Monday, August 20, 2007
The Select-a-Seat draft was conducted last week in the Booth Hall of Allen Fieldhouse. The Select-a-Seat program was created by the Athletic Department during the 2004-2005 academic year. It is a system where donors are given points for the money they donate to the Williams Educational Fund, and extra points based on their relationship with the University.
Pat and Joe Hirt, Lake Quivera, look over their men’s basketball season ticket seats with Kim Miller, KU ticket office manager, after taking part in the draft for season ticket seating in Allen Fieldhouse Thursday evening. The Hirts said they were satisfied with their seats. "We're just glad we're in the building," Pat Hirt said.
The season ticket holders with the most points began choosing seats for the upcoming basketball season at 10 a.m. August 13. Every 10 minutes, a new group would show up and select from the remaining seats. The draft went until 8:30 every night and ended August 16.
The Williams Educational Fund is made up of alumni and fans of Kansas Athletics. It is comprised of more than 4,200 members, and benefits more than 550 student-athletes.
Instituting the Select-a-Seat program based on points from the Williams Fund has been a financial windfall for the Athletic department. Before the points system went into effect, the Williams Fund grossed about $5 million annually, according to Jim Marchiony, associate athletics director. That number has increased to more than $11 million annually.
This year will bring change to the Select-a-Seat process. Seat selection will now take place every other year, instead of annually. Because of this, season ticket holders will have the seats they select in 2007 for two years.
According to the Athletic Department’s Web site, the plan was implemented because of the low rate of turnover. Last year, the renewal rate was about 90 percent. If renewal rates fall below 60 percent on an even year, Select-a-Seat will return to an annual basis until renewal rates return to 80 to 90 percent.
Marchiony said that similar systems are in place in athletic departments around the country.
“We needed to raise money,” Marchiony said. “This was a way to raise it that give benefits to those that donated not only to athletics but who had a history of donating to athletics.”
Louise Ecord, development associate with the Williams Fund and Jennifer Berquist, associate director of the Williams Fund, worked the week as moderators of the draft process. Both started working for the Williams Fund before the creation of Select-a-Seat.
“It wasn’t initially easy to make some of the calls asking for donations,” Ecord said. “But in college sports today, you have to have the resources to compete. You need to have facilities to keep up.”
Ecord said that despite the busy week, which only had 20-minute lunch and dinner breaks between the non-stop flow of ticket holders, the process went off without a hitch.
“I think everyone was just thrilled to be in Allen Fieldhouse,” Ecord said.
—Edited by Rachael Gray
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