On many campuses, athletics fundraising operates in a silo, chasing the same alumni, families, and donors as advancement but without coordination. The result? Duplication, donor fatigue, and missed opportunities. For advancement leaders, the opportunity isn’t to compete with athletics, but to partner: combining advancement’s strategy and stewardship with athletics’ unmatched reach and passion.
Athletics doesn’t just engage former student-athletes; its ecosystem spans coaches, current athletes, alumni-athletes, parents, families, fans, season ticket holders, staff, and community partners, groups advancement rarely mobilizes systematically. Engaged differently, each can become a pipeline engine for philanthropy, loyalty, and institutional pride. Meanwhile, the athletics landscape is evolving fast, reshaping donor expectations and creating new demands for resources. Left unaligned, athletics fundraising introduces risk; aligned, it becomes one of advancement’s strongest assets for revenue growth, pipeline expansion, and lifelong engagement.
In this session, you’ll learn how to:
- Complement, not compete, with athletics fundraising
- Mobilize diverse stakeholders: from coaches and athletes to parents and fans
- Unlock untapped potential across athletics communities
- Standardize with technology so every touchpoint is logged and aligned.