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July 25, 2005 Volume 30, Issue 2 |
Bass to head athletic fund-raising efforts
A North Carolina State University alumnus will oversee all athletic fund-raising and marketing activities at Mississippi State as he assumes a newly created position in the Department of Athletics.
Jimmy Bass is senior associate director of athletics for development and marketing, pending approval by the state College Board.
“We are extremely excited to have Jimmy Bass joining the Mississippi State athletic team,” Larry Templeton, director of athletics, said. “He brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to our program.”
Bass comes to MSU from North Carolina State, where he served the last five years as associate executive director of the Wolfpack Club. He was in charge of major gift fund raising for capital projects, the university’s athletic scholarship endowment and deferred giving. He also assisted in the athletic fund raising, campaign communications, donor research, and solicitation strategy for the Wolfpack Club.
“Jimmy’s broad experience with marketing and fund raising, and his great personality, will help us to ensure that financial support for athletics will be there to support our commitment to excellence,” said President Charles Lee.
Before joining N.C. State’s athletic fund-raising wing, Bass served as associate vice chancellor and executive director for alumni relations at the Raleigh, N.C.-based institution. He served his alma mater in that capacity for nearly seven years. He also has fund-raising experience at the University of Pittsburgh, East Carolina University, the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, and Davidson College.
In his athletic fund-raising work at N.C. State, Bass directed the strategic planning for the five-year Goal Line Drive, a capital campaign initiated to raise $50 million for expansion of Carter-Finley Stadium. That drive concluded 15 months early after more than $62 million was collected, 25 percent more than the goal.
As a senior staff member of the club, Bass was credited with directing activities that generated more than $10 million in capital campaign gifts in 2004, the first time a single area of giving within the club had exceeded the $10 million mark. The Wolfpack Club raised more than $21.5 million in ’04, the most successful fund-raising year in the 68-year history of the organization. During his tenure, he also led campaigns generating revenue for NCSU’s baseball and tennis facilities.
Bass earned a bachelor’s degree in speech communications from North Carolina State in 1978 and a master’s in sports administration from Ohio University in 1980.