2024-25 USUSA Logan Campus Athletics & Campus Recreation Executive Director candidates
Dallin Wilson
What year are you in school? What are you studying? And where are you from?
I’m a senior right now at Utah State, and I’m coming back next year for a master’s. I’m studying statistics, and then I’ll be getting a master’s in data analytics with an emphasis in statistics. And I’m from Riverton, Utah.
Why do you think attending athletic events is important to the college experience?
Attending athletic events is huge for the college experience. It’s an opportunity to get together with other students and then support your fellow students. And whatever sport that is, whatever event it is, you can kind of come together and unite as Aggies and cheer on other Aggies.
Do you plan on promoting women’s sports, and how will you do that?
I do. Women’s sports are huge. I mean, they’re every bit as competent and capable of athletes as the men’s sports that we have. And to be honest, a lot of our women’s sports are extremely entertaining, even more so than some of the other men’s sports. So I think we should have equal attendance of both for a lot of those. Some of those examples you see like volleyball games are a ton of fun. And we have more people at volleyball games than a lot of other sports. And one of my main ways that I want to get more people there is I want to treat them equally as far as the HURD goes — planning tailgates and things like that. I want to have just as many tailgates and events going on for students at women’s events as we do at men’s events, and that goes for clubs, sports and varsity sports as well. We’re not just a football and basketball committee, and our school can do a lot more to support other athletes.
What makes the HURD special? What will you do to preserve that?
What makes the HURD special? I would say the HURD is a very unique experience throughout the country. I’ve been to sporting events at different universities throughout the country, and the HURD is unique. For one aspect, we put a lot of thought into going there beforehand. We’re not just showing up and just cheering, like ‘Yay, go sports.’ But we put a lot of pride into being unique and creative, whatever we’re doing, and that’s something that you don’t get everywhere.
If you are not elected, how will you continue to stay involved at USU?
From my very first day on campus, I’ve always been supporting Aggie sports, and it’s one of the main reasons I even chose to come to Utah State in the first place. And whether or not I’m elected, it’s not going to change what I’m doing. I’m going to go out there, I’m going to support my athletes. I’m going to put time into thinking of creative signs and ways to support them and cheer them on and maybe give a hard time to some of our opponents. And that’s something that I hope every student does. That’s something that I’ve done. I will continue to do either way. And as far as a position goes, there’s already things that I’ve been doing that aren’t my specific position, but because I’m dedicated to Utah State and our athletics, it’s stuff that I’ve wanted to do and that’s stuff that hopefully I’ll be able to continue to do even if I’m not winning. Even if I don’t win that position, I want to be able to help out whoever does and just help the HURD continue to grow and thrive.
If President Cantwell invited you to a potluck, what dish would you bring?
I’d probably bring some killer mashed potatoes!
Noa Aguayo
What year are you in school? What are you studying? And where are you from?
So I’m a junior here at school. I’m originally from North Salt Lake, Utah, which is like just 10 minutes outside of Salt Lake. And then I’m studying kinesiology in the pre-physical therapy emphasis.
Why do you think attending athletic events is important to the college experience?
Our student fees go to getting tickets for games for students, so if you’re not going, you’re kind of losing out on that where your money’s going to. And then especially at our school, athletics is a huge part of our culture — HURD is infamous for being one of the best students sections out there. So not going out, you’re just losing a whole part of like what Utah State actually is.
Do you plan on promoting women’s sports? And how will you do that?
Yes. So women’s sport was actually one of my top priorities. This past year, I got really close with coach Rob and coach Manny of the women’s volleyball team and women’s soccer teams. So I’ve been working closely with them on how I can kind of increase the atmosphere at each games and trying to make it more of a unique experience than what we have at basketball and football, so create a whole new experience with them.
What makes the HURD special? What will you do to preserve that?
For me, what makes the HURD so special is people within it. There’s a lot of characters within it, but I think that’s what makes it just so great. There’s a lot of personality with it. And I think my priority for next year is just prioritize, kind of showing off the personalities that we have in the HURD. So I want to work more closely with kind of the students — do interviews with them and try to get more of their voice out for the world.
If you are not elected, how will you continue to stay involved at USU?
I’m still going to be at every game, front row, cheering on the Aggies, I’m a diehard fan — I’ve been one since I was a kid. And then if I’m not elected, there’s still a lot of ways I can impact the school. There’s a lot of great organizations out there, and then even within athletics. My sophomore year worked with the USUSA development team to help kind of help support our student athletes, and so I’d probably just go back and continue working with the athletics program.
If President Cantwell invited you to a potluck, what dish would you bring?
If I was invited for dinner, I’d probably have to do my family’s like homemade fajitas recipe — try to do something a little bit different than any other candidate can do. Just show off kind of who I am and my cooking.