Blue Hens Partner With The Aspire Group

The University of Delaware is pleased to announce a new partnership with The Aspire Group, the global leader in sport & entertainment revenue enhancement. The partnership includes Strategic Consulting & Research (SC&R) support and an on-site Fan Relationship Management Center (FRMC).  The Aspire Group will use insights gathered from focus groups and fan surveys to develop a comprehensive Ticket Marketing, Sales and Service plan that the on-site FRMC will help implement.

The Delaware FRMC will be operated by Cameron Kovach, Manager of Ticket Sales & Service, who will be working with the athletic department to develop and execute ticket marketing, sales and service strategies for football, men’s basketball, and women’s basketball. Previously, Cameron served as Senior Consultant of Service & Retention at Aspire’s Texas FRMC.

In March, Aspire’s Strategic Consulting & Research department began working with Delaware Athletics to collect fan insights; first through focus groups with over 60 fans, marketing partners and community members and then through fan & student surveys that produced 2,200 responses from fans and 800 responses from students.

“The goal of the research was to provide an opportunity for all fans to provide feedback as Delaware Athletics strives to provide exceptional service and experiences for our fan base at all our venues,” said UD Director of Athletics and Recreation Services Chrissi Rawak. “We are fortunate to have such passionate and loyal fans and we are excited to begin this partnership with Aspire.”

In tandem with the development of the on-site FRMC, Aspire’s SC&R department will work hand-in-hand with Delaware Athletics to develop an extensive Ticket Marketing, Sales, and Service Plan.

“We are looking forward to our partnership in supporting Delaware Athletics by delivering our fans the best customer service possible and building long lasting relationships in the Delaware community,” stated CJ Wiatr, Regional VP of Fan Relationship Management.

CJ Wiatr will serve as the liaison between Aspire and the Fighting Blue Hens. Wiatr has worked for numerous NFL teams such as the Dallas Cowboys and Cleveland Browns, and currently oversees twelve of The Aspire Group’s FRMC properties including the University of Minnesota, University of Kansas, and the University of Maryland.

The Fighting Blue Hens become the second Colonial Athletic Conference (CAA) school to partner with The Aspire Group, along with Towson University.

For inquiries or further questions, please contact A.J. Smith at aj.smith@theaspiregroupinc.com.

About The Aspire Group

The Aspire Group is a global sports and entertainment marketing firm that specializes in enhancing all revenue streams while building lifelong fans for clients through superb fan engagement and service. The Aspire Group currently works with client partners in North America, Europe and Australia providing ongoing strategic business consulting and research; outsourced ticket marketing, sales and service; and implementation support in all facets of sports business and investment optimization. Aspire has become the global leader in outsourced revenue enhancement, responsible for approximately $200 million of ticket and related donation revenues in 2015-2016, with more than 60 collegiate properties in the USA and over 100 additional sports and entertainment properties who have trusted Aspire to drive revenue, attendance and enterprise value. In the last two years, The Aspire Group was ranked by Forbes as one of the “Top 10 Best Places To Work For In Sports” and nominated for a second time by Sports Business Journal for a “Best In Property Consulting, Sales and Client Services” award and was awarded a 2016 “Sales and Marketing” Stadium Business Award. For more information, please visit www.theaspiregroupinc.com.