Lamar University Cardinals & Aspire Increase Partnership Scope with Multi-Year Extension

ATLANTA, GA – Lamar University Athletics (LU) and The Aspire Group (Aspire) have announced a multi-year contract extension. Aspire first partnered with Lamar in 2019, setting up an on-campus Fan Relationship Management Center (FRMC) that has generated over $500K in revenue for the Cardinals. As part of the extension, Aspire’s FRMC will add an Annual Fund Officer, who will drive donations to the Bud Leonard Athletic Fund.

Fostering an environment of development and growth, Aspire’s staff at Lamar have earned five promotions in their time on campus. The Lamar FRMC will continue to drive revenue with the sale of season tickets, mini-plans, groups, and single games across all ticketed sports.

Aspire’s Senior VP of FRMC and DEI, Tony Garrett, said, “Aspire is proud of its positive impact on Lamar Athletics, including recently promoted Associate AD of External Affairs and Revenue Generation, Derek Schramm, who began his career as a sales consultant in Aspire’s FRMCs. We look forward to many more years of successful collaboration, revenue generation, and relationship building with the Cardinals”

Derek Schramm, Lamar University’s Associate Athletic Director of External Affairs & Revenue Generation, had this to say about the partnership extension, “I’m grateful to have personally spent over 8 years with Aspire, benefitting from the company’s best in class training and development. LU Athletics has also seen the Aspire Difference, as evidenced by a 30% increase in ticket revenue and the bolstering of development efforts within our Bud Leonard Athletic Fund. We’re excited to continue the work we’ve started with Aspire as we strive to ensure that every Southeast Texan is a Cardinal fan for life by providing top-notch service and an unmatched experience.” 

About Lamar Athletics

Lamar University is located in Beaumont, Texas and recently joined the Western Athletic Conference. LU actively sponsors student athletes across 17 teams. Before joining the Western Athletic Conference, the Cardinals’ baseball team led the Southland Conference with 10 regular season titles and 13 NCAA Division I Regional Baseball Tournament berths.

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