to people. Relationship cultivation and stewardship are at the core of all successful revenue acquisition programs.
The athletics program belongs within the larger educational institution and has the potential for competing with institutional fundraising priorities. The Athletics Director must work in partnership with institutional advancement and strive to integrate athletics with the overall institutional development and advancement efforts. For integration to be successful regular communication, consultation and joint initiatives with major donors is critical. A partnership with the institutional advancement particularly for smaller and under-sourced athletics programs can be highly effective.
The larger and more visible the athletics program is or its greater importance to the institution or community, the more responsive the athletics program must be to providing timely and rich content to satisfy various stakeholders. The creation and production of interesting content is challenging. Immediate results and statistics are expected. Added to this demand is the expectations that the media relations/communications staff (who are generally under-staffed) also support the athletics program's fundraising programs, corporate sponsored event promotions and the recruiting efforts of coaches. Social media has also added to the time demands required of media relations/sports communications personnel. Another factor that may compound the challenge for the media relations/communications staff, especially in smaller athletics programs, is the resources and expertise needed to tell the story and build and promote the brand.
Defining and communicating a clear and compelling brand identity that enhances recognition and credibility with stakeholders is important. The brand identity must be consistent, compatible, clear and concise. The branding strategy must be easily communicated to stakeholders. Telling the story, building and promoting the brand is more important than ever before. Before new donors or experienced donors or new corporate sponsors or returning corporate partners can understand and engage in what the athletics program does, they need to hear and connect to the story. The Athletics Director must partner with the experts in institutional marketing and communications to bring the athletics program's vision, mission and core values to life. Integrating the athletics program with the institution's marketing and communications staff is also a great way to maximize the communications dollar and share the inspiring story.
This overview of A Model Revenue Acquisition Program has outlined the basic components for generating revenues. As demonstrated in the Athletics Program Review in the NCAA IPP section under Other Revenue Sources (pages 67-68), Kentucky State is well behind its peer institutions and has a tremendous opportunity to increase revenues for its athletic program.
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