Hokie ClubNOTE: This email was sent to 2020 football season ticket holders on Friday, Aug. 21.
Hello Hokies,
As of Thursday, Aug. 20, we have received 1,210 responses from Hokie football season ticket holders as part of the initial launch of the Keep Jumping campaign. Our team is humbled and grateful to report that 231 of those accounts have elected to keep their ticket and donation contribution in 2020.
Additionally, 710 accounts have chosen to credit their accounts to 2021, and of that group 49% (348 accounts) have opted to keep their donation in the current year while crediting their ticket purchase for future games.
Your collective generosity is inspiring, and we thank you for your contributions on behalf of Virginia Tech student-athletes, coaches, and staff.
In case you do not have time to read all of the information below, please know that our plans are a continuing work in progress and we will update you as more information becomes available.
To summarize the information, here are a few key points.
- Virginia Tech Athletics is working through the financial challenges associated with COVID-19 and we have included a high level budget review below.
- Current capacity for the home opener, per the guidelines set forth by the governing bodies of the Commonwealth of Virginia, is 1,000.
- Any tickets available to fans will be through a single game ticket process which will be mobilized the week of August 31.
- The basketball seat selection process will be deferred to the 2021-22 season in light of the expected restrictions on capacity. Due to the addition of the maroon seats in Cassell, all basketball games will also be sold as single game tickets.
- The deadline for your decision regarding the Keep Jumping campaign and the 5x Priority Points multiplier is August 28 so that we can be prepared for the week of August 31 and the ticket opportunities that may be available.
If you have not submitted your decision, please click here. If you have done so already, your submission has been recorded.
To level set in regards to the options identified on Monday through the Keep Jumping campaign launch, season ticket holders and donors have the following options:
- Convert their purchase into a donation and receive 5x the normal number of Hokie Scholarship Fund Priority Points.
- Move their ticket and/or per-seat contribution to a credit on their account for future ticket purchases/per-seat requirements.
- Request a refund if they simply need it back.
We have heard from many of you with questions, suggestions, and requests (all of which we appreciate). It is our responsibility to prepare the meal and it is your responsibility to join us for the feast - and your feedback helps us to determine how we continue to provide important updates (and explain the menu, to continue the metaphor). Some of the questions being asked are very specific to individual accounts and a specific donor's history - for those questions, we continue to ask you to call, text, or email our team, and we will work with you to find the correct solution.
Now, for the main course. Full disclosure - for maximum transparency, this note will be lengthy as we attempt to shed some light on pieces of this process and how it impacts the future. However, it will not be exhaustive because, simply, it cannot be right now. There is still much to work through, and this is a continued effort to explain each part of the solution at a macro level.
Potential Budget Impact
Some of you have asked about the potential financial impact referenced earlier this week. All revenue generated from the Department of Athletics is used to support our student-athletes and provide the necessary funding for our operating budget. In an effort to provide some context and a high level overview, it is important to view the revenue line items as approximate values:
- $30m in ACC distribution (includes tv rights, etc.)
- $30m in fundraising efforts (includes Hokie Scholarship Fund, sport-specific funding, capital projects, etc.)
- $20m in ticket sales (includes Football, Men's Basketball, Women's Basketball, and Baseball)
- $10m in sponsorships (generous corporate partners)
- $10m in other combined revenue sources (many pockets combine to make up this amount)
As we outlined previously, it is evident that at least four of those primary income sources will be dramatically impacted due to the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic - and this is exactly why we are asking you to commit to the Keep Jumping campaign. We've said it before and will say it again - we appreciate you and we thank you for your support.
Consecutive Years of Giving to the Hokie Club/Hokie Scholarship Fund
In an effort to clean up some confusion regarding the Priority Points for consecutive years of giving to the Hokie Club, we will use an example.
If Joe HokieFan donated $1,000 to the HSF, had four tickets in the $250 per-seat contribution area, and requested a refund of his full commitment to the HSF, Joe HokieFan would lose the consecutive years of giving points as his total investment would be eliminated. However, if Joe HokieFan kept some of his contribution intact, he would not lose these points. Similarly, if Susan HokieFan donated $2,750 to the Hokie Scholarship Fund and had four seats in a $250 per-seat contribution area, Susan HokieFan would not lose consecutive years of giving points because only the difference (in this case, $1,000) is part of this decision as the $1,750 is already committed to the HSF.
Capacity for Football Games in Lane Stadium
At the time of sending this letter, the guidelines provided by the Commonwealth of Virginia allow for a maximum of 1,000 people to attend an outdoor event, including Lane Stadium. Health officials and government agencies have been working collaboratively with our leadership team here in an effort to understand what is and, as importantly, what is not possible for our first home game against NC State on September 12.
We are working to exhaust all options to provide a safe and healthy environment for our fans in Lane Stadium. As we work to do that, we will announce the planned capacity the week of August 31 for NC State. As we discussed above, that current capacity is 1,000. If that were to remain in place, we would only be able to provide admission to the families of our student-athletes, the coaches, and the visiting team. It is important to note that these restrictions are fluid and constantly evolving. Our policies will evolve along with the situation.
Football Ticket Process
Being candid, the question of how we are going to pull this off has been a challenge for all of college athletics. We have evaluated a variety of models and contingency plans that would allow us to provide an opportunity for fans to enjoy a game inside Lane Stadium.
Please allow me to start at the beginning and provide the current plan. Additional details for this plan will be provided the week of August 31 once we have a final decision on the allowable capacity for the first home game. However, these details will show the thought process behind our plan.
There will be no season tickets in 2020. Instead, all tickets will be sold as single game tickets and delivered by mobile or print-at-home delivery. This solution gives our team the most flexibility as the restrictions on attendance could change throughout the season. For example, if we make a decision for September 12 for the entire year and the guidance changes in October, we now have the ability to evolve our plan to include the restriction adjustments. The uncertainty from week to week provides challenges for normal operating practice, such as season tickets.
What does this mean for you? In summary, it means that approximately 10-14 days before each home game, we will be able to announce the capacity for the upcoming game, and we will work through a ticket request process (similar to a bowl game) for each game.
Due to social distancing requirements, it will be highly unlikely that fans will have the ability to choose their seat locations but will be assigned them based upon priority point rankings and order groupings. Fans will have the ability to request the number of tickets they want (pending limits) to the game during a "pre-order window," and then we will determine priority point cutoffs and allocate seats accordingly. Fans who select to donate their money either through the Keep Jumping campaign or by keeping their investment with us as a credit for seats or per-seat donation next year will receive priority access to these games. After those requests have been filled, any remaining inventory will be made available to all other Hokie Club members.
What does this mean for parking? Truthfully, it means we are still solving that one. The restrictions in that space change often and we are working within a framework to provide the best experience possible. More than likely, parking passes will be sold on a single game basis in conjunction with the tickets so that fans have tickets and parking for the games they can attend rather than a mixture of both.
We hope you can see why this solution provides the most flexibility for all of you and is why we continue to work through the various scenarios. We will work to provide an opportunity for as many as possible to see the Hokies in Lane Stadium this fall. While we cannot guarantee that everyone will have that opportunity, we will do our very best.
Basketball Seat Selection
We will not be selling basketball season tickets, nor completing the scheduled reseating for 2020. These two decisions go hand in hand. Due to current capacity restrictions and forthcoming decisions by the NCAA regarding practice schedules and the effect on game schedules, we cannot, with any degree of certainty, offer a season ticket package.
Additionally, we recently replaced the remaining wooden seats in Cassell Coliseum with new maroon seats. This changed the capacity and, as a result, it would be impossible to simply allow 2019 season ticket holders to renew into the Coliseum for 2020. Consequently, for the 2020-21 basketball season, any available inventory, based on capacity limitations, will be made available through a single game process similar to the process above for football. This will allow us to be fluid as the situation changes. The exact details will be released once we know more about the capacity limitations, likely in mid-October.
We will be moving the reseating of Cassell Coliseum to the 2021-22 season. It is impossible at this point to put a timetable on renewals and seat selections for this process, but we will communicate it well in advance.
This is important because the basketball reseating process will be based on your priority point ranking and current Hokie Club status as of MARCH 31, 2021. For those participating in the Keep Jumping campaign, the impact of your bonus priority points will be reflected in this process as a result. We anticipate executing the basketball reseating process in Spring 2021, yet that is subject to change depending on timelines and health issues outside of our control.
Ultimately, there are still many details to be worked out for the basketball season, and we will provide updates as soon as we are able.
Why is August 28 the Deadline for the Keep Jumping Campaign for Season Ticket Holders?
There are complex answers to this question but we'll cut to the chase - it is simply because we need to know where you stand and who fits into the donation/credit category before we, if possible, open up seats for single game ticket sales for the September 12th game. If the first game was September 19 or September 26, we would have slightly more time - but two weeks was all we could work with in order to still deliver on what we have promised to all of you. For this reason, we ask you to submit your decision HERE as soon as possible. We appreciate your understanding as we work through the many complexities in this process.
Thank You.
Your messages of encouragement, willingness to participate, and financial commitments are appreciated and valued. Hokie Nation is a powerful force and its power is on full display right now. Our team is working hard on these complex problems and are ready to answer any questions you may have, so please connect with us if you need any additional clarity.
We are committed to being as transparent as we possibly can during this process and while that does not mean we will be perfect, we will do everything possible to make the best of this situation with our student-athletes and all of you at the center of our decision making process. Your commitment impacts every one of our student-athletes, coaches, and staff - and we are so appreciative of your response. We cannot do this without you.
Keep Jumping.
Go Hokies!
Brad Wurthman
Senior Associate Athletics Director, External Operations