Perpetual Wave to Focus on Athletics' Long-Term Goals
 |  Former Tulane QB Shaun King is one of several former student-athletes who will serve on the Perpetual Wave Steering Committee. |
June 24, 2003
NEW ORLEANS - New Orleans Hornets owner George Shinn and prominent local businesswoman Pat Denechaud will serve as co-chairs of the "Perpetual Wave", a campaign focused on the Green Wave's long-term fundraising and revenue development efforts. The "Perpetual Wave" will be led by a group of community, business and political leaders, and alumni and former student-athletes who will work in concert with Tulane Athletics staff and Tulane University administrators to continue the work started by the ongoing "Think Green" campaign.
Perpetual Wave will concentrate on galvanizing the recent build-up of support and exhibition of emotion and passion for Tulane Athletics and turning it into a long-term action plan which will stabilize the program and allow it to grow in perpetuity. The campaign will begin on the heels of Phase Two of the "Think Green" campaign, scheduled to kick off in July.
The Perpetual Wave Steering Committee also includes former Tulane quarterbacks Dr. Roch Hontas and Shaun King, Green Wave basketball All-American Johnny Arthurs, former baseball lettermen David Stokes and John Leblanc, and Barbara Olivier. Each will lead future revenue efforts - in terms of season ticket sales, donations and outreach - in his respective former sport while Olivier will head the campaign for the Wave's women's athletics teams. Tulane great Bobby Duhon will chair the annual fund campaign.
Other focuses of the campaign are capital projects, alumni outreach, and endowments and special projects. Louisiana State Senator John Hainkel and New Orleans City Councilman Jay Batt will head up the capital projects aspects of the long-term planning efforts while Milt Retif, Ashton Ryan and Jim Wilson comprise the leadership of the endowments and special projects programs. Perry Leslie, Trey MacDiarmid, Bob Vorhoff, Jimmy Nieset and Mike McNulty will be charged with alumni outreach.
"The goal of this group is to take the momentum from the Think Green campaign and turn it into a long-term action plan for Tulane Athletics," said Director of Athletics Rick Dickson. "We want to develop a comprehensive and sustainable long-term plan for excellence which will build a foundation of support across many areas. Specific goals and targets will come from the chairs of the different areas in concert with the athletics staff."
The "Think Green" campaign was initiated by Tulane in early May after a "Call to Action" by Dickson, and outlined goals for season tickets and donations to the Tulane Athletics Fund. The department met many of its "Think Green" campaign goals for the entire year in just five weeks by selling more than 12,000 football season tickets, and taking nearly 7,000 new season ticket orders. The endowment was increased from $10 million to $14.5 million and T.A.F. reached its 2002-2003 goals while establishing a base of $2.1 million for the future with five-year pledges received on nearly all gifts and ticket sales.
Based on that success, many of the "Think Green" goals for this year will be revised within the next several weeks. Season tickets for the 2003 football season start at just $140 for adults for the six-game schedule while youth tickets are available for only $60. Orders for basketball and baseball season tickets are also being taken. All tickets are available by calling 504-861-WAVE or 1-866-GIVE2TU, by stopping by the ticket office in the James W. Wilson Center, or by ordering online.
-- THINK GREEN! --
