UConn Enhances Ticket Sales & Service Efforts By Partnering With The Aspire Group

The University of Connecticut (UConn) Division of Athletics is proud to announce it has agreed to a five-year partnership with The Aspire Group, the global leader in sport & entertainment revenue enhancement. Aspire will launch an outbound ticket sales and service operation under the leadership of Tyler Shaker, a five year Aspire veteran. The on-campus Fan Relationship Management Center (FRMC) will consist of a Director of Ticket Sales & Service, a Manager of Service & Retention and eight consultants whose focus will be providing excellent customer service to the Husky Nation, while also driving both renewals and new sales across all ticketed sports.  The Aspire Group’s award-winning Strategic Consulting & Research team will be supporting the FRMC and UConn by gathering insights through yield management and ticket pricing workshops and customized fan satisfaction survey analysis. The addition of UConn is Aspire’s industry leading 23^rd new client in 2016.

“Our partnership with The Aspire Group will enable us to devote more personnel and resources to the critical task of selling tickets and filling our venues,” said UConn Director of Athletics David Benedict.  “We believe that Aspire’s model, which includes a dual emphasis on new sales and the retention of existing customers, will provide the necessary structure to attract new ticket buyers and grow our fan base while also providing outstanding service to our current supporters. It’s important that our games are played in front of packed houses from a financial standpoint, but also for the good of our coaches and student-athletes. Teams and athletes feed off the energy of a supportive home crowd, which can make the difference between a win and a loss.”

“As a native of Middletown, Connecticut, I fully appreciate how much the Huskies mean to the state and its proud residents,” said Aspire COO Bill Fagan. “We are honored to support UConn Athletics ticket sales and service now and for many years to come.”

The Aspire Group has promoted Tyler Shaker to Director of Ticket Sales and Service for the new partnership. He will be responsible for making sure the operation works cohesively with the athletic department in achieving their ticket sales & service goals. Shaker began his career with Aspire in 2012, and since has made an impact at multiple FRMC’s, most recent appointment as Manager of New Business at the University of Kansas.

Also, Aspire’s Christopher Mead has been promoted to Manager of Service & Retention for the UConn FRMC. For the past two years, Mead served as Team Leader of Service & Retention for Aspire’s Texas Longhorn FRMC where he implemented the first ever ‘Ticket Relocation and Upgrade Experience’ (T.R.U.E.), in college athletics.

CJ Wiatr, Aspire’s Regional VP of Fan Relationship Management, will serve as the liaison between Aspire and UConn. Wiatr has worked for two NFL teams, the Dallas Cowboys and Cleveland Browns, and currently oversees 12 of The Aspire Group’s FRMC properties, including the University of Maryland, University of Kansas, and Harvard University.

For inquiries or further questions, please contact A.J. Smith at aj.smith@theaspiregroupinc.com.

About University of Connecticut Athletics

The University of Connecticut Division of Athletics sponsors 24 intercollegiate sports that compete on the NCAA Division I FBS level. Husky teams have won 21 NCAA Championships in its history, including 16 since 2000. UConn has also played in six football bowl games since the program was elevated to the FBS level in the early 2000s. Husky teams compete in the American Athletic Conference and in Hockey East in the sports of men’s and women’s ice hockey and the Big East Conference in the sports of field hockey and women’ lacrosse. UConn student-athletes perform at a high level athletically, academically and in the community and proudly represent a world-class university that is ranked among the top 20 public research institutions in the country.

About The Aspire Group

The Aspire Group is a global sports and entertainment marketing firm that specializes in enhancing all revenue streams while building lifelong fans for our clients through superb fan engagement and service. The Aspire Group currently works with client partners in North America, Europe and Australia providing ongoing strategic business consulting and research; outsourced services; and implementation support in all facets of sports business and investment optimization. Aspire has become the global leader in outsourced revenue enhancement with more than 60 collegiate properties in the USA, and over 100 sports and entertainment properties world-wide who have trusted Aspire to drive revenue, attendance and enterprise value. In the last two years, The Aspire Group was ranked by Forbes as one of the “Top 10 Best Places To Work For In Sports”, and nominated twice by Sports Business Journal for a “Best In Property Consulting, Sales and Client Services” award. The company also received a 2016 “Sales and Marketing” Stadium Business Award for work in the United Kingdom. For more information, please visit www.theaspiregroupinc.com.