September 22, 2025 • 7 mins
We spoke with Senior Associate Athletic Director for External Strategy, Chris Grosse, about the upcoming UCONN football games and how fans can support UCONN's fall athletics.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Good morning, Thank you for listening to Community Access. I'm
Alison de Murs. My guest this morning is Chris Grossi.
He is Senior Associate Athletic Director for External Strategy at Yukon.
Good morning, good morning, thanks for having me. You bet
we love Yukon around here. Yukon's the bomb.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
It is it is.
Speaker 1 (00:19):
So we have an exciting season to look forward to.
Where would you like to begin with football?
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Yeah, we could start with football.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
So for football fans, what do they have to look
forward to?
Speaker 2 (00:28):
So we've got Actually, our next home game will be
on October fourth, Saturday against FIU. It's our homecoming game
at the Rensler Field in East Hartford. Really excited for
this opportunity to have to welcome back all of our
Yukon lums and play again in front of our home crowd.
So we're pump to have the Huskies back in town.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
And for someone who may not ever attend it, what
is the Husky Walk?
Speaker 2 (00:51):
Yeah, so the Husky Walk is one of one of
the many things that we have going on on game day. Really,
so the Husky Walk is when actually the team arrives
to the stadium for the first time on game day,
and so about three hours before kickoff, they'll pull up
in like five or six buses and they'll pull up
outside the stadium and they'll march into the end of
the stadium amongst all of our fans and the bands
(01:12):
up there, the cheerleaders, the dance team, the mascot, there's
music playing. It's just a kind of fun way to
welcome the team to the stadium and a way for
the fans to get up close and personal with our
with our student athletes.
Speaker 1 (01:22):
That is awesome. I went to a Dallas Cowboys game once,
and the energy in there when they came in. That's
the only way I can relate to it, like, Wow,
our Huskies are walking in and the music and it
just gets everything going.
Speaker 2 (01:34):
Yeah, and you know, our our tailgate lots open up
four hours before kickoff, and so you know, by that
point when Husky Walk starts, the lots will be full
of tailgaters already, people you know, enjoying some tailgate food,
hanging out with other Yukon fans, and they really you
know that that's kind of how we kick off the
full day experience. It is a Yukon football game.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
And everybody's dressed in you kind of peril and they're
all talking to each other and want a black All
of this.
Speaker 2 (02:00):
Is, you know, there's plenty of great opportunities and great
spaces to tailgate, set up as big or as small
as of a tailgate as you want, and it's really
a great a great scene. A lot of people just
walk around and see what people set ups and their
TV screens and I think there's one tailgate that brings
a portable hot tub to the game every every week,
and so it's really it's really quite a sight and
(02:23):
an awesome opportunity to just meet other Yukon fans.
Speaker 1 (02:26):
What is fan Fest?
Speaker 2 (02:27):
So when our gates open actually to the to the
actual stadium about an hour and a half before kickoff,
fans can start to filter in. And fan Fest is
an area that we have set up in one of
our end zone areas under our big video board, and
we've got food trucks and sponsor activations and giveaways and
(02:48):
kid activities and every game there's a few different different
things up there for our fans to go and enjoy.
And you know, another very underrated thing about coming to
a game at the Rent is our concession options are
excellent and so lots of different foods and drinks you
could try from all around the state of Connecticut, just
within the within the gates of Wrenschler Fields. So an
(03:09):
hour and a half before kickoff is when gates open
and fans can come in and take their seats and
watch the team warm up. And you know, about thirty
or so minutes before kickoff is when the band takes
the field and all the pageantry of the pregame activities
really really kick in.
Speaker 1 (03:22):
Do you want to talk about the food, because I'm
wondering if there's lobster rolls or not.
Speaker 2 (03:26):
I don't know if there's lobsters. You know, I've had pizza,
I've had chicken sandwiches, I've had sausage and peppers, a
lot of good dessert options, cider, donuts, like everything you
could want, you know, just just a lot of really
good options there. And then the drink options are excellent too,
not that I do that when I'm working.
Speaker 1 (03:45):
No, we need too.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
For fans that are going to cheer and be a fan,
there's plenty of opportunities, you know, grab some grab some
really good drinks from some local local places as well.
Speaker 1 (03:56):
And you mentioned kid activities, which is great. So this
is for all eight from age four to ninety four.
Let's say whatever, one hundred and four. What can the
kids do?
Speaker 2 (04:06):
Yeah, So there's you know, sometimes there's face painters up there,
there's giveaway items, posters of the team, different coloring things.
A lot of our sponsors when they come out and
have an activation for fans, they'll give away a lot
of trinkets and stuff to kids, and it's just just
a lot of fun. Our mascot walks around the area
and takes photos with people, and it's just it's just
(04:27):
a great family experience. And I think another good thing
about coming to a game is there's not a bad
seat in the house. Absolutely really nice stadium the way
it's set up, and you know, you could see the
full game from anywhere that you're sitting. And it's very
affordable too. It's you know, I know a lot of
families are conscious of that, and you know, for a
full day experience, it's it's not going to it's not
going to set you back that much.
Speaker 1 (04:45):
So what are the different ticket options for fans this year?
Speaker 2 (04:49):
Sure, so we obviously have a whole bunch of our
season ticket holders, but at this point in the year
that you know you've already missed a couple of the games,
but we do have two game packs that are available.
You can pay any two of our remaining games for
forty dollars, which is a great deal. And then we've
got single game tickets available at yukontickets dot com for
every for every remaining home game, so that that's the
(05:10):
best way to secure your seats. It's a great opportunity
to bring out groups too, if you're part of any
community groups or you know a youth soccer team or
a youth football team. We've got great group options for
our fans. They can do some special special experiences as well.
And if you want to reach out to our group
sales group, you can go to yukontickets dot com and
(05:32):
connect with them there and they can kind of go
over all that and any groups of ten or more
get discounted pricing too. And there's also ways to to
use it as a fundraiser, so we have, you know,
ways for different groups to raise money for their their
organizations whilst you know, selling tickets and coming out to
a game for a fun experience.
Speaker 1 (05:49):
Just to reiterate, we have a game October.
Speaker 2 (05:53):
October fourth yep, that is our homecoming game. And then
we've got three home games in the month of Novembers November, one, eighth,
and fifteenth, so we've got a string of three straight
games to kind of close out the home schedule in November,
and we're excited for some nice fall weather in Connecticut
and in October and in November, and you know, have
(06:14):
some great crowds and we play some great opponents like
Duke and we actually play the Air Force Academy for
our final game of the season at home, so we're
excited about that.
Speaker 1 (06:22):
There's other Yukon sports that are now in season. Let's
talk about those.
Speaker 2 (06:25):
Yes, So there's never a dull moment up in stores
for sure, especially when the when the students get back
in the fall. We've got both men's and women's soccer
that are playing home games now, volleyball and field hockey
on top of a bunch of other sports. So those
tickets are also available at yukontickets dot Com. Plenty of
opportunities to come up to campus and watch a soccer game,
(06:46):
watch a field hockey game, watch a volleyball match, all
really great venues to do so, and you know, walk
around campus go get an ice cream from the dairy
bar and check out the bookstore and just kind of
enjoy stores in the fall.
Speaker 1 (06:59):
I'm speaking with Chris Grossi. He is Senior Associate Athletic
Director for External Strategy at Yukon. You can go see
a football game, a soccer game, a hockey game, you
name it. All you need to do is go to
yukontickets dot com. Thank you so much for being here
today and for serving the community.
Speaker 2 (07:16):
Thanks for having us and go Huskies.
Good morning, Thank you for listening to Community Access. I'm
Alison de Murs. My guest this morning is Chris Grossi.
He is Senior Associate Athletic Director for External Strategy at Yukon.
Good morning, good morning, thanks for having me. You bet
we love Yukon around here. Yukon's the bomb.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
It is it is.
Speaker 1 (00:19):
So we have an exciting season to look forward to.
Where would you like to begin with football?
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Yeah, we could start with football.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
So for football fans, what do they have to look
forward to?
Speaker 2 (00:28):
So we've got Actually, our next home game will be
on October fourth, Saturday against FIU. It's our homecoming game
at the Rensler Field in East Hartford. Really excited for
this opportunity to have to welcome back all of our
Yukon lums and play again in front of our home crowd.
So we're pump to have the Huskies back in town.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
And for someone who may not ever attend it, what
is the Husky Walk?
Speaker 2 (00:51):
Yeah, so the Husky Walk is one of one of
the many things that we have going on on game day. Really,
so the Husky Walk is when actually the team arrives
to the stadium for the first time on game day,
and so about three hours before kickoff, they'll pull up
in like five or six buses and they'll pull up
outside the stadium and they'll march into the end of
the stadium amongst all of our fans and the bands
(01:12):
up there, the cheerleaders, the dance team, the mascot, there's
music playing. It's just a kind of fun way to
welcome the team to the stadium and a way for
the fans to get up close and personal with our
with our student athletes.
Speaker 1 (01:22):
That is awesome. I went to a Dallas Cowboys game once,
and the energy in there when they came in. That's
the only way I can relate to it, like, Wow,
our Huskies are walking in and the music and it
just gets everything going.
Speaker 2 (01:34):
Yeah, and you know, our our tailgate lots open up
four hours before kickoff, and so you know, by that
point when Husky Walk starts, the lots will be full
of tailgaters already, people you know, enjoying some tailgate food,
hanging out with other Yukon fans, and they really you
know that that's kind of how we kick off the
full day experience. It is a Yukon football game.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
And everybody's dressed in you kind of peril and they're
all talking to each other and want a black All
of this.
Speaker 2 (02:00):
Is, you know, there's plenty of great opportunities and great
spaces to tailgate, set up as big or as small
as of a tailgate as you want, and it's really
a great a great scene. A lot of people just
walk around and see what people set ups and their
TV screens and I think there's one tailgate that brings
a portable hot tub to the game every every week,
and so it's really it's really quite a sight and
(02:23):
an awesome opportunity to just meet other Yukon fans.
Speaker 1 (02:26):
What is fan Fest?
Speaker 2 (02:27):
So when our gates open actually to the to the
actual stadium about an hour and a half before kickoff,
fans can start to filter in. And fan Fest is
an area that we have set up in one of
our end zone areas under our big video board, and
we've got food trucks and sponsor activations and giveaways and
(02:48):
kid activities and every game there's a few different different
things up there for our fans to go and enjoy.
And you know, another very underrated thing about coming to
a game at the Rent is our concession options are
excellent and so lots of different foods and drinks you
could try from all around the state of Connecticut, just
within the within the gates of Wrenschler Fields. So an
(03:09):
hour and a half before kickoff is when gates open
and fans can come in and take their seats and
watch the team warm up. And you know, about thirty
or so minutes before kickoff is when the band takes
the field and all the pageantry of the pregame activities
really really kick in.
Speaker 1 (03:22):
Do you want to talk about the food, because I'm
wondering if there's lobster rolls or not.
Speaker 2 (03:26):
I don't know if there's lobsters. You know, I've had pizza,
I've had chicken sandwiches, I've had sausage and peppers, a
lot of good dessert options, cider, donuts, like everything you
could want, you know, just just a lot of really
good options there. And then the drink options are excellent too,
not that I do that when I'm working.
Speaker 1 (03:45):
No, we need too.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
For fans that are going to cheer and be a fan,
there's plenty of opportunities, you know, grab some grab some
really good drinks from some local local places as well.
Speaker 1 (03:56):
And you mentioned kid activities, which is great. So this
is for all eight from age four to ninety four.
Let's say whatever, one hundred and four. What can the
kids do?
Speaker 2 (04:06):
Yeah, So there's you know, sometimes there's face painters up there,
there's giveaway items, posters of the team, different coloring things.
A lot of our sponsors when they come out and
have an activation for fans, they'll give away a lot
of trinkets and stuff to kids, and it's just just
a lot of fun. Our mascot walks around the area
and takes photos with people, and it's just it's just
(04:27):
a great family experience. And I think another good thing
about coming to a game is there's not a bad
seat in the house. Absolutely really nice stadium the way
it's set up, and you know, you could see the
full game from anywhere that you're sitting. And it's very
affordable too. It's you know, I know a lot of
families are conscious of that, and you know, for a
full day experience, it's it's not going to it's not
going to set you back that much.
Speaker 1 (04:45):
So what are the different ticket options for fans this year?
Speaker 2 (04:49):
Sure, so we obviously have a whole bunch of our
season ticket holders, but at this point in the year
that you know you've already missed a couple of the games,
but we do have two game packs that are available.
You can pay any two of our remaining games for
forty dollars, which is a great deal. And then we've
got single game tickets available at yukontickets dot com for
every for every remaining home game, so that that's the
(05:10):
best way to secure your seats. It's a great opportunity
to bring out groups too, if you're part of any
community groups or you know a youth soccer team or
a youth football team. We've got great group options for
our fans. They can do some special special experiences as well.
And if you want to reach out to our group
sales group, you can go to yukontickets dot com and
(05:32):
connect with them there and they can kind of go
over all that and any groups of ten or more
get discounted pricing too. And there's also ways to to
use it as a fundraiser, so we have, you know,
ways for different groups to raise money for their their
organizations whilst you know, selling tickets and coming out to
a game for a fun experience.
Speaker 1 (05:49):
Just to reiterate, we have a game October.
Speaker 2 (05:53):
October fourth yep, that is our homecoming game. And then
we've got three home games in the month of Novembers November, one, eighth,
and fifteenth, so we've got a string of three straight
games to kind of close out the home schedule in November,
and we're excited for some nice fall weather in Connecticut
and in October and in November, and you know, have
(06:14):
some great crowds and we play some great opponents like
Duke and we actually play the Air Force Academy for
our final game of the season at home, so we're
excited about that.
Speaker 1 (06:22):
There's other Yukon sports that are now in season. Let's
talk about those.
Speaker 2 (06:25):
Yes, So there's never a dull moment up in stores
for sure, especially when the when the students get back
in the fall. We've got both men's and women's soccer
that are playing home games now, volleyball and field hockey
on top of a bunch of other sports. So those
tickets are also available at yukontickets dot Com. Plenty of
opportunities to come up to campus and watch a soccer game,
(06:46):
watch a field hockey game, watch a volleyball match, all
really great venues to do so, and you know, walk
around campus go get an ice cream from the dairy
bar and check out the bookstore and just kind of
enjoy stores in the fall.
Speaker 1 (06:59):
I'm speaking with Chris Grossi. He is Senior Associate Athletic
Director for External Strategy at Yukon. You can go see
a football game, a soccer game, a hockey game, you
name it. All you need to do is go to
yukontickets dot com. Thank you so much for being here
today and for serving the community.
Speaker 2 (07:16):
Thanks for having us and go Huskies.
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