As the athletic director for a football division house, I would recommend that the athletic department outsources its ticket operations for several reasons. First, many college institutions do not have staff members who have experience and expertise in sales and marketing. Most staff members in educational institutions and athletic departments have skills in educational matters and coaching ( Masteralexis, Barr, & Hums, 2011) . Most staff members are order-takers and not salespeople. For this reason, therefore, I would recommend the department to hire consulting services for ticket sales because external agencies such as Aspire have staff members who have specific training and expertise in sales. Such firms know how to develop databases, how to initiate calls, and how to develop outbound e-marketing services. Outsourcing ticket sales services to such companies will ensure that the consulting companies employ adequate sales skills to ensure they reap maximum rewards from ticket sales ( Masteralexis, Barr, & Hums, 2011) . More tickets sold will mean more revenues for both the consulting companies and the college, thus a win-win situation for both.
Secondly, I would recommend outsourcing ticketing services because of the level of competition that currently exists in college athletics ticket sales. More and more colleges and universities are outsourcing ticket services to get more sales. Consulting companies have practical online knowledge on how to get to audiences ( Eichelberger, 2011) . They also have expertise in forecasting future trends to boost future sales. Because of this expertise, more colleges that are outsourcing their ticketing services are attracting more fans to watch their games ( Eichelberger, 2011) . Earning a competitive advantage would be among the primary reasons why I would recommend outsourcing ticketing services.
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Another reason why I would recommend outsourcing ticketing services is that external consulting firms usually have vested interests in an organization that they are affiliated with. Thus, they develop a sense of ownership. During outsourcing, the college athletic department typically sits down to outline precisely what they want from the firm ( Zullo, Burden, & Li, 2014) . Because of the sense of ownership, most outsourced firms will also offer to streamline other operations, or they may provide additional resources that might not have otherwise existed. Consulting firms also have multiple avenues that they can use to advertise on behalf of the athletic department ( Masteralexis, Barr, & Hums, 2011) . For example, a consulting firm may have affiliations with radio or television companies and may add sales efforts through these channels. Such moves would require extra effort and money from in-house sales teams. Outsourced firms also have a higher likelihood of producing quality advertisements and simplify other production efforts.
Lastly, I would recommend outsourcing services for creating strategic alliances with the consulting firms. Strategic alliances mostly provide firms with an opportunity to reposition themselves within the market. Consulting firms have better sales and marketing infrastructure networks that will give the athletic departments access to a wide range of markets, technologies, ideas, and information that would otherwise be beyond their reach ( Zullo, Burden, & Li, 2014) . It is often challenging for athletic departments to possess all the information, resources, and infrastructure to meet new opportunities and deal with new challenges. Formation of a strategic alliance through ticket outsourcing can be extremely beneficial in providing lacking resources.
References
Eichelberger, C. (2011). College Athletics Seek Bigger Profits Outsourcing NCAA Ticket Operations . The Aspire Group, Inc. Retrieved from https://www.theaspiregroupinc.com/college-athletics-seek-bigger-profits-outsourcing-ncaa-ticket-operations/
Masteralexis, L., Barr, C., & Hums, M. (Eds.). (2011). Principles and practice of sport management . Jones & Bartlett Publishers.
Zullo, R., Burden, W., & Li, M. (2014). Outsourced marketing in NCAA Division I institutions: the companies' perspective. The Sport Journal , 17 . Retrieved from http://thesportjournal.org/article/outsourced-marketing-in-ncaa-division-i-institutions-the-companies-perspective/
