Winston Salem, N.C. (March 26, 2013) – The University of Northern Iowa has partnered with IMG Learfield Ticket Solutions to increase attendance and revenues generated from athletic events as well as to enhance customer service and fan interaction.
The outsourced ticketing operation will be managed onsite by General Manager Kevin Henley, who most recently had been working for IMG Learfield’s San Jose State property. Henley and his team will focus on all ticketed sports with a main emphasis on football, and men’s and women’s basketball. This is IMG Learfield’s second FCS school with an on-site presence, following UC Davis. Northern Iowa is a multi-media rights partner of Learfield Sports.
“Initiating a partnership with IMG Learfield Ticket Solutions will give UNI athletics a great opportunity to increase ticket sales for football and men’s and women’s basketball,” said UNI Director of Athletics Troy Dannen. “The ticket sales IMG Learfield Ticket Solutions will provide are an important piece of our continued effort to enhance our fan experience, while at the same time providing our ticket holders and fans with unmatched customer service.”
“Northern Iowa has a very strong athletics program with terrific leadership growing the school brand and pushing the Panthers to compete at the highest level of the FCS,” said Matt DiFebo, VP and Managing Director of IMG Learfield Ticket Solutions. “We’ll look to capitalize on the strong success of the school’s basketball and football teams in recent years, particularly with season and group ticket sales.”
In men’s basketball, UNI has notched 18 or more wins in 10 straight seasons, gaining five straight post-season berths and five NCAA Tournament berths in the past 10 years. The Panthers won 30 games and knocked off No. 1-seeded Kansas in 2009-10, making it to the Sweet Sixteen in the 2010 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. UNI captured back-to-back Missouri Valley Conference tournament championships in women’s basketball in 2010 and 2011 earning the program’s first two trips to the NCAA Tournament. In football, the Panthers have enjoyed six seasons of 10 or more wins with six top 5 FCS finishes since 2001. UNI has made seven trips all-time to FCS national semifinals. The Panthers went undefeated in the 2007 regular season with an 11-0 record, the first time that feat had been accomplished in the history of the Missouri Valley Football Conference.
Now with 25 partners, IMG Learfield Ticketing Solutions sells more tickets to university athletic events than any other outbound ticket sales company. In 2012, the ticketing business generated $53.7 million in ticket revenues to school.