MONROE, La. – Cody Reaves, who spent the previous two years as Assistant Athletics Director for External Affairs at the University of Arkansas at Monticello, has been hired as the ULM Athletic Foundation's Director of Annual Giving, according to an announcement made by Athletics Director Scott McDonald on Thursday, July 29.
"It is an honor to be joining Scott and his staff, particularly in a time with so much excitement around ULM Athletics," Reaves said. "ULM has a rich tradition of athletics support and success, and I look forward to playing my part in continuing that success through the support of the Warhawk Club and ULMAF. The buzz Coach Bowden and his staff have generated around the upcoming football season provides us with an opportune time to capitalize on that support."
Reaves will serve as the full-time fundraiser for the ULM Athletic Foundation and is tasked with developing and implementing strategies aimed to increase annual fund dollars with a goal of attracting, increasing and sustaining philanthropic support from individuals.
"Cody served in a variety of roles at the University of Arkansas at Monticello, but he really distinguished himself as a fundraiser, taking UAM's efforts to a totally different level," McDonald said. "He also will be focused on growing membership for our Warhawk Club."
No stranger to growing membership and financial support, Reaves spearheaded the UAM's two most successful fundraising years to date. The 2020-21 fiscal year proved challenging to many departments throughout college athletics, but UAM reported a school record 292% increase in athletics-directed donations from the 2019-20 year, which was the previous school record.
With a major focus on capital projects, including the purchase of a new Daktronics football videoboard and department-wide locker room enhancements, the UAM Sports Association matched the amount of dollars raised over the previous three years combined. In 2019-20, UAM's corporate sponsorship program nearly tripled, showing a 273% growth from the year prior. Annual membership to the UAMSA nearly doubled, as 660 total gifts were received, helping set the department's highest revenue generation year-to-date prior to being surpassed in 2020-21.
At UAM, Reaves oversaw all external relations efforts for UAM Sports, including annual giving and program-specific initiatives for all 10 athletics programs through the UAMSA, major giving and capital projects, UAM's corporate sponsorship program, endowments and planned giving, game operations, athletic facility maintenance and improvements, ticket sales, and marketing/fan engagement. He also supervised all annual fundraising events. During his last two months in Monticello, UAM administration appointed Reaves to oversee day-to-day athletic department operations as well as serve as the vice chairman of the university's athletic director search.
Prior to UAM, Reaves spent time as a part of the University of Central Arkansas softball coaching staff as a graduate assistant coach while pursuing his MBA. He also worked at Pittsburg State University and Peak Sports Management. While at Pitt State, he gained experience in sponsorship sales, external marketing, and donor relations, while also working with the ticketing office and game operations staff.
Reaves earned his bachelor's degree in sports management from Arkansas State in 2017 and his master's degree in business administration from Central Arkansas in 2019.
