Hofstra issues challenge for former-student athletes to give

Increased participation by former student athletes is a goal of every athletic department.  To reach this goal, universities will often go through long and creative processes to reengage former student athletes.  To this point, Hofstra Athletics and the Hofstra Pride Club Board of Directors recently launched its inaugural Former Athlete Participation Challenge.

This challenge at Hofstra has created a competitive contest among its former letterwinners where, “the sport program with the highest percentage of participation will receive $10,000 toward their program”.  Specifically, teams receive a certain amount of points based on the percentage of alumni giving multiplied by 1000.  Additionally, 2 bonus points can be achieved per online gift over $25 made between now and May 31^st.

Initiatives like the Former Athlete Participation Challenge are becoming commonplace in athletics development all across the country, as athletic departments are continually looking to reconnect with former student athletes.  More importantly, creative programs such as this one are perfect ways for universities to get the competitive juices of former student athletes flowing in a way that benefits current student athletes.

Michael Speight

This post was contributed by Michael Speight, a graduate student in the Ohio University MBA/MSA Program. Michael will begin to contribute on a regular basis, so look for more great stories in the future.