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Wayne Stickney serves as the Senior Associate Athletics Director for Major Gifts and Resource Acquisition. He provides over sixteen years of experience in college athletics, university advancement, and student leadership development. In this role, Stickney manages the Development Unit, which includes the major gifts program, annual fund (Beach Athletic Club), estate and planned giving program, hospitality and premium seating programs, and special events. LBSU Athletics has raised over $16 million in the last four years under Stickney's leadership, highlighted by the largest fundraising year in the department’s history of over $8.9 million in 2017-2018.
As a member of the Senior Leadership Team, Stickney is involved in supporting other areas of the Department. An impactful experience of the year was a trip to Panama where Stickney and three colleagues traveled to a small town in Valle Rico, Panama with 13 student-athletes, partnering with a nonprofit, Courts for Kids, to work with the community to build a multi-purpose, outdoor activity court. The experience was life changing for all participants and reinforced Stickney’s commitment to the student-athlete.
Previous to his current role at Long Beach State, Stickney served as the Associate Athletics Director at New Mexico State from 2010 to 2014. While working with the Aggies, Stickney was instrumental in implementing a major gifts program, which resulted in the second ($1.46 million) and third ($750k) largest gifts to New Mexico State athletics in the program's history. While in Las Cruces, Stickney created two alumni and friends support groups that helped raise funds, resulting in record increases in giving to scholarship and football support. The first recruited ten $10,000 members to join the Aggie Athletic Club and provided the athletic director with an important cadre of advocates, representing various stakeholder groups. The second recruited alumni and friends to support football excellence at a $5,000 annual level and generated over $260,000 in a two-year period. This helped lay the foundation for the current success of NMSU Football.
While in Las Cruces, Stickney also created two VIP in-groups to help raise funds, resulting in record increases in giving to scholarship and football support. The first increased $10,000 members in the Aggie Athletic Club from zero to ten in its first year and provided the athletic director with an important cadre of advocates, representing various stakeholder groups. The latter recruited donors to support football excellence at a $5,000 annual level and generated over $260,000 in a two year period -- previously there was only one supporter at this level. Stickney worked with Department leadership, facilitating two strategic planning retreats, one with the Football Coaching Staff and the other with the Senior Leadership Team for the Athletic Program.
Additionally, Stickney served as sport supervisor for the Equestrian program where he led the search for a new coach and supported the team of 24 student-athletes and 30 equine athletes to a program high Top 4 ranking. The Cheer team was also under the direction of Stickney and competed nationally, in addition to representing the department in the community at over 70 events each year.
His time at New Mexico State was preceded by a lengthy history at Long Beach State. A student-athlete under long-time head coach, Andy Sythe, in the Track and Field program, Stickney also served as the president of Associated Students, Inc. as a student leader, helping market and pass the Beach Pride Referendum, a student fee increase that raises over $1 million dollars annually to support Beach athletics. Additional projects Stickney was involved in over the years was starting the Student Recreation Center Committee, creating the University Flag, establishing the once successful student spirit group -- Beach Patrol, creating the Beach Pride Center, creating a student competition to design the campus parking pass, and leading an effort to inventory facility needs in the athletic department.
Following his graduation in 2002, Stickney took a position within the university, working for five years as the Director of Campus Scholarships and Development. He was promoted to the Coordinator of Athletic Development in 2007, where he created the Student-Athlete Phone-A-Thon. This program generated over $200,000 and 1,000 donors in its first few years.
In addition to earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in communication studies at Long Beach State, Stickney completed a Master of Science degree in Counseling for Student Affairs at LBSU and earned an Educational Doctorate in Organizational Leadership at Pepperdine University. His dissertation, titled An Examination of the Issues Impacting Athletic Directors at NCAA Division I Football Bowl Series, discovered value perspective and advice for new athletic directors, including:
- Be careful who you trust and build a strong staff;
- Understand the human resources process;
- Create a clear vision and plan;
- Assess relationships in your organization;
- Create alignment with university leadership, especially the President;
- Be in the business for the right reasons;
- Develop a strong relationship with your conference office;
- Get to know your best supporters quickly;
- Get to know the student body;
- Grow where you are;
- Develop a network of experienced advisors;
- Embrace change; and
- Acquire experience in fundraising and/or marketing.
He currently serves on faculty in the Graduate Program in Sports Management at LBSU where he currently teaches Marketing, Fundraising, Development, and most recently, the Capstone Development Course.
A lifelong practioner in the area of leadership, Stickney has developed leadership philosophy that is anchored by four beliefs, which include:
- Lead by example;
- Lead by positive reinforcement;
- Lead by communicating the vision and the details of the strategic plan; and
- Lead by action.
Leadership development in others is a pursuit Stickney engages in regularly and seeks to inspire those around him to lead from their own chair.
Stickney is married to Kierstin Stickney, who serves as the Director of Communications and Marketing for 49er Shops and is on faculty in the College of Business Administration at Long Beach State. They have two daughters, Gianna and Alexandra, and one son, Jackson.
