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Some people sketch out their vision on a napkin, or a whiteboard, or store it in the files of their mind.
As of Friday, Lynne Roberts has a website.
Utah women's basketball rolled out a website dedicated to its players, coaches, tradition and home. The website, utahwomenshoops.com, features video interviews of everyone in the program, and images touting past success — implying success to come.
In Roberts' profile, she quotes Henry Kissinger: "The task of the leader is to get their people from where they are to where they have never been."
It's what the 40-year-old head coach has in mind for the Utes: making the program a headline attraction.
"I'm not sure women's basketball has ever been at the forefront here," she said, "and I can't find a good reason why it shouldn't be."
She isn't saying the program hasn't had success on the court. The Utes have the 16th-best winning percentage in NCAA history, and have 19 conference championships and a 2006 Elite Eight appearance in the record books.
But as much as Roberts wants Utah to win again, she also wants fans to witness it.
That's a high calling for a program which has never drawn a huge crowd to the Huntsman Center. Even at the height of success in 2006, the Utes averaged 1,413 fans in home attendance. Slogging through a 9-21 season last year, Utah averaged 743 fans per game, the least in the Pac-12. Roberts had a better average at Pacific between 2010 and 2014 in a 6,150-seat arena.
Roberts finds it difficult to reconcile Utah's lagging numbers with another more riveting one: With an average of 15,000 fans per meet, Utah's gymnastics program leads the nation in attendance for all women's sports.
She wants some of that.
"If they can fill up their meets, I think we can get 5,000 fans to our games," Roberts said. "I've talked a lot to the administration, from Chris Hill on down. They want what I want. They think women's basketball can be big here."
The mistake many programs make, Roberts believes, is marketing a women's basketball team like a men's team. She's seen research that suggests people invest in men's sports chiefly for athletic brilliance — the dunks, the blocks, the SportsCenter-quality highlights. People who come to women's sporting events are as invested in the personalities as much as eye-popping plays: They come to feel a bond to the team.
That means pushing Utah's players to the forefront: Already this season, the Utes have had an alumni dinner, a brunch with ticket holders, a meet-and-greet at the men's scrimmage and are hosting a free skills clinic for children. During the season, each player will have a dedicated section of Huntsman Center where they'll shake hands and kiss babies (so to speak) and sell them on coming back.
Roberts and her players acknowledge it is demanding to devote more time to the social aspect of their sport. But the team has the same end game as their coach.
"Those interactions, it helps get us out there," sophomore Malia Nawahine said. "In the end, that's what we want: To play in front of big crowds."
There are other strategies that Roberts has picked up after conversations with her gymnastics counterparts. The Utes will give away a certain number of tickets, and also push promotional nights for Girl Scouts, dads and daughters, "and any other group you can think of," she said. There will be giveaways and special deals — anything Utah can do to tell people, "Hey, we're here!"
Roberts isn't trying to bulldoze everything that's come before her: She's kept in touch with Elaine Elliott, and has also been careful to give her predecessor some credit. A smiling Anthony Levrets, posing with the Mountain West Tournament-winning team in 2011, is featured on Utah's new website.
But the ideas and energy Roberts brings is new, especially when it comes to putting Utah women's basketball on a bigger stage. Her players are starting to buy in.
"It's hard to market yourself sometimes," Emily Potter said. "But at the same time, it's fun to show people who we are and how hard we work. We think we're going to be fun to watch this year."
If there's a surge, it won't come suddenly. Roberts knows that. Real progress is attained by winning with style. She hopes her up-tempo, high-scoring setup will win fans as well. The wins might take a little longer as the Utes adjust to her style of play.
But Utah women's basketball is already changing the way it looks at things — mainly, looking up.
"It will take time," Roberts said. "We think we will have a good product. We want people to know about it."
Twitter: @kylegoon —
Good seats available
Utah women's basketball is looking to pick up its home attendance numbers this season. A look at the past four:
2014-15 • 743 (12th among Pac-12 schools)
2013-14 • 886 (12th)
2012-13 • 825 (12th)
2011-12 • 736 (12th)
South Dakota at Utah
P Nov. 13, 4:45 p.m. at the Huntsman Center
Radio • 700 AM