reading up on some posts in here got me thinking about another way to get the word out or at least reward members.
Have a Vol Club section in the stadiums, granted this would take partnering with the school or at least coordinating with them. doesn't have to be that big, but maybe a max of 100 seats for baseball, 250 for basketball, 500 for football. have a rotating lottery type system that you have to contribute a certain amount towards VC to be included. Not very high so that even people with 5 bucks monthly have a chance, or weight it somehow. Maybe the 5 dollar people can get 5% of the tickets, higher tiers get higher percentages. Once you win during a season your name is removed for future games that season, and you have to claim the tickets or it goes to the next person and your name returns to the bucket. the section would be branded so everyone can see it and talk about. cool chance for donors to get together too and know like minded people are around them.
and it would be a HUGE marketing ploy if you had a past player in that section. Meeting Al Wilson at an event before the game, pretty cool; being able to cheer and high five with Al Wilson while we are playing Florida?!!! Freaking forget about it! THAT would be unique. would also help get the word out if the Jumbotron is constantly showing these players in the Vol Club section with fans around them cheering.
Would also be cool if your membership got you discounts at sporting event concessions or hotels. as an out of towner the biggest hold up for me going to a game is it can be over 1000 bucks to stay in a hotel down town or nearby for an SEC game, it would be a real incentive if I could get a Vol Club rate at some partnering hotels.
some other unique experiences that would be pretty cool would be some "behind the scenes" tours with players. touring the facilities with a current player. you could also figure out something special with the players who are injured or not playing, maybe on field access to chat with them before a game or practice, have them talk about what's going on and answer questions. keeps them engaged if they are sidelined, but they would also be available where the healthy players have to focus on the game or practice, and it gives the fans a unique experience. would of course require big buy in from the program and coaches too.
just throwing out some ideas.