University of Denver and Playfly Aspire Near a Decade in Partnership with Third Extension

ATLANTA, GA – The University of Denver (DU) and Playfly Aspire have agreed to a third extension of their long-standing partnership. Playfly Aspire first established a fan relationship management center (FRMC) at DU in 2017 to drive ticket sales and oversee database marketing for all Pioneers athletics events. The FRMC later added ticket office operation responsibilities at DU’s Ritchie Center. In their time on campus, Playfly Aspire has driven nearly $18 million in total athletic sales and helped increase revenue by 18% from FY22 to FY23.

Playfly Sports has a rich relationship with DU, representing the athletic department’s multimedia rights through Playfly Sports Properties and supporting the Pioneers with outbound sales and marketing services via Playfly Aspire. DU is one of several universities to outsource their digital marketing to Playfly Aspire, whose strategic email marketing campaigns drive significant sales for the Pioneers. Digital efforts account for an average of 12%-15% of all Denver Athletics revenue each year.

Playfly Aspire has also conducted several fan research and pricing analytics studies for DU through its award-winning Strategy, Analytics, and Marketing (SAM) team. These engagements helped DU’s men’s hockey program sell 96% of their inventory in the 2023 season.

“The partnership between DU and Playfly Aspire has been a win-win since inception. We are thrilled to extend an already great thing,” said Playfly Aspire SVP of Strategy and Operations, Chad Cardinal. “The trust DU leadership has placed in us to retain and grow the Pioneer fanbase is a responsibility we treat with great care as authentic relationships are built, one fan at a time. The 2022-2023 athletic year was a record-breaking one, and we are excited to collaborate even more with our on-campus teammates to raise the collective standard of excellence already in place.”

“Playfly Aspire has proven to be an asset for our division, under the leadership of Director, Danny Bieshaar, and his sales and service team,” said Denver’s Senior Associate Athletic Director for External Operations and Service, Angel Field, “We look forward to continuing our partnership to increase revenue, share our passion for Pioneer Athletics, and extend our reach in unison with Playfly Aspire to provide the best opportunities to our fans as well as our student-athletes”.   

About University of Denver Athletics

Located in the heart of Denver, Colorado, the University of Denver sponsors 18 NCAA Division I teams who compete as the “Pioneers” primarily within the Summit League. The Pioneers’ men’s hockey program recently claimed their record-breaking 9th national championship, while DU’s Ski team holds the record for national titles at 24. DU sets the standard for athletic excellence among Division I non-football schools, ranking first among that group in the Directors’ Cup for 10 straight years.

About Playfly Aspire

Playfly Aspire is an award-winning sports and entertainment marketing firm, named as a top employer in the industry by both Forbes and Front Office Sports. Globally recognized for innovative consulting, ticket sales, and partnership services, Playfly Aspire created the outsourced ticket sales niche, revolutionizing with its first Fan Relationship Management Center (FRMC) at Georgia Tech in 2009. Over the past 15 years, more than 300 collegiate and professional sports properties have trusted Playfly Aspire to drive revenue, attendance, and enterprise-value growth through the combination of strategic consulting and research, sales and service training, and best-in-industry fan relationship management.

For more information about Playfly Aspire visit: www.theaspiregroupinc.com and follow us on Twitter @theaspire_group

For project and partnership inquiries, contact A.J. Smith at aj.smith@theaspiregroupinc.com or Joe Kronander at joe.kronander@theaspiregroupinc.com