In May 2006, Arizona State University attempted a new way to sell football, basketball and baseball season tickets with the ASU Sales Academy.
Since the start of the ASU Sales Academy, season ticket sales have been on the rise each year. The Sales Academy is a group of mostly students who work for the ASU Athletic Department.
According to Mike Boswell, Director of the Sales Academy, the daily expectation of a sales representative is to represent ASU professionally. They consider themselves Ambassadors for ASU. The representatives invite prospective customers to become part of the ASU family by becoming Sun Devil season ticket holders.
The Sales Academy's first day of making phone calls was May 15, 2006. The first week’s sales were very successful.
"We sold $37,000 worth of tickets in the first ten days of the Sales Academy's existence, which I thought was a really good start," Boswell said.
This program provides students with a paid job and hands on experience for a future job in sports. Previous employees have gone on to work for places like the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Colorado Rockies and Los Angeles Clippers.
"It's just the start, because more and more ASU students will earn positions in sports that will lead to long and successful careers," Boswell said.
?Currently, 17 sales representatives work in the academy. These representatives work different shifts throughout the week.
Second year sales representative Max Tidland works 17.5 hours a week and makes at least 40 or more sales calls a day.
"I enjoy this job because it deals with sports and it is good experience for my future career," Tidland said.
Both ASU ticket sales and team records have gone up in the past three years.
The football program is experiencing a ticket growth after finishing 10-3 last season and making a trip to the Holiday Bowl. Sun Devil Stadium brought in 175,000 more people that year than in 2007.
"Thanks to the great anticipation of Coach Erickson's second season at ASU, we sold 9,416 new season tickets," Boswell said.
According to Boswell’s records they sold over 3,000 more football season tickets this season than in 2008.
Men’s basketball brought in 30,000 more fans last year than in the 2006-2007 season. The Sales Academy sold 175 more season tickets that season as well.
According to ASU's official web site that tracks attendance, all ASU sports have experienced increases in attendance. Joe Jerde, another Sales Academy representative, said that this "absolutely" has to do with ASU sports teams improving each year.
Not only have the major sports experienced an increase in attendance numbers but ASU’s smaller sports have too.
Women's soccer, softball, and wrestling have all increased their average attendance rates in the past year.
Boswell said the Sales Academy will have a great impact on ASU Men’s and Women’s basketball this fall.
"It is always easier when you have a great product, but at the same time you must always be prepared to take advantage of the opportunity. With good training, and a hard working staff, we have been able to have a very positive impact on the number of fans that come to see the Sun Devils play," Boswell said.
