I will support. However, I cannot say I have been to LaxCats games. That should probably change.
ZZ: How did you feel at half time during the NCAA Finals when the NCSSA tweeted out that Arizona Wildcats ZonaZoo won the Trophy for Best Student Section? How are you celebrating?
GE: The nerves really kicked in during the final media timeout. Once the halftime buzzer went off I kept refreshing Twitter and nothing was happening. About one minute into halftime they announced it and I was so excited. I also started receiving texts and tweets from student section leaders across the country congratulating the ZonaZoo on the win. It was just an unreal experience and just a huge sigh of relief for me, honestly. I came in as the marketing director and wanted to do something big for the Zoo and as soon as the NCSSA added us to this competition, I knew this was my chance. We can’t wait to see that NCSSA Student Section of the Year trophy in our office.
ZZ: We saw that Rondae had taken selfies with your phone, how special was it to be so close to the teams, players and coaches? Who will you miss most from each sport? Any special encounters you would like to share?
GE: Interacting with Rondae before basketball games was easily the best experience. He’s such an easy-going guy who loves the fans. I had asked him if he wanted to take over the ZonaZoo Snapchat during his pregame warm up and he immediately filled my camera roll with selfies.
It’s a really cool experience interacting with a lot of the student-athletes. I worked closely with a lot of them and have been able to establish relationships to really help promote the ZonaZoo.
Willy Parks, Paul Magloire, Marcus Griffin from the football team really help us in promoting the ZonaZoo.
Gabrielle Laub of the Arizona GymCats is hysterical and really helped out gymnastics this year.
A lot of the softball girls, Michelle Floyd, Chelsea Goodarce and Lauren Young.
From volleyball Taylor Arizobal definitely got the ZonaZoo ready for the big games.
Shayne Austin also helps us out with tennis.
Kevin Newman and Willie Calhoun from baseball also seem to like engaging with the ZonaZoo.
Sarah Harrelson and Julia Glanz from soccer helped out a lot in the fall.
It’s also great to interact with guys like Kevin Parrom, Marquis Flowers, Solomon Hill, Ka’Deem Carey every once in a while.
Rondae took many selfies on my phone. Perks of a ZonaZoo Director. #LoudAndProud #NCSSAArizonaWildcats pic.twitter.com/ILQO96CMjT
— Gabe Encinas (@Gabe_Encinas) April 4, 2015
ZZ: What one thing do you want to be seen as your legacy for the ZonaZoo? What stamp did you or do you want to put on it that you would like to see continued in the future?
GE: Over the last two years the ZonaZoo has seen so much improvement and I hope that it continues to grow. There’s nothing in particular that I wish to see other than a closer connection to Athletics so that we can collaborate and gain more support on campus.
ZZ: As an avid reader and writer of anything to do with the Wildcats, I have read a number of your articles on AZ Desert Swarm, I must say I’m impressed! Will you continue to write about sports after you graduate?
GE: I definitely hope that I can continue writing after graduation. I love being able to break news for the fans or share my opinion and interact with readers. I use it to take my mind off of school for a bit as well.
ZZ: What’s your major, and what is your dream job?
GE: I am currently an accounting major and I’d like to complete a sports management certificate, if possible. My dream job with my degree would be to do auditing in the sports industry or work in the accounting office a professional sports franchise.
ZZ: What would you say to someone thinking of coming to study at the University of Arizona to explain how much you have gotten out of the school and why they should accept admission?
Picking the University of Arizona was by far the best decision I’ve ever made. I’m from Tempe, Arizona and grew up about five minutes south of Arizona State. I didn’t really consider staying in Tempe because I wanted a quality education.
I had originally committed to Grand Canyon University and was planning to play volleyball there. After talking with my parents about my college decision, we decided that the block A on the degree would ultimately take me further in my career and they were totally right. At U of A, I’ve gained so many valuable experiences and have been able to accomplish things I know I couldn’t have done at GCU.
Picture by Gabe Encinas
ZZ: What was the most fun story you have written so far in your writing career and why?
GE: I love writing about football and basketball recruiting. Anytime I see a recruit get an offer or commit to Arizona I immediately start to cover it. It’s like an adrenaline rush for me to get that content out as soon as I possibly can.
ZZ: What advice would you give budding sportswriters? Didn’t you get your start with our site, ZonaZealots.com?
GE: Just try and get your foot through any door and work your way up.
I first started with ZonaZealots.com and it was a great experience. The editor over at HeatWaved.com eventually found me and recruited me to be the Arizona Wildcat publisher for the site. Once I was with HeatWaved for a few months, AZ Desert Swarm reached out to me about joining to help out with National Signing Day coverage. In the back of my mind, I had always wanted AZ Desert Swarm but never had the means to get there, so it was convenient that they reached out to me.
ZZ: Is there anyone at the University of Arizona you would like to give a shout out to?
GE: I have to give a shout out to my ZonaZoo Crew, all of the ZonaZoo followers who make me love my job and everyone who has helped guide me to get to where I am today.
ZZ: What’s your favorite and/or lucky Arizona Wildcat fan gear that you wear to games?
GE: I can’t say I have any gear that is lucky, but I do have a few favorites. For big basketball games I always wore my ZonaZoo polo and it worked. Although we’re also 38-0 at home in the last two years so maybe we’re just that good!
ZZ: Do you have a motto you live by?
GE: Just be the best person you can be everyday. If you follow that then a lot of good things will follow.
We hear you Gabe! Thanks for all you do, it’s been a pleasure getting to know you. Beardown!
Next: The ZonaZoo is great, learn more about Arizona's Student Section