#BuildingChampions Wednesday: Campaign Focus
By David Villavicencio
HurricaneSports.com
This week’s edition of #BuildingChampions Wednesday focuses on the #BuildingChampions campaign, but throughout the summer, HurricaneSports.com will look at what it took to build past Hurricane champions. One of the central focuses of our #BuildingChampions Wednesdays will be the 1983 football national championship team that will celebrate their 30th anniversary this year.
The University of Miami is building champions on and off the field.
The top-rated academic institution in the State of Florida according to US News & World Report, Miami is known as much for its academic success as its stellar athletic history.
But success on and off the field is not possible without support through a myriad of avenues. Coaches and academic advisors help the student-athletes at the University of Miami excel in their respective sports, as well as in the classroom.
Fan support goes a long way towards helping make the University of Miami’s athletic programs great, but that goes beyond wearing orange and green and attending games.
Miami Associate AD of Development Jesse Marks and his team at the Hurricane Club designed the #BuildingChampions campaign to grow the Hurricane Club membership base and expand its national reach.
“When we conceptualized this campaign, we wanted something comprehensive,” Marks said. “Something that our fans, donors, and our alums could relate to. We had tremendous success over the past 25, 30 years in creating a championship legacy. Over the past 10 years, we haven’t had that type of success. We need to get back to that point.”
A two-time graduate of the University of Miami, Marks is confident the #BuildingChampions campaign will go a long way towards getting Miami back to the pinnacle of collegiate athletics.
“Our fans resonate with championships. They want to be part of something. #BuildingChampions is a way for them to realize that we’re not going to settle for mediocrity. We’re going to be building champions consistently across all of our programs. This is a comprehensive campaign, championships is our culture and our fans want to win on the field and off, it is symbolic of what we need to do and get back to.”
One thing that has made the #BuildingChampions campaign so successful is its appeal to all who resonate with “The U” Whether you are a donor making a major gift or a fan supporting the Athletic Department with a smaller gift, the #BuildingChampions campaign allows all supporters of Miami athletics to participate.
“Not everyone can give a $5 million or $500,000 or $50,000 gift to name a building or a room in the new Schwartz Center,” Marks said. “We need power in numbers. We have a national brand and we need something to get out there and reach everybody regardless of whether they’re in California or in our backyard in Miami. #Buildingchampions is about creating levels and participation opportunities that everybody can be comfortable with.”
Beyond #BuildingChampions, Marks says people can help support the Canes through the “It Starts With U” campaign.
As part of the #BuildingChampions campaign, Marks and the Hurricane Club have been on their Spring Tour across the country. The Hurricane Club has hosted events throughout Florida, as well as in Chicago and New York, bringing some of the biggest Miami fans in the country together to help raise money for The U.
“We’re a national brand,” Marks said. “When you start getting up to New York and Chicago and seeing the amount of people resonating with The U – both alums and non-alums – the outpour of support is tremendous. We’re capturing a lot of new members in those areas and trying to get them to refer us new members, as well.”
While Marks and his team are the ones implementing the plan behind #BuildingChampions, the direction of Director of Athletics Blake James has helped formulate the successful campaign. Along with working with James, Marks and his team partnered with Pursuant Sports to help take the #BuildiingChampions concept and make it a reality. The partnership has been excellent as the #BuildingChampions campaign was selected as a Bronze winner at the 34th Annual Telly Awards.
“Pursuant Sports is a great company that is able to capture our thoughts,” Marks said. “We came up with an overall concept of what we wanted to do and Pursuant was able to put that into a great presentation for us. We were able to see the star-studded, award-winning video with Michael Irvin, Jimmy Johnson, Coach L and Coach Morris and really ignite people on what it takes to win a championship. It takes a team, hard work, perseverance, commitment, and also takes YOU – YOU as the donor – to help support the program.”
While Marks and his team are already preparing for the next step in the #BuildingChampions campaign, they are pleased with how the first stage of the campaign has progressed.
“We started off with 5,300 members in 2012 and we want to get to 7,500 in three years,” Marks said. “We are well on our way and to do that we need to retain our current members, as well as attracting new supporters to the program. We started a multiyear campaign that truly touches all of our fans in one way or another and encourages getting involved with the Hurricane Club at any level.”
To help build champions and join the Hurricane Club, visit UMbuildingchampions.com. Follow Associate AD Jesse Marks on Twitter, @jessehmarks, for all the latest Hurricane Club updates.
