Abstract
Previous recreational sports employees and participants represent a tremendous source of history, knowledge, insight, collaborative potential, and life experiences. Connecting prior generations of personnel and participants can acknowledge the past, be beneficial to the present, and energize the future. The rationale for establishing an alumni network within a recreational sports department is that such a network can provide a multitude of morale, business, communication, and qualitative benefits. The development of an alumni network can also help create a sense of pride, tradition, and excellence in a recreational sports department. Finally, it can provide guest instructors with specialized expertise, open the door for sponsorship opportunities, and allow for a productive partnership with the alumni office.
Good alumni relations start with the experience that is provided to individuals while they are at the institution. Once the decision is made to introduce alumni programming, the recreational sports administrator must then determine objectives, define the target group, and collect and categorize data. Dates and times for programs and services must then be selected, communication methods identified, and specific media must be chosen. Plans for this endeavor will also be greatly influenced by the level of funding and amount of resources allotted. Examples of techniques that have been successfully implemented at various institutions include newsletters, group functions, philanthropic activities, and recognition.
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