FAYETTEVILLE — Razorback Seat Value Plan, a University of Arkansas fundraising drive, raised more than $6.5 million for the school’s athletic programs, according to a release Monday.
The 18-month program was the first step in the “Answer the Call” fundraising initiative launched by the athletic department’s private fundraising arm – The Razorback Foundation, Inc. – last August to grow the athletic department’s annual budget over a 10-year span.
As part of R.S.V.P., a seating equity plan that rewards priority seating at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium based on donations to the athletics department, the foundation grew by 2,687 members in the last year.
With the increase in membership, the foundation will bring in more than $18 million annually, according to the release.
“While most programs see a substantial drop in their number of donors when implementing similar plans, the Razorback Foundation saw a significant increase in its overall membership during R.S.V.P.,” UA athletics director Jeff Long said in a release. “To our knowledge, the addition of more than 2,680 new members was the largest membership growth of any program in the country that did not expand their stadium as part of the process.
“We are grateful for the many supporters who stepped up and helped us meet the challenge. ”
The increase in donors has helped move the athletic department's annual budget to an estimated $69 million in the current fiscal year, up from the $57.9 million spent on athletics in 2008-09.
The fundraising drive will keep the university from charging its more than 23,000 students an athletic fee to attend games, UA chancellor David Gearhart said in an interview with the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette earlier this month.
“We’d like to be able to keep athletics completely and totally self-supportive,” Gearhart said. “That’s why this Answer the Call ticket package is important, to produce more revenue where we don’t have to put a charge on our students.
“The fact that we don’t have to put any revenue into athletics – and there aren’t many institutions like that left – and the fact we don’t charge a student athletic fee, is a real testament to the legacy of the Razorbacks.”
Gearhart said giving to the university’s academic programs had also grown substantially, with more than $100 million in donations expected this year.