Fairfield & Aspire Announce Multi-Year Partnership Following Basketball Research

ATLANTA, GA – The Aspire Group (Aspire) and Fairfield University Athletics (Fairfield) have agreed to a multi-year ticket marketing, sales, and service partnership. Aspire will establish an on-campus Fan Relationship Management Center (FRMC) and has hired Fairfield alumnus, Joe Cappucci, as its Director of Sales and Service. With support from Aspire headquarters, Joe will hire and train the FRMC’s dedicated sales and service staff. Aspire will also use its extensive industry knowledge to assist Fairfield in its selection and implementation of a state-of-the-art ticketing system.

This partnership comes on the heels of a multi-phase research effort conducted for the Stags by Aspire’s Strategy, Analytics, and Marketing (SAM) team. In-depth fan surveying and focus grouping gauged price sensitivity and expectations for Fairfield’s new on campus arena. Aspire’s strategy consultants created several pricing and packaging models for Stags’ leadership. Collaborative workshops produced a ticket menu that sets the Stags up for years of fiscal success and ensures a formidable home court advantage for future basketball and volleyball contests.

“We are thrilled to expand our partnership with The Aspire Group as we prepare to open our new on-campus arena,” said Fairfield’s Director of Athletics Paul Schlickmann. “Implementing a dedicated, campus based Fan Relationship Management Center as a part of our external team is a critical step forward in the continued modernization of our infrastructure. This integration with Aspire will enhance the customer experience, drive our outbound ticket sales strategy, and optimize our ability to create an exceptional home court environment. This is an exciting next chapter for Stags Athletics.”

“We are proud to represent Fairfield Athletics during this transformative time on campus with the opening of the arena later this year”, said Bill Fagan, Aspire CEO and Connecticut-native. “We have spent the better part of the past year listening to the Fairfield community regarding this exciting development. Thanks to the insights we’ve gleaned, we feel more prepared than ever to serve this fanbase. In order to match the passion of Stags fans, we will be bringing a staff to campus to engage and service them year-round.”

About Fairfield University Athletics

Founded in 1942, Fairfield University is a private Jesuit university in Fairfield, Connecticut. Fairfield proudly sponsors student athletes across 20 teams (9 men’s and 11 women’s) with most competing in Division 1’s Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC). The Stags’ have an outstanding history of excellence, winning 66 MAAC tournament championships, 78 regular season conference titles and placing 2^nd in MAAC Commissioner’s Cup Standings this past season. Fairfield Athletics is committed to the total human development of its student-athletes.

About The Aspire Group

The Aspire Group 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, Aspire created the outsourced ticket sales niche, revolutionizing with its first Fan Relationship Management Center (FRMC) at Georgia Tech in 2009. Over the past 14 years, 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, sales and service training, and best-in-industry fan relationship management.

For more information about The Aspire Group 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