UCLA parents get creative at Pac-12 Women's Swimming Championships
FEDERAL WAY, Wash. – Each group of parents at the 2014 Pac-12 Women’s Swimming Championships brought something special to Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatics Center for their swimmers this week, be it shimmery tree hats (hi, Stanford) or personalized shirts and noisemakers.
[Related: 2014 Pac-12 Women's Swimming Championships results, photos, tweets and more]
UCLA’s contingent thought a little, ahem, bigger than that. The Bruins backers debuted a brand-new set of “Fatheads” – oversized cutouts of the team members’ faces – to cheer on their daughters on day 2 of the conference championships.
Tom Hacker, father of team captain and senior Hayley Hacker, came up with the idea about a month ago as just one of many ways for the parents to surprise their swimmers throughout the week. It’s Hayley’s last Pac-12 Championships, so he wanted to make sure it was a special one for her and the team.
“The thing is, how can you create a special experience for your kid? They’re great athletes, and they don’t get the credit they deserve because it’s not a revenue-generating sport in college like football and basketball.”
“We know it’s a popular thing nowadays with the big NBA players, so why not for big NCAA swimmers?”