how much would you pay to
travel with the men’s basketball
team on a road trip? How about a job as ball boy/girl at
a women’s basketball game?
In September, the athletics
department—in partnership
with the Official College Sports Network (OCSN) and eBay—conducted
an online auction of unique “experiences,” autographed
memorabilia and hard-to-come-by tickets to benefit Stanford
student-athletes.
Among the three dozen items and the
high bids: a 3-on-3 basketball game against the men’s
basketball coaching staff ($66, below the reserve); the official
football and tee
used in Big Game 2003 ($492); two seats on the team bench
at a women’s volleyball match ($102.50); an autographed
Stanford jersey from San Francisco 49ers rookie Kwame
Harris, ’04
($185.38); a spot as a ball boy or girl at women’s
hoops games against Cal and Tennessee ($260).
“We tried to come up with things we thought would
appeal to our fans, and that [involved] interaction with
coaches
and student-athletes,” says Chris Hillyard, marketing manager
in the athletics department, which plans to auction
more items in March.
Not every possible “experience” made the cut,
however. The football team agreed to let a lucky bidder lead them through
Chuck Taylor Grove and into Stanford Stadium, but
running with them onto the field was nixed. And while Mike
Montgomery doesn’t
mind a pickup game of hoops, he decided against recording
a voicemail greeting for someone’s home phone.
Oh, about that travel offer—accompanying
the men’s
basketball team to the PAC-10 tournament went for
a cool $2,000. |