Erin Basterfield Named NBLC Ian Fowler Executive of the Year
May 20, 2022 - National Basketball League of Canada (NBL Canada) News Release
Innovative executive Erin Basterfield of the Windsor Express, who helped energize record-setting crowds in the Rose City, has won the Ian Fowler Executive of the Year Award, league officials announced today.
"The Express is excited for Erin as she has demonstrated great leadership and achieved great success within the organization," said Dartis Willis, President and CEO of the Windsor Express.
As Manager, Business Operations, Basterfield leads the sales and marketing team, along with event staff, in creating meaningful community connections and a game day experience fans cannot resist - and it worked.
During the 2021-22 season, Basterfield's work with the Express allowed them to achieve a new single-season team attendance record, drawing 26,217 fans into the WFCU Centre (averaging 2,184 fans per game). The record is remarkable in that it was set in a 12-game homestand, the shortest seasonal homestand in the Express' nine-year NBL Canada tenure.
The Express' previous single-season attendance record happened in 2015-16 (25,249). Windsor's 2015-16 season also includes one game played at Caesars Windsor; all other games were played at the WFCU Centre. The Express have also achieved their best-ever game attendance average of 2,206; eclipsing their previous record of 1775 per game in the 2019-20 COVID-19 shortened season.
Three of the Express' 2021-22 season are among the franchise's ten largest home crowds for an NBL Canada regular season contest*, including an April 20, 2022 game against the Sudbury Five that, in conjunction with a local trade conference, drew 4,009 to the WFCU Centre, Windsor's second-largest home attendance ever.
4,136, Feb. 17, 2020 vs. Sudbury Five (WFCU)
4,009, April 20, 2022 vs. Sudbury Five (WFCU)*
3,442, Dec. 28, 2019 vs. London Lightning (WFCU)
3,103, Nov. 2, 2012 vs. Halifax Rainmen (WFCU)
2,800, Jan. 15, 2014 vs. London Lightning (Caesars Windsor)
2,680, Feb. 3, 2016 vs. London Lightning (Caesars Windsor)
2,632, April 29, 2016 vs. Niagara River Lions (WFCU)
2,350, April 29, 2022 vs. Jamestown Jackals (WFCU)*
2,350, Jan. 21, 2015 vs. Halifax Rainmen (Caesars Windsor)
2,326, May 6, 2022 vs. Kitchener-Waterloo Titans (WFCU)*
Willis continued, "Erin has shown her ability to plan strategically, lead operationally, and execute at all levels. We are happy to see her receive this well-deserved award."
The Vancouver, B.C., native joined the Express as a game day volunteer while studying sports management at the University of Windsor. Now in her fifth season with the franchise, Basterfield prides herself on being a community-minded executive.
Emerging from the pandemic, the franchise engaged with the community any way it could, from game day entertainment like concerts and DJs, to special theme nights celebrating frontline workers or the multicultural and faith communities, to community-empowering events like school visits, youth basketball clinics, or summer camps.
On April 20, a skilled trade expo for Grades 7-12 students drew more than 1,000 students and their parents where students explored a possible career and took in a game. The event was responsible for drawing Windsor's second-largest home attendance ever, 4,009.
"Erin could be in the running for this award ever single year," said Audley Stephenson, NBLC VP of Basketball Operations. "She is a quiet force in Windsor (and around the league). Many would not know what she is doing behind the scenes, but she makes so much happen. She is a pleasure to work with, a joy and delight, a real creative powerhouse, and this award is long overdue for her."
Basterfield is the second member of Express franchise to win the award, following Dartis Willis in 2015-16.
Ian Fowler Executive of the Year Award is named in honour of Ian Fowler, a Moncton, New Brunswick, city employee who played a major role in developing sports teams in the region, including the Moncton Miracles. Previous winners of the award include:
2011-12 | Duncan Shaw, Summerside Storm
2012-13 | Kim Blanco, Moncton Miracles
2013-14 | Taylor Brown, London Lightning
2014-15 | Vito Frijia, London Lightning
2015-16 | Dartis Willis, Windsor Express
2016-17 | Tyrone Levingston, Cape Breton Highlanders
2017-18 | Jeff Dunlap, St. John's Edge
2018-19 | Logan Stutz, Sudbury Five
2019-20 | Melissa Melnychuk, KW Titans
All award winners will receive their own customized championship ring courtesy of long-time NBL Canada partner and playoff sponsor, Baron Championship Rings.
National Basketball League of Canada Stories from May 20, 2022
- Bolts Finals-Bound After Sweeping Express - London Lightning
- Erin Basterfield Named NBLC Ian Fowler Executive of the Year - NBL Canada
- Shakwon Barrett Named NBLC Rookie of the Year - NBL Canada
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