New Aspire Group Staff Joins Miami Athletics

Originally posted on miamiredhawks.com.

OXFORD, Ohio – The Aspire Group has put together a brand new staff to enhance the ticketing experience at Miami University Athletics.

Leading The Aspire Group staff as manager is Derek Schramm. He is responsible for the oversight of the database marketing coordinator and sales staff and joins Miami as a four-year Aspire veteran, working in ticket sales for at the University of Minnesota (2013-15) and the University of Kansas (2015-17). A native of Richfield, Minnesota, Schramm graduated with a bachelor’s degree from the University of Nebraska (May 2013) where he worked in the athletic department as a ticket sales consultant (2010-11) and marketing intern (2011-13).

Rounding out Aspire’s staff are sales consultants Mark Sutcliffe and Steve Vogelgesang along with database, marketing and analytics coordinator Mikey Valacer.

Sutcliffe graduated from Miami University in 2017 and spent his undergraduate years gaining experience in a variety of spots. He served as the women’s basketball team’s marketing intern during the 2014-15 season, spent a summer internship with Acme United China in marketing and served another internship in Target Guest Experience. He also served as a co-founder for Operation Hope, a non-profit soccer retread for Africa.

Vogelgesang earned a Bachelor’s in Psychology from Azusa Pacific in 2013, where he attended after picking up an associates and playing baseball at Ohio Christian University. Professionally, he worked as a corporate marketing manager for the Oklahoma City Dodgers, Los Angeles’ AAA affiliate. He has also been vice president of operations at Grexen Kitchen Exhaust.

Valacer graduated from Notre Dame in 2017 with a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics and Classics. He has experience as a data analyst intern at CrossOver Healthcare Ministry, where he analyzed nearly a decade’s worth of financial and medical data and presented findings to the Executive Director and Strategic Planning Committee Chair.

About The Aspire Group
The Aspire Group is a global sports and entertainment marketing firm specializing in providing partners with the most innovative ticket marketing, sales and service solutions in the industry. Aspire created the outsourced ticketing niche, revolutionizing the Intercollegiate Athletics space with the first Fan Relationship Management Center (FRMC) at Georgia Tech in 2009. Over 200 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, data insights and best-in-industry fan relationship management. For more information, visit www.theaspiregroupinc.com.