On the latest episode of JohnWallStreet Presents: Big Business on Campus, a college sports podcast powered by Playfly Sports, JohnWallStreet Founder Corey Leff and Playfly Sports Chairman Michael Schreiber sit down with Syracuse University Director of Athletics Bryan Blair. 

In this 40-minute conversation, the trio discuss:

Treating Fundraising as a Math Equation

Funding necessary venue upgrades, roster improvements and competitive coaching salaries will require Syracuse to first build out its philanthropic operation. 

“The secret sauce of fundraising is not [having] the flashiest suit, it is not [being] the smoothest talker. It's activity. And you [increase activity levels] one, by increasing bodies, [and] two, [by keeping] a focus on the [outreach]. ...Then it turns into a math equation. I need to raise this much, so that means I need to ask this many times of this many people with this much capacity,” Blair said. “It takes a little bit of expense to [grow]. Sometimes people don't want to hear that, and in college athletics, we sometimes try to cut our way to prosperity. You can't do that and make the jumps that we need to make. So [we’re going] to invest. [We’ve] got to be willing to take some risks and know that [we’ve] pre-given the right amount of rigor to [fundraising to] make those dreams come true.”

Central New York’s Renaissance Creating a Premium Growth Opportunity for SU

Premium seating remains one of Syracuse University’s largest untapped commercial opportunities. Just 3%-4% of the Dome’s seats are currently tied to a suite or club experience. However, the region’s anticipated population growth and expanding business base would seemingly support increasing that share to 15%-20%.

“This market just got the largest investment in the United States from Micron [Technology], $100 billion [to construct] semiconductor facilities. There's a waterfall of businesses moving to Central New York and we plan on having 100,000-150,000 more people in our population over the next five to 10 years. [There is] a massive renaissance [underway here]. Some are comparing it to the Erie Canal in terms of what it'll mean for this region,” Blair said. “So, [we’re trying to think about] how do we not only build a department that can be successful now, but skate to where the puck is going. How do we build a department [for 2030 or 2035] when there's [going to be] a much more affluent population [and] there's more business [in] the area? How do we make this a place where they want to live, work, and play to that degree?” 

Youth Sports Being a Revenue Stream, NIL Vehicle and Fan Pipeline

Blair launched the first youth sports league operated by a Division I athletic department during his time at Toledo. He sees an opportunity to replicate that model at Syracuse.

“Getting youth onto our campus and turning them into Toledo Rockets fans from an early age benefited our entire [University]. Toledo had some enrollment challenges, [and] we had lots of space in terms of fields and facilities that were not being used 365. We [also] had student athletes that [sought] NIL [income] and were willing to lean in and be coaches or assistant coaches or refs. So, you combine all of that and [we realized there was an opportunity to do well by doing good],” Blair said. “But there [was also] a clear revenue component [to the initiative]. At Toledo, [youth sports became] a clear six-figure revenue driver [for us], which [still] had significant upside because we hadn't even [gotten around] to thinking about concessions and parking. We [also just started] pulling the data from registrants and the plan was to [eventually] feed that into the [ticketing funnel] in terms of giving participants free tickets, [while] mom, dad, [siblings], whoever [paid] to come to our games. There's just a [different] way to think about youth sports. [We’re going to] lean into [it here because] there's a lot of money in the ecosystem. There's a lot of brand equity in that ecosystem, and it's not a terribly heavy lift.”

📺 Watch the full video on JohnWallStreet’s YouTube Page. 
🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Previous episodes of BBOC, including sit-downs with Big East Commissioner Val Ackerman, Arizona AD Desiree Reed-Francois, Maryland AD Jim Smith, American Commissioner Tim Pernetti, Pittsburgh AD Allen Greene, Wake Forest AD John Currie, Kansas AD Travis Goff, Ivy League Executive Director Robin Harris, Big Sky Conference Commissioner Tom Wistrcill, SMU AD Damon Evans, Ohio State AD Ross Bjork, West Virginia President Michael Benson, Weatherford Capital Founding Partner Drew Weatherford, IMG Academy CEO Brent Richard and USA Fencing CEO Phil Andrews on the Enrollment Cliff, Mountain West Commissioner Gloria Nevarez, Pac-12 Commissioner Teresa Gould, St. John’s AD Ed Kull, Army AD Tom Theodorakis, Alabama AD Greg Byrne, Clemson AD Graham Neff, Rutgers University Director of Athletics Keli Zinn and Scarlet Knight Enterprises Chairman Oliver Luck, DePaul University AD DeWayne Peevy, East Carolina University AD Jon Gilbert, University of Utah AD Mark Harlan and Crimson Brand Partners CEO Matt Webb, Georgia Tech AD Ryan Alpert and Executive Deputy AD Brent Jones, Big 12 Conference Commissioner Brett Yormark, and Northwestern University Combe Family Vice President for Athletics and Recreation Mark Jackson can be found on JohnWallStreet’s YouTube channel. 

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On the latest episode of JaneWallStreet Presents: At The Table, a biweekly podcast exploring the intersection of sports, media, and finance through the lens of (mostly) female decision-makers, JaneWallStreet Executive Chair Deirdre Lester sits down with Premier Lacrosse League Co-Founder, President and Chief Creative Officer Paul Rabil.

The two surface and discuss a range of actionable insights, including how challenger leagues can use their first media deal to build a case for the next one, why they should build an investor base that brings more than capital, and why pro leagues are best positioned to rebuild recreational sports.

📺 Watch the full episode on JohnWallStreet’s YouTube page.
🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Don’t forget to like and subscribe!