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Chris Walker

Chat With Associate Director of Athletics/Development Chris Walker Wednesday (Oct. 7) at 10 a.m. Pacific.

Cougar Chats presented by:

MartinStadium.org|Donate to the Martin Stadium Renovation Project|Premium Seating Interest Form

Moderator: Good morning Cougar fans and thank you for visiting WSUCougars.com and today's online chat with WSU Associate Director of Athletics/Development Chris Walker. Before we begin, you will notice links at the top of this page, which will direct you to Martinstadium.org, the official website of the stadium renovation, as well as links to donate to the project and premium seating information. Chris, thank you for joining us today.

Chris Walker: Great to be here today. I'm looking forward to interacting with Cougar Fans all over the nation.

Moderator: Okay, let's get to some questions.

Greg (Kennewick): It is great to hear about Phase III moving forward. We have heard about Phase IV (east endzone seating) in the future. Recently I heard that there was actually a phase 5. Could you explain what this phase is , and if there are more planned for the future?

Chris Walker: Greg, I really appreciate your question. Glad you are excited about Phase III moving forward. So are we. At this time, there are no formal plans for a Phase V of the Martin Stadium Renovation. We are in the process of putting together an Athletics Facility Master Plan as a part of the University Facility Master Plan. That would involve not only football facility upgrades but upgrades to facilities for other sport programs.

Pat spokane: Longtime fan and financially supporter here, only because all should be the latter. I will move to the club seat deal because I am a coug. Just wondering how soon is the wish list for the deck above the end zone and in my heart Phase III will be acquired by December. WSU has give me so much fun. Thanks

Chris Walker: Pat, I would echo Jim Sterk's comments in his chat a few weeks ago. Our focus right now is with Phase III, which will approximately double the amount of revenue that football ticket sales can generate currently. Once we complete Phase III we will begin to set a timeline and parameters on Phase IV. Love you big thinking though!

Jeremy (Moscow): What is the significance of the December 18 deadline that is out there for premium seating sales? Why so early when the project is set for opening no earlier than 2011?

Chris Walker: Thanks for the question Jeremy. The December 18 deadline is a very important component for our plan. Phase III will be completed by the 2012 season; however, to fast track it and have the renovation completed by 2011, we must receive 80 percent of the premium seating commitments by December 18 to begin construction in spring of 2010. This would meet our funding model. The benefit for our fans to make a commitment prior to December 18 is they will receive priority seating based on project criteria, in front of those who make commitments after the December 18 deadline. Jeremy, if you haven't made your commitment, please contact me at walkerc@wsu.edu or 509-335-8786. I look forward to hearing from you.

Todd (Seattle): How is the football team's performance the last season and a half affecting fundraising and the stadium renovation?

Chris Walker: Todd, the renovation of Phase III is a transformational project for WSU Athletics and the University, which will have great long-term benefits for us. The majority of Coug fans that I talk to understand that better days are ahead in the not too distant future for our football program. Our performance hasn't had much impact on Phase III, donations, and seat commitments. As for annual fundraising, our season ticket numbers fell slightly this year, but I believe that is a result of the economic downturn more so than our 2008 football season. Our most recent survey of our fellow Pac-10 members showed that only two met or exceeded their football season ticket numbers from the 2008 season. That seemed to be the trend nationally as well. The loss of season ticket holders does impact our annual scholarship fundraising because, as many of you know, many sections in Martin Stadium have a Priority Seat Requirement (PSR) tied to a season ticket purchase. That PSR money is earmarked directly to student-athlete scholarships.

Steve (Selah): It seems like WSU is focused on people who can make large gifts and not those who are willing to donate, but in smaller amounts. What are you doing to try to expand your donor base?

Chris Walker: Thank you for your question Steve. The Athletic Foundation fundraising team focuses on three types of gifts: A major gift (minimum of $25,000 payable over 3-5 years for capital projects and scholarship endowments); an estate gift (where we ask donors to consider leaving WSU in their estate intentions); and, last but certainly not least, an annual gift earmarked for student-athlete scholarships. Right now, our fundraising priorities are annual scholarships and MSR Phase III. Annual scholarships and our annual scholarships donors are the lifeblood of our program. Last year, we raised $3 million for annual scholarships and our scholarship bill was just over $6 million. With the cost of tuition increasing by 14 percent our scholarship bill is projected to be over $7 million this fiscal year. We have got to find a way to narrow the gap between scholarship dollars raised and our scholarship costs. One thing that we are implementing this fiscal year is a grass-roots campaign where we will enlist help from Cougar Club volunteers around the state of Washington. They will serve as volunteer fundraisers to solicit support from Cougs who have not been involved to make those $100 to $1,000 annual scholarship gifts. I can't stress enough how important it is for all Cougs to participate in our annual scholarship giving program. These are funds that we need to operate on an annual basis. It doesn't matter the amount, just that you participate. As a part of our grass roots campaign you will soon be hearing about goals that we are putting in place. Last year, we had 5,919 Athletic Foundation members. We are attempting to increase that number substantially.

Scott (Spangle): It looks like you have restructured the Athletic Foundation, can you speak to this? How does Annual Gifts/Tickets feed into Major Gifts? Lastly, will you be adding fundraisers given the need for private support?

Chris Walker: Scott, I really appreciate your question. We have restructured our staff to more accurately reflect our priorities. Dan Meyer, who previously served as our Director of Ticket Sales, has moved over from the Ticket Office into the new role of Assistant Athletic Director for Annual Giving and Tickets. As I mentioned previously in the chat, annual giving to scholarships is the foundation of our program and incredibly important part of our financial make-up. Dan's day-to-day focus will be on expanding our donor base and increasing annual scholarship dollars raised. We love to add staff, but given the economic climate right now, that is not feasible. That is part of the reason why we are enlisting volunteers to assist in our fundraising efforts.

John (Pe Ell): Do you expect a majority of the club seat holders to be current season ticket holders? If so, how do you plan on backfilling those seats?

Chris Walker: Very good question John. Thank you for participating in the chat. Prior to the decision to renovate Martin Stadium, WSU Athletics conducted a market survey that concluded that approximately 40 percent of premium seating customers would be new season ticket holders. What has been encouraging to me in the first two weeks since our public announcement is that a great majority of inquiries about premium seating have come from Cougs with a limited ticket purchasing and philanthropic giving history to the University. We have already received commitments from current season ticket holders, many of whom want to keep their tickets inside the Martin Stadium bowl. We know that there will be some seats to fill in the bowl and we will work diligently to do that. As I mentioned earlier purchasing season tickets in priority seating sections is a great way to support the Cougs annually. It makes a great impact on our financial bottom line.

Michelle (Loveland): Do you believe there is much interest from people who are outside of the area? As an out-of-state Coug, I am interested in helping the effort, but the seat portion of the deal is not relevant to me at the moment. Are there other ways to give and receive some recognition? (Name on plaque, brick, etc.) Good luck with the effort!

Chris Walker: Michelle, great question. We certainly appreciate your interest in the project. We have received support for MSR from people outside the state of Washington. If premium seating options aren't of interest to you, a tax-deductible philanthropic gift can have a great impact on the project. We will publically recognize all donors who make a minimum commitment of $5,000 to the project. Additionally, we have had discussions of the brick program for donors below the $5,000 level, but that would be a program initiated at a later date when we are further along with the renovation. If you have been to Martin Stadium this fall, you may have seen the medallions on the fences on the north and east sides of the stadium. Those are recognizing donors to the project at the $50,000 level and above. There will be more going up later in the season. If you are interested in making a commitment to the project please let me know (walkerc@wsu.edu or 509-335-8786).

Moderator: Okay, that's all the time we have. Chris, thank you for joining us today.

Chris Walker: Thank you for having me. I appreciate all of the questions and everybody's interest in Cougar Athletics. Thanks to all who have supported the Cougars with donations and I encourage all who have not to please do so. Go Cougs!

Moderator: Thank you to everyone for your questions. Remember, to get all the information about WSU Athletics, go no further than wsucougars.com, the official website of Cougar Athletics, and for the stadium renovation, martinstadium.org.