Georgia Southern Athletic Foundation Announces Hiring of Consultant to Review Game Day and Donor Experience

STATESBORO, Ga - The Georgia Southern Athletic Foundation recently hired external consultant Stephen Ponder to conduct a comprehensive review of its game day and donor experience. "Over the last five years, we have made several improvements to our game day and donor experience at our home athletics events. Hiring Stephen gives us the opportunity to simplify and coordinate the various programs in place to improve the experience of supporting Georgia Southern athletics and attending home games," said Tom Kleinlein, Georgia Southern Athletics Director.

The Athletic Foundation's Executive Director, Dan O'Dowd added, "Stephen is well-known throughout college athletics and brings over 25 years of experience in developing different streams of revenue for college athletics. His knowledge and experience will help us see the bigger picture and determine areas of improvement and ways to simplify our giving requirements for our donors."

Stephen's engagement with Georgia Southern began this summer and has included two visits to campus to learn more about how game days function and how fans use the athletics facilities on game day.

Stephen earned his bachelor's degree from North Carolina State University and his master's in sport management from Georgia Southern prior to beginning his career in college athletics. His career includes stops at North Carolina State with the Wolfpack Club, Arizona State as Senior Associate Athletics Director/Executive Director of the Sun Devil Club and Ole Miss as Deputy Athletics Director, prior to starting his consulting firm in 2017.

Ponder recently joined Balch Sports, a nationally recognized agency representing coaches. Stephen handles strategy and development initiatives for Balch Sports, ranging from the existing coaching practice to targeted university and athletic department consulting.

Ponder recently added, "I am very excited to be working with Georgia Southern. My time in Statesboro was unforgettable. I have followed the program closely in the years since finishing my degree. My work with the university has been very rewarding as an opportunity to get back involved with the athletics program and help the staff stay focused on their day to day responsibilities while this review is taking place."

Stephen's engagement is expected to conclude in November so that recommendations can be communicated prior to the start of season ticket sales in January.

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