Oct. 16, 2014
DeKALB, Ill. - Northern Illinois University Athletics has announced a partnership with IMG Learfield Ticket Solutions (IMGLTS), the leader in professional outbound ticket sales, NIU Associate Vice-President and Director of Athletics Sean T. Frazier announced Thursday.
Under the multi-year agreement, IMG Learfield Ticket Solutions will sell NIU football, men's and women's basketball, and volleyball tickets. Their onsite office will be managed by Johnathan Jick, who was one of IMGLTS' top performers in his time with the company at Northern Iowa. They will work in conjunction with NIU's existing ticket staff to help sell any open inventory and increase attendance at all venues.
"This is another piece to the puzzle in making NIU Athletics better," Frazier said. "We have a great product to sell, and by bringing IMG Learfield Ticket Solutions into the mix we will be able to maximize the use of our ticket inventory and provide a great gameday atmosphere for our fans and student-athletes. I am confident we will get this done. I credit Associate Athletic Director Ryan Sedevie's effort to have a collaborative ticket sales department. We are excited to partner with an industry leader like IMG Learfield Ticket Solutions to make our goals a reality."
"NIU has enjoyed recent success in football with four straight 11-plus win seasons, and we'll be capitalizing on that excitement to match the team's on-field success with increased ticket sales," said Russ Dean, Director of Partner Management for IMG Learfield Ticket Solutions. "Additionally, following the direction of Sean Frazier, we are eager to help grow the Huskie fan base while providing great customer service."
NIU is represented by Learfield Sports in multimedia rights and by IMG in seating.
IMG Learfield Ticket Solutions has been very successful selling tickets for its 32 university partners. Comparing the same properties from 2013 to 2014, season ticket revenue managed by IMGLTS increased 24 percent. Year-over-year, same property ticket sales increased more than $2 million. Overall, the company renewed 89 percent of all season tickets it was involved in selling.
Initially launched in January, 2011 as IMG College Ticket Solutions, and strengthened by a merger in April 2012, IMG Learfield Ticket Solutions provides schools a professional sales force to increase ticket sales. Either working from within the athletic department or from the national sales center in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, this privatized tickets solution is designed to increase attendance and revenues generated from athletic events as well as choice and convenience when fans purchase tickets.
Current partners include: Air Force, University of Akron, University of Arkansas, Auburn University, University of Colorado, Boston College, the Charlotte 49ers, Duke University, University of Florida, Georgia State University, North Carolina State University, University of Oklahoma, Penn State University, University of Richmond, University of New Mexico, University of Nevada-Las Vegas, Northern Illinois University, Northern Iowa University, University of Pittsburgh, University of South Carolina, University of South Florida, Southern Illinois University, University of Southern Mississippi, Temple University, University of Tennessee, University of Texas-San Antonio, University of Texas at El Paso, University of Tulsa, Utah State University, Virginia Tech and University of Wyoming.
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