The University of Missouri athletic department is overhauling its donor system in order to keep the school financially competitive with other schools in the SEC.
Currently, the school has a Priority Points system for donors in which boosters are given separate point totals for football and men’s basketball and earn points based solely on gifts for seat premiums and parking.
Under the new system, a donor’s total annual contribution to the athletics department will be tallied in order to decide the donor’s annual level. The level determines rank for parking passes, requests for season tickets, and tickets for away, neutral site and postseason games.
The Missouri athletic department ranks near the bottom of SEC schools in private donations, raising $22 million in the 2013-2014 fiscal year. The athletic department hopes that the new program will move it closer to the middle of the pack in terms of how much the school raises compared to other SEC schools.
The department hopes that those who want better parking and better access to tickets will consider donating more to reach a higher donor level.
Missouri associate athletic director for advancement Tim Stedman said, "We're going to hear that it's all about money and I don't want to come across too strong here, but it is. Our competitors are not apologizing for that and our competitors are more aggressive in how they're going about securing funding. We need to do that, too."
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