Longtime University Partner Adding Dedicated Support for Tiger Scholarship Fund
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (Jan. 17, 2022) – An expansion of University of Memphis Athletics’ relationship with LEARFIELD was announced today as a new two-person development team will be on campus to grow the Tiger Scholarship Fund’s donor base and revenue. This dedicated team will work alongside and complement existing multimedia rights and ticket sales teams already on campus while leveraging LEARFIELD technology from Paciolan and Fanbase.
“We are proud to deepen our partnership and build on previous initiatives with Learfield,” said Executive Associate AD Dr. Adam Walker. When Blair (DeBord) and I explored this new model further, we saw the value in providing innovative avenues to drive revenue in our development efforts. These key additions will allow us to broaden and deepen our donor base by focusing on new and incremental revenue.”
Leading this specific development effort at Memphis on behalf of LEARFIELD is Wesley Funk, who will serve as assistant director of development and is a former member of the Ticket Solutions’ team. Joining him in support of the Tiger Scholarship Fund is Vy Quach, serving as a development specialist. Funk has served three years with LEARFIELD’s Ticket Solutions team at Memphis, and Quach comes to the Tigers from Nashville Soccer Club.
“Memphis is an outstanding partner always eager to innovate and grow. With that, we are excited to work with them in a new capacity on the development front,” said LEARFIELD Ticket & Seat Solutions EVP Jake Bye. “We remain committed to recognizing valuable new extensions for how we serve our partners, some of which creatively presented themselves amidst the challenges of the last two years. It’s a privilege to represent the Memphis Tigers by growing their fanbase and generating new revenue avenues through fundraising.”
LEARFIELD Ticket & Seat Solutions now operates six standalone development relationships across college athletics. This new offering was announced in 2021 and has already generated $4.8 million in philanthropic donations for university partners. Working alongside LEARFIELD’S multimedia rights and ticketing teams on campus, the company delivers a new revenue stream for partner schools through athletic development and fundraising. In addition to its Tiger Sports Properties multimedia rights team, Ticket Solutions, Paciolan, and now development, LEARFIELD serves the Memphis through its Seat Solutions, CLC and SIDEARM Sports businesses.
###