Canisius & Aspire Announce Multi-Year Extension with Expanded Responsibilities

ATLANTA, GA – Canisius College (Canisius) and The Aspire Group (Aspire) have announced a multi-year contract extension. Since beginning their partnership in 2015, Aspire’s on-campus Fan Relationship Management Center (FRMC) has been responsible for ticket sales across all of the Golden Griffins’ revenue generating sports. As part of their extended partnership, Aspire staff will also assist the Advancement Staff in soliciting donations to the Canisius Blue & Gold Fund.

“We are proud to restart this relationship with Aspire and to build on the efforts that have proven successful in our marketplace prior to the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Canisius Director of Athletics Bill Maher. “Aspire has been a terrific partner and broadening that effort into a year-round focus to generate sales and philanthropy support for our program is a natural next step.”

”We are grateful for the continued partnership with Canisius College,“ mentioned Bill Fagan, Aspire’s Chief Executive Officer. “We know having a full-time on-campus leader that has a pulse on the community will help amplify our fan outreach. We have experienced success in the past, particularly in group ticket sales. Layering in our support of the Blue and Gold Fund is a natural extension of our relationship as we can now serve Golden Griffins fans who want to show their support beyond a ticket purchase.”

Daren Dunnewold, born and raised in Lancaster, New York and a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) alumnus, will serve as the Senior Sales, Service, and Development Consultant at the Canisius FRMC and can be reached at dunnewod@canisius.edu.

About Canisius College Athletics

Canisius College, a Jesuit institution in Buffalo, N.Y., sponsors 20 NCAA Division I varsity athletic teams that compete in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC), with the exception of ice hockey, which competes in the Atlantic Hockey Association. Under the leadership of Director of Athletics Bill Maher, who took over in 2005, Canisius has won 45 conference or regional championships, with a number of teams producing the best seasons in program history. A total of 72 student-athletes have won conference player or rookie of the year awards, including a program-record 10 in 2017-18. Additionally, Canisius has claimed the Battle of the Bridge and won the Canal Cup in 12 of the last 13 seasons (including a stretch of 10-straight). The Battle of the Bridge is an all-sports competition with rival Niagara University.

About The Aspire Group

The Aspire Group is a sports and entertainment marketing firm that is globally recognized for innovative consulting, research, and ticket sales services. Aspire created the outsourced ticket sales niche, revolutionizing intercollegiate athletics with the first Fan Relationship Management Center (FRMC) at Georgia Tech in 2009. Over the past decade, more than 280 collegiate and professional sports properties have trusted Aspire to drive revenue, attendance, and enterprise-value growth through the combination of strategic consulting and research services and best-in-industry fan relationship management.  The Aspire Group also serves as the preferred ticket sales partner for the 2022 Hercules Tires MAAC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships.

For more information about The Aspire Group visit: www.theaspiregroupinc.com and Follow us on Twitter @theaspire_group

For inquiries, contact A.J. Smith at aj.smith@theaspiregroupinc.com.