Oregon State University AD Report: Expanding Beaver Nation

At 19-8, Oregon State had the second-best record in the Pac-10 during the past two seasons.

OSU athletic director Bob De Carolis Photo courtesy: OSU Athletics

CORVALLIS, Ore. - It’s hard to believe that football’s Spring Game and FeverFest is a week away.

A full slate of activities is planned and Reser Stadium’s Club Level, arguably one of college football’s best luxury venues, will be open for all fans to watch the game and experience the view and amenities. No doubt the Spring Game and FeverFest will be a great way to continue the momentum from last year’s exciting season and Emerald Bowl victory.

With the exciting 2008 football schedule locked down, our recruiting class signed, and spring practices nearly finished, it’s time for Beaver Nation to renew, upgrade and sign on as new season ticket holders. A perennial bowl contender, Beaver football has been nationally ranked in the Top 25 the last two years and finished the last two seasons at No. 3 in the Pac-10.

Our football program’s improvement and success these past several years has been profound and notable:

1. At 19-8, we have the second-best record in the Pac-10 during the past two seasons. USC is 22-4.

2. Our four-game active bowl win streak is the longest in the nation. Only Boston College and Utah have longer marks.

3. At 4-0, Coach Riley has never lost a bowl game at OSU.

Right now I’m on the recruiting trail, working to expand Beaver Nation by selling and upgrading more season tickets. As our major revenue sport, football ticket sales allow us to provide the needed resources and services to all of our 500 student-athletes so they can compete in the toughest conference in America while securing an excellent education at OSU.

Next season’s football schedule is a true blockbuster with 8 of the 12 games against 2007 bowl participants. Fans won’t want to miss our six-game home schedule, which kicks off with the University of Hawaii and puts a 24-game non-conference home win streak on the line.

We’ll also host USC, WSU, ASU, the return of Dennis Erickson, Cal and Oregon at home. Every game will have high stakes and offer fans great match-ups and competitive contests.

It’s not too late for Beaver Nation to upgrade season tickets and become new season ticket holders. We know there are a lot of relatively new season ticket holders who bought into the program in our end-zone seating. We still have seats available in the Club level, one of the best venues in the conference to experience Pac-10 football.

Yes, upgrading your tickets will require a significant donation. But donations to the BASF buy so much more than seats and parking spaces. They’re a direct investment in our student-athletes and their educations. From tuition and books to housing and study halls, your contributions enable so many forms of support for our student-athletes.

We’ve seen a rise in football season ticket sales the past nine years from 7,500 in 1998 to 23,700 in 2007. As the program has improved this past decade, our fans have responded. But we need to keep that momentum going. To say this is an exciting time is almost an understatement. It’s an historic time for Beaver football. You won’t want to miss out on more good things to come.

Become a season ticket holder if you aren’t one already, upgrade your tickets, or help recruit some of your friends, neighbors and co-workers to Beaver Nation. Seating charts, pricing, and donor levels all are available 24/7 on osubeavers.com. All BASF donations must be paid in full by June 30. We’ll have a BASF booth at the Spring Game so representatives can answer any of your questions or take payments.

We’re also happy to give you a tour of the stadium any time and show you season ticket and upgrade possibilities. Just call or visit the BASF office in Portland at 503-553-3402. In Corvallis, call Roz Burch in the BASF office at 541-737-2370 to make arrangements that work best for you. Bring someone along who may be interested in becoming a season ticket holder as well. Our great group of ticket representatives are available from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays at 1-800-GO BEAVS. They can walk you through all the ticket options, available seating and answer your questions.

Finally, I would like to thank all of the Beaver fans who already are season ticket holders and contributors to the program. I cannot emphasize enough how much your support means to our student-athletes and their futures. Any help our fans can give to expand Beaver Nation is truly appreciated.

Although football is one of our marquee sports, we’ve had success across the board this year. Congratulations to our softball team and all sports for bringing the Dodge Civil War Series back to OSU this year. We’ve won three of the last four annual contests with our friendly foes down the road in Eugene.

Swimmer Saori Haruguchi won an NCAA championship and will represent Japan in the Olympics. Our gymnastics team is a top tier program and competed for a national championship this week. Women’s crew just beat No 8 Washington. And finally, our young baseball squad won its first series ever at No. 2 Arizona State last weekend and continues to improve and impress. The team’s potential and its future are limitless. On the academic front, half of our student-athletes carry a 3.0 GPA.

Before I close, I also want to thank all of you who have signed up for our Rally The Legend campaign. This effort showed Coach Craig Robinson that Beaver Nation’s faithful are ready to support the basketball program and want a winner. It’s still not too late to sign up, and we welcome everyone to join the effort. I’m optimistic about Coach Robinson and the future of men’s basketball. With this amazing person on board, I see nothing but positive strides for our legendary program in the future. I’ll have more on Coach Robinson in our next AD Report.

For now, let’s all work together to expand Beaver Nation. See you at the Spring Game and FeverFest on May 3. Go Beavs!

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