Feb. 5, 2010

Raising Money When You Are Sold Out in Your Largest Revenue Generating Sport

“How do we raise more money?” a question that echoes through every athletics department in the country and contributes to a number of sleepless nights for members of NAADD. This question can be especially difficult if you are at an institution which is sold out or near capacity in the sport(s) that generate the majority of your department’s revenue.

Wichita State has faced this problem for a number of years. The overwhelming majority of our annual fund is raised through gifts to the Shocker Athletic Scholarship Organization that are tied to priority seating and parking for men’s basketball. Without football, we have to capitalize on our men’s basketball program to generate a large portion of our department’s operating budget. While we are extremely lucky to have the fan support to generate 87 consecutive home games with an attendance of 10,000 + (arena capacity is 10,506), we have also had to look for ways to generate additional funding when our main revenue producing program is sold out.

A few years ago, we implemented three programs that have had a dramatic effect on our program. I am positive that you have seen and heard about programs similar to these in action at schools across the country (now is a good time to plug the 2010 NAADD Convention scheduled for June 19-25 in Anaheim…a great place to learn about ideas and programs that have worked at other institutions).

The first program announced was the Shocker Athletic Scholarship Organization 110% Club. While the term might seem cliché, the tremendous response wasn’t and a major reason while so many Colleges and Universities have implemented a 110% Club in some form. We were looking for a way to increase our annual fund without being able to sell any more basketball tickets in the arena. By simply including an information card and a check box on the SASO renewal forms, we had more than 35% of our donors increase their annual fund gift by 10%. We are now in year three of the 110% Club and have generated more than $120,000 for our annual fund through this one program.

The second initiative announced was our courtside seating program. While many arenas have courtside seating, it took some strong urging to our athletics director to implement courtside seating at WSU. I apologize to all of our colleagues at CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America), but relocating some media and opening up seven media tables has generated $119,420 a year for Shocker athletics. Oftentimes, the most valuable inventory at your disposal is being overlooked and not used for the purpose that can have the strongest impact for your program.

The third, and arguably most successful, initiative we announced was the Capital Seating Program. For a number of years WSU had to turn away new donors who wanted to make significant contributions in order to get prime seats because we didn’t have any. The Capital Seating Program has given us a tool to be able to accommodate these requests and also generate a significant amount of revenue for the department. The Capital Seating Program has generated more than $650,000 in capital giving and also increased our annual fund by opening up room for new donors.

During each renewal period, we hold a small allotment of tickets that open up in prime locations while being very cautious not to take away too many seats from our normal seat upgrade process. We then assign a non-negotiable price-tag to each location of seats. The price typically ranges from $25,000 for a pair of seats to $50,000 for four seats (may be payable over a three year period). A donor may purchase the seats by signing a pledge to support an on-going capital campaign or any approved fund in the athletics department. In addition to the capital program pledge, the donor is responsible for all annual ticket costs and accompanying annual fund gifts for the seats. By assigning a non-negotiable price-tag to the seats, new donors know the value of the seats and our current donors know that there is a fair and equitable program in place for their protection.

While these programs have been very successful at WSU, we all know that each institution is different. Many of you have programs like the ones mentioned above already in place and many of you don’t have a need for similar programs at your school. Whatever the case may be, I encourage you to reach out to your fellow NAADD colleagues for ideas and to attend the upcoming NAADD Convention in Anaheim. During these tough economic times we are all looking for ways to increase revenue and raise more money. You just might be surprised from who or where that next idea might come from.

About Brian Morris: Brian Morris is entering his second year as associate athletics director for development at Wichita State University and fourth year overall at WSU. Morris currently oversees all aspects of the athletics department’s comprehensive fundraising efforts including the Shocker Athletic Scholarship Organization annual fund, major giving, planned giving and capital campaign management. Morris serves as a member of the athletics department senior staff and as liaison to the Wichita State University Foundation. Morris was recently assigned as the administrator overseeing men’s and women’s tennis.

Prior to WSU, Morris served as the assistant athletics director for development at Arkansas State University, account executive for Sooner Sports Properties and as the assistant director of development at the University of Oklahoma.

A graduate of Kansas State University, Morris is completing his master’s degree in sport management at Wichita State University.

Morris also serves as the Missouri Valley Conference representative for the National Association of Athletic Development Directors.

Morris, 30, and his wife Lindsay have a two-year old son, Bennett and are expecting another son, Caleb in March. The Morris’ reside in Wichita.