ATLANTA, GA – Cleveland State University (CSU) and Playfly Aspire have announced expanded scope responsibilities for their multi-year partnership. Playfly Aspire will add headcount to their existing CSU sales and service team and will also take on sponsorship sales, activation, and fulfillment duties.

Playfly Aspire has recently added sponsorship responsibilities to several partnerships, including the University of the Pacific, Johns Hopkins University, and Hampton University. Since arriving in Cleveland in 2017, Playfly Aspire's property staff have delivered innovative marketing, analytics, and customer service, driving record revenue in FY24 through a 27% y/y increase in Men's Basketball sales and a 55% y/y increase in donations to the Viking Fund.
Kelsie Gory Harkey, Cleveland State University Director of Athletics, shared her enthusiasm for the partnership additions: "For the past seven years, Playfly Aspire has worked seamlessly alongside our internal CSU Athletics staff to drive revenue, engage fans and donors, and enhance our understanding of the Viking community. With this expansion of our on-site team and addition of sponsorship sales, we are poised for even more growth." 

Justin Morelli, Playfly Aspire Group Vice President, on the continued collaboration with CSU: "Our on-site team at CSU has already built strong relationships with Vikings fans. Driven by the trust CSU and Playfly have built over the years, we will now be able to extend that relationship-building ability to the businesses and organizations of the greater Cleveland area while continuing to employ next practices that enhance the overall fan experience."
 
About Cleveland State University
Cleveland State University, founded in 1964 and located in Cleveland, Ohio, is a public institution serving nearly 16,000 students. The University sponsors 18 Division I sports teams, including a varsity e-sports program, who compete as the Vikings primarily within the Horizon League. The athletic department supports over 365 student-athletes who combined to win 11 team and individual league championships and 17 major all-league honors this past academic year. Cleveland State student-athletes are leaders in the classroom as well as the greater Cleveland community, registering at least a 3.0 cumulative GPA for 35 consecutive semesters and combining for over 900 community service hours during the 2023-24 academic year.

About Playfly Aspire
Playfly Aspire is an award-winning sports and entertainment marketing firm, recognized as a top employer in the industry by Forbes and Front Office Sports. Renowned for innovative consulting, ticket sales, and partnership services, Playfly Aspire pioneered the outsourced ticket sales niche, revolutionizing with its first Fan Relationship Management Center (FRMC) at Georgia Tech in 2009. Over the past 15 years, more than 300 collegiate and professional sports properties have trusted Playfly Aspire to drive revenue, attendance, and enterprise-value growth through strategic consulting and research, sales and service training, and best-in-industry fan relationship management.
For more information about Playfly Aspire, visit: www.theaspiregroupinc.com and follow us on all our social media channels, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.
For project and partnership inquiries, contact: Joe Kronander at joe.kronander@playfly.com