A Day In The Life Of An Assistant Athletic Director Of Annual Giving At Nebraska Athletics
Mattie's role as Assistant Athletic Director of Annual Giving at the University of Nebraska involves a dynamic mix of structured outreach and spontaneous problem-solving, "everything from...extra tickets to...making a first-time Husker game experience good". The position demands long and unusual hours centered around sporting events, a challenge Mattie creatively addresses by integrating family life, noting that "donors love seeing" her child, demonstrating a unique approach to work-life balance within the demanding college athletics industry.
Communication, Problem-Solving, Work-Life Integration, Networking, Event Management
Advizer Information
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Job Title
Company
Undergrad
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Mattie Fowler Burkhardt
Assistant Athletic Director - Annual Giving
University of Nebraska Athletic Department
University of Nebraska, 2015
MBA, University of Nebraska
Finance
Education, Nonprofit, Foundations & Grantmaking, Sports & Fitness
Sales and Client Management
Scholarship Recipient, Student Athlete
Video Highlights
1. Mattie's job involves a mix of structured tasks (like contacting specific people each month) and reacting to immediate needs (like providing extra tickets or addressing donor concerns).
2. She emphasizes the importance of networking and relationship building with donors, often interacting with them during sporting events and in hospitality rooms.
3. Mattie successfully balances her career with motherhood, bringing her son to events and highlighting that family integration is possible in this demanding field, dispelling the idea that it's incompatible with family life
Transcript
What does a day in the life of an assistant athletic director of annual giving look like?
What doesn't it look like? It's a lot of phone calls. My cell phone is ringing all the time because I am available. I'm a problem solver.
It's everything from, "Hey, I need an extra ticket to tonight's game," to, "I've got my granddaughter and it's the first time she's ever been to a Husker football game. How can we make this experience good?" So, I have structure for every month where these are the people I need to get in touch with, schedule a meeting with, or have a touchpoint with.
There's some structure there, and then there's also a lot of reacting to what's happening in the moment. It's a lot of sporting events, which is why I do this job. So, three days a week I'm probably at a sporting event, whether it be a volleyball, basketball, or football game.
We have our hospitality rooms, so I'm stopping by those rooms, seeing donors. I'm hosting people in the suite, coordinating a scholarship presentation with a student athlete and the donor. So, a lot of different things happen, activations around the game.
I have a one-and-a-half-year-old, so a lot of times he's with me. I think that's really important because it's a lot of after-work hours. It's a very unusual schedule because so much of what we do is around the games.
I haul him with me. I've started a count this year to see how many events he comes to because I think it's funny. What's important to me is that I can have that family blend because the donors love seeing him as well.
If I show up to an event and he's not there, they ask, "Maddie, where's Beck? Why isn't he here tonight? I want to see him." I say that because there's a misnomer that it's hard to be a mom in this industry because of the unusual hours in college athletics.
But I've really tried to embrace that and just bring him along when I can. I depend on family a lot to help out. I have a great partner, my husband, who helps balance those responsibilities.
I'm not afraid to drag him with me, and he's going to grow up in a world where he has been to probably more games. He's either going to love it or hate it by the end because he's been there too much. But that's really important to me as well.