FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Blueprint Sports adds New Donor Development Division for national donor stewardship and new revenue focus

Recently formed collective joins the national BPS portfolio maintaining a community focused approach.

LAS VEGAS (December 8, 2022) – Blueprint Sports (BPS), the industry leader in full-service donor led collectives, is excited to announce the hiring of Tim McLaughlin as Vice President of Donor Relations for the East and Chris Asa as Vice President of Donor Relations for the West. As members of the executive leadership team, McLaughlin and Asa will develop engagement and stewardship strategies to maximize growth for each collective in BPS’ portfolio.

The new Donor Development Division will expand the offerings of Blueprint Sports to drive sustainable donor revenue programs and endowments back to its partner NIL collectives. The division will work collaboratively with on campus development officers and athletic departments for campaigns when raising NIL funds.

Tim McLaughlin most recently worked in the development and advancement department at the University of Pennsylvania, where he served for six years as a member of the Penn Champions Club. Prior to this, he spent five years coaching NCAA men’s basketball teams at three different universities. During his time at Penn, his team launched the “Game Onward” campaign that raised over $240M for Penn Athletics surpassing a $150M campaign goal. McLaughlin holds a Bachelor of Science degree in management from Boston College’s Carroll School of Management and a Master of Arts in Liberal Studies from Wesleyan University.

“I am honored to join the team at Blueprint Sports,” said McLaughlin. “The NIL era is an exciting time to be involved in college athletics as we strive to impact the lives of student-athletes across our partnerships. It is paramount for our collectives to have a sustainable fundraising strategy moving forward and I’m ready to take our NIL growth to the next level.”

Chris Asa has over two decades of executive experience spanning the radio broadcast and collegiate sports landscape, including ticket and sponsorship sales, marketing, fundraising and administration. Most recently, Asa served as the Associate AD for Development at Cal State University, Bakersfield. During his tenure there, he developed the fundraising strategy for the department and led the team to record-high giving to the Roadrunner Scholarship Fund, including growing the fund from $630,000 to over $1 million in just two years’ time. He also helped lead athletics strategy for the “Runners on the Ride” campaign, the first ever comprehensive capital campaign for CSU Bakersfield. Asa has also overseen fundraising and revenue growth at a variety of athletics departments, including Florida State, Florida A&M, and Cal Poly Pomona.

“I’m very excited to join the great team at BPS,” said Asa. “The success of our NIL collectives is reliant upon the support we receive from community supporters, alumni and fans. As the NIL era continues to take shape, it’s exciting to be able to impact student-athlete lives in a brand new way. I can’t wait to continue working and developing new successful partnerships for our properties and most importantly, our student-athletes.”

For more information about careers at Blueprint Sports, visit blueprintsports.com/jobs

About Blueprint Sports

Founded in Las Vegas in 2020 and backed by Andre Agassi, eight-time Grand Slam tennis champion, Blueprint Sports (BPS) powers the industry's leading name, image, and likeness (NIL) collectives for alumni, supporters, and businesses, connecting them with student-athletes at their favorite university. BPS’ national portfolio of collectives support student-athletes in communities across the country, including at N.C. State, Villanova University, Penn State University, Gonzaga University, University of Arizona, University of Tennessee, University of Nevada Las Vegas, University of Nevada Reno, the University of Toledo and more. The Blueprint Sports management team possesses over 50 years of college and professional sports experience, spanning the Pac-12 Conference, IMG, Learfield, and Nevada Athletics Commission, among others. For more information visit blueprintsports.com and follow @PoweredByBPS on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

About Name, Image, Likeness (NIL)

On June 30, 2021, the Division 1 Board of Directors approved an interim name, image, and likeness policy. This new policy allows all NCAA DI, DII, and DIII student-athletes to be compensated for their NIL as of July 1, 2021. Student-athletes can now engage in paid community appearances, autograph sessions, youth coaching engagements, and sports marketing campaigns

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Media Contacts:

Allison Monette
allison@blueprintsports.com
702.373.7190

Mike Smith

General Manager

Mike Smith joined Micconope 1851 in March 2023 and is excited to be the General Manager and looks forward to working with Blueprint Sports increase NIL revenue generation for Florida State University student-athletes. Smith comes to Micconope 1851 from Catawba College where he held the title as the Senior Director of Athletics, Development. Prior to working in Athletics at Catawba College, Mike served as the Associate Athletics Director for External Relations at Charleston Southern University. Smith has an impressive background in the collegiate athletics industry, having held senior level development and corporate sponsorship sales roles at The University of Southern Mississippi, Limestone University, the Sun Belt Conference, Florida Atlantic University, and with multimedia rights-holders Tele South Communications at the University of Mississippi, Learfield Sports at UNC Chapel Hill, and with International Sports Properties at Georgia Tech. Smith is a graduate of North Carolina State University in Raleigh, North Carolina, and holds a master’s degree in Business Management from The University of Tennessee, Knoxville. In his new role here at Micconppe 1851, Smith will be responsible for raising major gifts for NIL deals as well as securing NIL corporate sponsorships for Florida State University student-athletes. Mike looks forward to helping ensure the FSU student-athletes have the resources and leadership opportunities to remain competitive nationally and positioned for success well beyond graduation. Mike is married to Katy Smith; the couple looks forward to relocating to Tallahassee, Florida, and becoming a part of the Micconope 1851 and Seminole family!

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