It’s a sprint to the financial finish line.

That’s the way Zack Wallace, associate athletic director for fund raising, describes the next two and a half months as the Viking Athletic Fund he oversees stretches to meet its record goal of $600,000 (including the $204,000 netted by this year’s wildly successful Wine and Roses event last February) to fund athletic scholarships.

And, Athletic Director Torre Chisholm believes that goal is realistic because of a full compliment of development officers, the media excitement generated by the arrival of football coaches Jerry Glanville and Darrel (Mouse) Davis, strong years for women’s basketball and softball, Big Sky Championships for volleyball, men’s basketball and women's golf and the first-ever national NCAA tournament appearance for men’s basketball.

For perspective, last year the Viking Athletic Fund raised $200,400, according to Deyna Brown, director of donor relations and special events.

“In terms of fund raising, we’re way ahead of where we were last year. Reaction to the direction our programs are going has been fantastic. This community will support this university when it sees how well it does,” says Chisholm.

A good deal of Chisholm’s optimism is based on a four-fold increase in football season tickets, many with donation requirements attached for premium seats. About $200,000 of this year’s goal is from seat premiums. Wallace says his team will be working hard to contact season ticket holders who have yet to renew and is about to start the spring VAF membership renewal fund drive, which has a goal of $200,000.

But, the first thing Chisholm mentions when talking about what he sees as a bright future here in athletic fund raising is the development office staff. By staff, he means Brown, Wallace, Dennis Ferguson, director of new business development, Scott Herrin, associate director of athletics for marketing and sale, and JoAnna Vallery, director of marketig and ticket sales.

“They’ve really been getting out and talking to people, making our case and helping to create excitement. We now have the staff to go out and ask people for their support,” says Chisholm.

While everyone agrees that the attention and excitement around the arrival of Glanville, the return of Davis and the men’s basketball team’s success, it’s been having this full complement of staff to contact hundreds of individuals and organizations that has been the most important new ingredient in terms of taking advantage of that excitement.

“People see that we’re heading in the right direction. People see athletics as a more visible part of the campus. What’s great here is that there’s a perception that PSU serves the community. We’re seeing that when we do positive things, people will step up and support that effort,” says Chisholm, who is in his first year as PSU athletic director.

Of course, athletic event prime seat premiums are a critical part of that effort and Wallace is optimistic about that area because of continued community enthusiasm around the football program following a disappointing 2007 season.

Winning affects the smaller donors more than the larger ones, he points out. The win-loss record creates a lot of emotional enthusiasm which translates into immediate giving. Larger donors take the longer view, normally. They really want to see that the school is committed to heading in the right direction, say Wallace and Chisholm.

Ferguson, a long-time Portland area businessman who now spearheads the department’s efforts in the business community, says he is seeing “exponentially more interest from the business community,” which can benefit the university in a number of ways.

“If someone is interested in football, I probably talk about what we need to reach our goal of becoming a fixture nationally in the upper echelons of Championship Division football. Our efforts also benefit the marketing program with more businesses signing up for stadium suites and to be part of our marketing efforts. If I talk with someone who is interested in PSU, but not in sports, I pass them along to the development department...and there have been some of those,” Ferguson says.

There are some new and improved arrows in the Vikings fund raising quiver this year which Wallace and his crew think will aid in reaching this year’s goal. They’ve added a benefit-laden Viking VIP program aimed at increasing the number of $1,000 donors to the scholarship fund.

For $1,000, Viking VIP’s get hosted food and refreshments at football home game half times and at home basketball games, priority seating for football and basketball, men’s basketball parking, sports media guides, a Family All-Sports Pass and a customized lanyard including name and seat location.

Wallace is trying to increase the overall number of Viking Fund donors by a third this year. “We’re about two-thirds of the way there at this point. To do that by June 30 is quite a leap, but I think we can come close.”

Raising scholarship money isn’t the only focus of PSU’s athletic development crew.

Besides making the VAF’s goal, Wallace and Ferguson say they’re being kept busy with other projects such as the recently announced $200,000 funding of the new football locker room in Stott Center. They’re seeking a mix of large and small donors and are optimistic that things will go well because of a similar successful renovation of basketball locker rooms a couple of years ago.

With completion expected by mid-August, the staff is busy seeking donations ranging from $1,500 for naming one of the 100 individual lockers to $25,000 for naming one of four quadrants dedicated to former PSU head coaches Don Read, Davis, Pokey Allen and Tim Walsh. Coaches locker room naming rights also are available for a $15,000 donation and the Football Alumni Hall of Fame naming is available at $10,000.

As for Chisholm, he says he’s pleased with the fund raising progress to date.

“We still have room for growth. Success breeds success. People want good stewardship of their money and I think they’re seeing that their money is being well used.”