What saved Cal Baseball?

After almost nine months of waiting, hoping, seeking donations and counting pledges, the University of California finally had good news for its baseball team: the games will go on after the 2011 season.  Back on Tuesday, September 28, the University had officially announced that intercollegiate baseball at Cal would be cut at the end of the year due to budget shortfalls that have caused a growing need for the school to subsidize their intercollegiate athletics program.  Although receiving university funds is not an uncommon practice at the Division I level, Cal’s goal of becoming completely self-sufficient resulted in the need to make dramatic cuts (along with baseball, women’s lacrosse, rugby, men’s and women’s gymnastics were also announced to be eliminated).

Not soon after the announcement was made, several parents and alumni of one of Cal’s oldest and prestigious sports (founded in 1892, the baseball program has won two College World Series Championships) put together a plan to raise the needed funds to save the program.  An announced $10 million would be needed to continue baseball at Cal.

The use of volunteers and non-university personnel to aid in fundraising is nothing new.  Every campaign, fund-drive, special event and advisory board involves those who are unpaid and simply volunteer their time to give back and benefit an organization.  What transpired at Cal, however, shows what an emotionally fueled and fiercely determined group of volunteers can do to support a fundraising initiative.  Since that Tuesday in September, enough funds have been raised to bring back all five sports (rugby, lacrosse, and women’s gymastics were saved in February, men’s gymnastics in May, and baseball, officially, in June).

Leading alumni started several websites to spread the word, made endless calls to ask for support, and put their own money forward to bring back the sports.  For baseball, the donations came from all angles; even rival Stanford University put forward $50,000 to bring back the program.  Baseball alumnus, Stu Gordon, is credited with spearheading much of the volunteer efforts by putting up $550,000 of his own money.

Of course, and as this post was written, the Cal baseball program has made the story of their year long struggle to survive even more astonishing.  The team has managed to make it to the 2011 College World series on the backs of several improbable comebacks and unlikely victories.  The lasting memories and unrivaled experiences that the student-athletes at Cal are getting are going to carry on with them for the rest of their lives, and thanks to many dedicated donors, those opportunities will continue for Cal athletes into the future.

But will this model of independent volunteer groups raising money for specific sports change the model of athletics fundraising?  So think some, perhaps bringing programs closer to the “Booster” organizations of old and away from the unrestricted annual fundraising of today.  Only time will tell what the impact of Cal’s efforts in 2010 and 2011, but the landscape has surely shown signs of change.

Rob Norris

Young Alumni Giving & Support: A study with Ohio University and ADF

Over the course of the past year, Athletics Development Frontier partnered with the Ohio University Center for Sports Administration to research and analyze a frequent problem area in development: young alumni giving. Across the country there are numerous programs being implemented to create and sustain support from recent graduates, each with varying degrees of success.

This report was designed to be a compilation of the best practices of young alumni giving programs from all areas of development, not just athletics. By broadening the scope of the project, the researchers were able to find some success stories that could be implemented in athletics, and vice-versa.

The authors use four main themes to guide their research:

1. The need to develop a culture of giving
2. Young alumni will take advantage of benefits at reduced membership rates
3. Young alumni respond when challenged
4. Young alumni want more than game watch parties

Each of these themes are supported by research and examples of projects that are on the ground at various Universities from around the country.

You can read their executive summary by clicking here. The full report is available for reading and download by clicking on the image below.

ADF would like to thank the authors of the report, Beau Bauer, Phil Carden, Michael Speight, and Drew Ossakow for their work on the project.

Florida Atlantic Receives Large Gift for New Stadium, Utilizes Virtual Venue

Florida Atlantic University received its largest gift to date for its new on-campus stadium.  The school plans to name the stadium’s scoreboard with permanent signage after the donor who made the major contribution.  The new stadium is set to open October 15 when the team hosts Western Kentucky.  The $70million project will be able to hold 30,000 spectators and features 6,000 premium seats.  This past week FAU released a projected economic impact study which estimates that the school will be able to generate $1.8 million on game days.

The stadium is part of a larger on campus project known as Innovation Village.  The overall plan also includes residence halls, shopping, and dining establishments.  Innovation Village is instrumental in the school’s strategy to create a stronger on-campus experience which at the centerpiece of the plan is the new open-air facility.

Another neat aspect of the project is that the FAU athletic department has utilized the interactive stadium software, Virtual Venue, provided by IOMEDIA.  This “Virtual Venue” allows fans the ability to navigate the stadium and get price and donation information for any seat in the facility.  Additionally the website enables fans to get a sense of what it would be like to sit in the seats they are looking at with a “seat view” feature.  People who visit this site are also able to chat with an online ticket representative and can see further benefits for choosing different seating areas.

FAU is one of a growing number of schools to use IOMEDIA’s Virtual Venue.  The list includes Penn State, UCLA, and the University of Washington.  We have previously looked at how Ballena Technologies has helped athletic departments with their ticketing and reseating initiatives.  Both of these companies’ services enhance the seat selection process for development offices, donors, and fans.  As 3D virtual venue technology continues to evolve at the college level it will be interesting to see what new features will be incorporated that will add further value.

Drew Ossakow

Arizona State Reinvents Brand with “It’s Time”

Through the “It’s Time” campaign, the Arizona State Sun Devils announced both an athletic and campus wide rebranding effort.  The school made the announcement at an April 12 press conference, after releasing a series of teaser videos online to build excitement.  Over the past 12 months the school, in collaboration with Nike, developed a strategy for the rebranding of the Sun Devils.  They utilized feedback gathered from focus groups and student-athletes, coaches, students, faculty, alumni and fans which resulted in three main recommendations.  These included having a secondary color scheme for uniforms, a specific ASU Athletics font, and a new trademark logo. 

Both ASU and its licensees are hoping to benefit from the newly released athletic apparel.  Currently the school brings in approximately $1 million in merchandise sales per year.  It is predicted that within the next 3 years that number will double.   However increased apparel revenue is not the only reason ASU decided to rebrand itself.  According to Associate Athletic Director Steve Hank, “its more about creating an image and a brand that reflects the image we want to project.”  Fans will be reenergized by the launching of a new era of Sun Devil Athletics when the latest uniforms are launched in the fall of 2011 along with the “All-Black” color scheme which is something similar to what the ASU football team wore back in the 1950s.

The Sun Devil Club has been very involved in the whole rebranding process.  The ASU athletic department’s fundraising arm took this opportunity to update its website and to include the new logo and color scheme.  A neat new feature on the site is the inclusion of a rebranding donor solicitation video which at the conclusion automatically takes viewers to a membership sign up page. Additionally an anonymous donor has stepped up and will pay for all of the new uniforms for each of the school’s 21 athletic teams.  This was an important part of ASU’s rebranding communication as the school made it clear that it used very little if any tax payer money for the It’s Time initiative. 

Furthermore, the Sun Devil Club treated its members to an exclusive unveiling of the new uniforms a few days before the public announcement.  Donors could pay $25 to attend the event and were asked to help preserve the secrecy of the rebranding before the April 12 press conference by not bringing their cell phones and other recording devices. 

The rebranding initiative comes at an interesting time as ASU received approval this past fall to use a local business fee to support renovations to Sun Devil Stadium.  A makeover of the historic facility, which opened in 1958, along with It’s Time would certainly usher in a new era of Sun Devil Athletics.  Furthermore, the Pac 10 (soon to be Pac 12) recently went through a major rebranding effort as did in-conference rival Washington State which was also organized by Nike.  The It’s Time campaign is a wonderful example of how to best utilize social media to generate buzz and create excitement surrounding an announcement of this kind for an athletic department.  Additionally, development offices are always looking for new ways to give their members behind the scenes access.  The Sun Devil Club did an excellent job of taking advantage of this opportunity to provide that for their donors. 

Drew Ossakow

SMU gets two major gifts for basketball arena renovations

A rendering of the Moody Coliseum renovation.

This past week, SMU announced the second of two major gifts designated to the Moody Coliseum Renovation. The first, a $20 million gift from the Moody Family Foundation, was the leadership donation needed to start the renovation campaign. Then, just 8 days later, the school announced a $10 million gift from David & Carolyn Miller toward the same renovation project.

The athletics department has raised $30 million of the planned $40 million price tag for the coliseum, with a construction start date yet to be scheduled. With construction projects being shelved all across the nation due to budget cuts and stagnant credit markets, having 3/4 of the project goal raised will ensure the completion of the project and provide significant momentum for raising the remaining $10 million.

In fact, this kind of support is remarkable. Not many schools and athletics departments have had the pleasure of announcing 8-figure gifts a little over a week apart. No doubt SMU had many visits with the benefactors prior to the releases, but by coupling the announcements in such short order, the school has shown its other donors that they are committed to making the project a reality.

Taylor Wood

University of Arizona Incorporates Volunteers With Online Giving Campaign

A while back, we featured an article on Oregon State University and the incorporation of online giving to drive annual funds and membership for the Beaver Student Athlete Fund.  A few weeks ago, the Wildcat Club at the University of Arizona embarked on a similar journey, releasing an online giving campaign with a goal of having 12,000 Wildcat Club members by 2013.  The Wildcat Club “12,000 by 2013” campaign incorporates many of the principles behind past online giving campaigns with Pursuant Sports, in addition to unique elements trying to ensure the campaign goes down as a success.

With new Athletics Director Greg Byrne, the Wildcat Club was looking for a way to introduce a new age of Arizona Athletics to supporters.   With rapid increases in multimedia usage amongst all demographics, and their athletic director incorporating social media into his daily routine, the Wildcat Club realized an online giving campaign would tremendously aid any effort to re-introduce Arizona Athletics.  Moreover, in selecting Pursant Sports to help construct their campaign, the company that helped launch similar campaigns with Oregon State and North Carolina State, the introduction of a online giving campaign for the Wildcat Club seemed liked a perfect fit.

Now, one of the main benefits to online giving is the ability to touch many supporters with only one click of a mouse.  Furthermore, eye-catching videos that feature the impact philanthropic support has for student-athletes are easy and convenient “asks” for contributions and support.  However, in order for people to give online they need to be directed to watch the video.

Therefore, the Wildcat Club empowered close to 120 volunteers to help re-introduce Arizona Athletics with an online giving campaign as their master solicitation tool. Further incentives for volunteer efforts are prizes for the people and teams who acquire the most new members.  The use of volunteers with the “12,000 by 2013” campaign for Arizona Athletics is a nice addition to previously seen online giving campaigns.  With the success and reach of such campaigns, look for more athletic departments to incorporate similar programs with their own specific tweaks and additions.

Michael Speight

Special thanks to Thomas Theodorakis Regional Director of Annual Giving for the Wildcat Club for his contribution with this story.

VCU looks to capitalize on Final Four run with And One Program

In an effort to capitalize on the recent success of the men’s basketball program, VCU Athletics has launched the “And One” Campaign.  Coming off of their successful “Shoot for 1,000” Campaign, the Ram Athletic Fund is aiming to expand their annual giving referral program through And One.  Twenty-five priority points are awarded for referring a new donor, which is a significant amount based on VCU Athletics current priority point system.  In addition, new members of the Ram Athletic Fund who joined through the And One Campaign receive two free tickets to a select men’s basketball game during the 2011-12 season.

The school’s first trip to the Final Four comes at a perfect time.  Within the past year, VCU Athletics made large strides in increasing their donor base, as the Shoot for 1,000 Campaign saw a rise in Ram Athletic Fund membership from 821 to 1,249.  With the help of And One, the Ram Athletic Fund will look to come closer to the membership levels of other regional in-conference schools such as James Madison (4,395), Old Dominion (2,420), and William & Mary (3,185).

For schools that do not commonly find themselves playing deep into March Madness, it can be tough to fully prepare for the media exposure and public interest that comes with it.  VCU has done a good job at making a push to use this opportunity to reach out and expand their fan base both through And One and the multitude of online content they have provided through their website and twitter to help fans feel a part of the journey.

Drew Ossakow

Minnestoa hosts “Bottom of the 9th” Event

In early February, the University of Minnesota athletic department and the Golden Gopher Fund hosted a fundraiser in an effort to re-energize support to bring a new on-campus home for the UM Baseball team.  “Bottom of the 9^th” focused on reinvigorating donor interest in the Siebert Field Legacy Campaign as the project to replace the old on-campus baseball field nears its completion.  The evening attracted many potential donors along with current and former Gopher Baseball players, who came for a night that featured keynote speeches from Hall of Famers and former UM players Paul Molitor and Dave Winfield.  The athletic department was also able to utilize media personalities Michele Tafoya and Ryan Lefebvre, both of whom have previously been associated with the Gophers, to co-emcee the evening.

In total approximately 450 people attended “Bottom of the 9^th” which was hosted in the DQ Club at TCF Bank Stadium.  Tickets for the dinner and program were $250 and a table for ten could be purchased with a $2,000 donation to the campaign.  Furthermore, a VIP package option was offered at $3,000 and included a table for ten and a private pre-event reception with the keynote speakers.  Additional funds were raised for the campaign through a live and silent auction.

The urgency for a new baseball stadium project intensified recently as the Metrodome, which was scheduled to host all home games during the 2011 Gopher Baseball season, became unusable due to the roof collapsing in December.  Minnesota Head Coach John Anderson was able to secure a few alternative venues for this year but the fact of the matter remains that the Baseball program needs a permanent home close to campus.  To date, $4 million of the total $7.5 million goal has been raised.  Minnesota athletics director Joel Maturi is optimistic about reaching the fundraising goal for the Siebert Field Legacy Campaign, but is also realistic on how much work needs to be done in the future.  Maturi stated, “We’ve never been so close to bringing a new baseball stadium to the University of Minnesota. We’re not behind in the bottom of the 9th, but we’re not ahead either.”

This event serves as a great example of how an athletic department can put momentum back into a capital project that is getting close to completion.  Additionally, the timing of the event provided a nice way to engage current donors and identify new prospects as excitement builds towards the new baseball season.

Drew Ossakow

Fundraising by Describing What You Need

Typically, athletic fundraising programs have a difficult time disclosing exactly what donations will exactly go to funding.  Even when gifts are given to specific sports, donations are repeatedly described as going toward budgetary spending, where it is then used at the discretion of the athletic department and administrators.  Most often, such explanations are done out of necessisity, as it is not known where donor support will be most needed.

However, at Central Michigan University the men’s track and field program has decided to campaign by telling supporters exactly what they need and what it will cost.  Recently, the men’s track and field coach at CMU issued a release through their athletics website describing the needs of their track and field program.  Correspondingly, he then went on to list the individual costs associated with each of their needs, imploring supporters to give to specific areas of need.

Essentially, the strategy used by the CMU track and field program is aggressive and one of full disclosure.  In the future, perhaps this could be a strategy used by many schools when campaigning for specific needs.  Then again, it must be used with the understanding that money fundraised go to those specific needs and nothing else.

Michael Speight

Crabfeeds prove to be unique, popular fundraisers

Crabfeeds are popular fundraising events in California.

Sacramento State Athletics recently held their second annual crabfeed fundraiser which has become an instant hit and a significant source of funding for student-athlete scholarships for the department.  This year they hosted 650 people and raised an estimated $50,000, an increase of 200 people and $22,000 from the inaugural event.  Ticket prices for the crabfeed were $45 per person or $450 for a table of 10.  Donations were also collected from the event’s raffle, beverage sales, and live auction which included a painting from local Sacramento artist Thomas Kinkade.  In addition, donors that attended the event were able to mingle with current and former Sacramento State student-athletes, along with department administrators.  Hornet Athletics followed up by thanking all those who attended through the school’s twitter account.

Crabfeeds are a popular charity event throughout northern California, as each year millions of pounds of crab are served as a part to support various service, church, and school groups.  These events typically happen in the early winter months just as crab fishing season is kicking off.

As state support to universities continues to decline, athletic departments will need to continually look for unique opportunities to raise money. Creative fundraisers, such as crabfeeds, afford the chance for development offices to reach out to new donors and interact with current ones. In addition, by having the event at an off-campus location, such as what Sacramento State did this year, the opportunity to attract potential prospects increases.

In another example, the University of San Francisco’s athletic department uses their annual Baseball crabfeed fundraiser to help kick off the team’s season with all proceeds going towards the baseball program. This year the Don’s are incorporating an appearance from San Francisco Giants broadcaster Duane Kuiper to help attract more attendees .  These examples illustrate how athletic development offices can benefit by seeking to incorporate non-traditional athletics activities into their event calendar.

Drew Ossakow