Practical thinking for athletic directors, advancement leaders, and the alumni teams doing the work between the games.
The first annual State of Alumni Engagement report follows the evidence from athlete experience to alumni loyalty, through revenue sharing, the transfer portal, and the channel shift changing how programs stay in touch.
A grounded look at what drives giving, retention, and belonging — and what programs can do next.
By Trevor Higgs · Published September 2026 · 32 min read
The quality of an athlete's experience while they played is predictive of what they give back later. That is not a campaign insight. It is an operating principle.
Read the executive summary →Research and perspective for the people responsible for the relationship.
Start with the moments your people already care about. Build the connective tissue around them.
A database can tell you who someone is. A community gives them somewhere to go.
When the financial model changes, the human infrastructure becomes visible.