Experiences Make the Ultimate Difference For Robert Healy, Duquesne basketball

The tweet was promoted and celebrated by ESPN, NBC Sports, The New York Times, The Pat McAfee Show, and multiple local news outlets.

Healy’s class runs from 3:05 to 4:20 p.m. and was supposed to start after the game ended, which was completed a little after 3 p.m. Everyone agreed leading up to the game to have class, but the result left a different taste in Healy’s mouth.

“Seeing how everybody was reacting to the conclusion of the game, it felt wrong to hold class at that time,” Healy said. “You try to keep it together because you’re surrounded by students and colleagues. I didn’t react as voraciously as when I was in my own house, where I scared my kids by banging on the wall and my mom’s dogs trying to bite me. They had never seen their dad act that way when Duquesne won the A10 title.”

Head of Sports Information and Media at Duquesne since the program’s launch in 2017, Healy understood the gravity of the victory during an on-campus watch party. 

“The decision to cancel class came organically when I noticed the euphoria, sense of relief, joy, and community in front of me in the Power Center Ballroom,” Healy said. “You don’t live forever. Life is short. These moments, especially when you’re together on campus, which we don’t take for granted anymore in light of Covid, it didn’t seem right to force them into a classroom to sit and listen to a lecture on something they might not be entirely related to what is going on in their brains at the moment.”

He even playfully shoved his boss in excitement.

“He understood. It brought out the best in all of us… it doesn’t get better than that. Especially when it’s your alma mater or place you work.”

“One thing college sports still does incredibly well is the deep-rooted sense of connection and sense of community you have when it’s a place you went to school in class with some of these players. They wore colors you also wore. You dined with them. You maybe partied with them. As you go on and keep Duquesne as a diploma as part of your resume, Duquesne will always be there and be a part of you. When Duquesne wins, you win.”

Healy knew if he screenshotted the email announcement and posted it on social media with a few hashtags, the decision could help put Duquesne further on the map and help others understand how important the victory was to the community. 

Healy said he plans on making up the work some other way and the students were fully onboard. He has a great relationship with his students, is down to Earth, and considers himself a bit of a “meme” to his students with classmates posting on social media, “this is why we stan Professor Healy.’”

“I decided I’ll do some extra work to make up for that time and redid the syllabus. That’s what I meant when I said “go celebrate, I’ll figure it out.’”

When Healy, a Baldwin native, created the sports major in 2017, he always hoped Duquesne would make it to this moment. As a DI school in a major city that cares deeply about athletics, the former A former sports information director, sports reporter, sportscaster, and news writer, Healy has passed on his accomplishments and knowledge to his students.

Some of Healy’s students are working at PPG Paints Arena as Duquesne plays host to the first and second rounds. Other students of Healy’s are credentialed media in Omaha with the Dukes as broadcasters, writers, and photographers covering the team. 3 to 4 students traveled to Nebraska, while 8 to 10 are working in sports information roles, helping Duquesne 

“This is exactly how the plan was supposed to work and is working exactly how I envisioned it could work,” Healy said. “Where the University benefits from the academic program, the University benefits from athletics, and the academics also benefit from athletics. We’re covering DI sports. Through our coverage, PR and journalism-wise, we’re raising the profile of the University at the same time the athletic department is performing. We’re both benefiting from it and contributaries. It’s this great cycle coming to fruition.”

In the program’s seventh year of existence and Keith Dambrot’s final season coaching the Dukes, everything has come together. 

“There is so much more to learn in college than what professors can tell you and what the textbooks can. My (philosophy) is rooted in practice and experience. This is part of that,” Healy said. 

Sometimes, life gives you moments you can’t pass up. They can be the best learning experiences. It’s all a part of what makes March magical.

Yes, I canceled class, and we’re going to have to do more work to make up for it, but the feeling March Madness gave everybody and the community feeling of accomplishment, that’s also a part of their education,” Healy said. “By giving them that time, that was even more education for that hour and 15 minutes than I could give them in the classroom.”

Duquesne plays No. 3 seed Illinois in the second round of the East Region in the NCAA Tournament at 8:40 p.m.