The Eastern New Mexico athletic department has recently announced record private/enterprise sources of funds in each of the past two fiscal years.
Along with the on-field success that has swept across the Eastern New Mexico athletics program, the total cash produced by all sports as well as the central office of athletics have seen record production over the last two fiscal years. The funds which are produced through donations, fundraising, camps and the involvement of Greyhound Club reported in at $510,208 in fiscal year 2017.
The next highest amount that was recorded by the athletics department in the last 10 years was $336,358 in fiscal year 2013.
“This recent increase is due to several factors, but most of all due to our generous donors and fans of Greyhound Nation,” Athletic Director Dr. Greg Waggoner said, “This rise in funds is also due to the coaches working hard to produce teams that are on the rise competitively and their product is attractive to support beyond the athletic endeavors, as they are outstanding students and engage substantially in community service.”
In fiscal year 2018 that number jumped again to $527,252. That $20,000 increase can be directly attributed to the growing success of the ENMU athletics programs across the board as well as the work of the central office staff as it relates to marketing and the exposure of Greyhound Athletics.
“These coaches and programs also work hard to fundraise through various means and have stepped their efforts up in the past two years,” Dr. Waggoner said, “I also give credit to our outstanding athletic staff, the ENMU Foundation staff and others that preceded my time here. They took ENMU fundraising and development work to another level with the vision of Greyhound Stadium and the momentum that has provided Greyhound Athletics.”
These figures generated by the athletic department do not include other enterprise revenue such as game guarantees, NCAA national reimbursement and miscellaneous revenues. They also do not include the nearly $100,000 dollars of in-kind trade that is produced by the Greyhound Club, as well as the gate receipts that have also been substantially higher in the past two years as the on-field product and in-game atmosphere continue to elevate.
The quality of product on the field as well as the increased focus on in-game atmosphere aspects have led to an increase in gate receipts that the department has reported beginning in the fiscal year 2017, during which time the department experienced immediate exponential growth thanks to the opening of Greyhound Stadium. The total gate revenue for that year was marked at $49,915, nearly double the amount of the previous highest gate receipt total in the last 10 years which stood at $26,292 in fiscal year 2014.
The positive effects of Greyhound Stadium combined with the implementation of a more complete game day atmosphere have continued to show in the revenue reports as $35,930 of gate receipts were documented for the 2018 fiscal year report. All private/enterprise revenue and in-kind trade value produced by the ENMU athletics department now exceeds $650,000 annually.
“The cost of competing in the Lone Star Conference and the NCAA Division II has grown even faster than our fundraising,” Dr. Waggoner said, “We have much more to accomplish to meet our needs in Greyhound Athletics, but this is certainly an indicator that we are well on our way.”
