How much would you pay to travel with the men’s basketball team on a road trip? How about a job as ball boy/girl at a women’s basketball game?
In September, the athletics department—in partnership with the Official College Sports Network (OCSN) and eBay—conducted an online auction of unique “experiences,” autographed memorabilia and hard-to-come-by tickets to benefit Stanford student-athletes.
Among the three dozen items and the high bids: a 3-on-3 basketball game against the men’s basketball coaching staff ($66, below the reserve); the official football and tee used in Big Game 2003 ($492); two seats on the team bench at a women’s volleyball match ($102.50); an autographed Stanford jersey from San Francisco 49ers rookie Kwame Harris, ’04 ($185.38); a spot as a ball boy or girl at women’s hoops games against Cal and Tennessee ($260).
“We tried to come up with things we thought would appeal to our fans, and that [involved] interaction with coaches and student-athletes,” says Chris Hillyard, marketing manager in the athletics department, which plans to auction more items in March.
Not every possible “experience” made the cut, however. The football team agreed to let a lucky bidder lead them through Chuck Taylor Grove and into Stanford Stadium, but running with them onto the field was nixed. And while Mike Montgomery doesn’t mind a pickup game of hoops, he decided against recording a voicemail greeting for someone’s home phone.
Oh, about that travel offer—accompanying the men’s basketball team to the PAC-10 tournament went for a cool $2,000.
