By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – A former student-athlete herself, Lesley Loftis knows how important athletics is to the collegiate experience. Now, Loftis takes on a new role as she was recently named Tennessee Tech's Associate Athletics Director for Development, in addition to her current role as a Regional Director of Development for the University.
"This is such an important hire for us," said Tech Director of Athletics Mark Wilson, "because Lesley's efforts will help propel our future success. We cannot thrive if we don't have the resources to allow our student-athletes to have the opportunities to grow in both of those roles.
"Lesley and her husband, Matt, are passionate about college athletics and it shows. She jumped at the opportunity and we appreciate the enthusiasm. We know Tennessee Tech is a special place for so many people, whether they were a student or a student-athlete, faculty or staff. I truly believe that through her efforts, Lesley will help us reach our goals."
For Loftis, the new role is an exciting one.
"I've been with the University for a year and a half now, and, from the get-go, I've thought about how exciting it would be to fundraise and focus my skills on helping student-athletes," Loftis said. "When the opportunity came to me, I jumped at it."
And it was the importance of athletics to the collegiate community that made it an enticing role.
"I see athletics permeating into all aspects of the University and each of the colleges themselves," Loftis said. "Obviously, they are STUDENT-athletes, so it's vitally important we provide opportunities to those who work hard, study hard and are deserving of the chance to advance themselves through education."
She continued, "I can speak to that personally as a former student-athlete. My freshman year I received a full scholarship to attend school. Half was provided through golf and half through academics. I understand what these kids are doing, the effort it takes, the dedication, the longer hours. In addition, my older brother played collegiate football and I learned from him how sports could help you achieve your goals. I have two nephews who have played sports at the collegiate level, one football and the other track. My family has been embedded in this philosophy of 'sports help you achieve your collegiate goals'. My passion shines through about what this kind of chance can mean. There are kids out there who may not have other avenues."
The main goal is simple: "To raise as much money for Tennessee Tech as I possibly can, and to make sure we are sharing our story in a way that helps our donors feel passionate about giving, while keeping those in alignment."
As for Athletics, that goal is still being discovered because there is so much potential.
"There is so much opportunity and vision to learn," Loftis said. "I'm really starting to navigate that now and seeing the path ahead of me. Of course, Mark Wilson will be my number-one partner in conjunction with the coaches and department heads around here. There are a lot of conversations yet to be had, a lot of uncovering of needs and priorities. Then it's just making sense of it all so I can convey some of those needs to our donors."
It's not a new hire for the University as Loftis joined the Tennessee Tech staff in April 2018 as a regional director of development within the Division of University Advancement, overseeing fundraising for the College of Business, College of Fine Arts and the Whitson-Hester School of Nursing. With the addition of Athletics in her portfolio, she will remain working with the College of Fine Arts in their efforts as well.
However, the time spent at Tech so far has given her a roadmap on how to proceed in the new role.
"I think the biggest thing the last year taught me was how passionate not only our alumni and our donors are about this University, but our staff and faculty as well," Loftis said. "I really drew upon that and it brought me to a place where I'm just as passionate about Tennessee Tech. It's put me in a position where I can take that and focus it in a way to help Athletics move forward."
With the role, there also stands a balance between what is needed and what the priorities should be.
"Mark and I have been discussing that," Loftis said. "When we speak to donors about how they would like to engage with us, education comes first. We are here to do a job and that's make sure they graduate with a diploma. The priority is to make that happen above all else.
"I've learned so much working with the individual colleges and my team inside University Advancement. I've also been working on the Multicultural Affairs Diversity Scholarship initiative. That has helped broaden my thought process to have even bigger conversations with donors on the impact they can make here at the University."
Loftis is a 2001 graduate from the University of Tennessee, earning her bachelor's degree in English and a minor in General Business. She also spent a year at Lincoln Memorial, where she competed for the Lady Railsplitters on the women's golf team.
Following graduation, she built an impressive resume of fundraising and development. Starting out as a financial services associate at Franklin's National Bank of Commerce then a financial planning associate at Prudential Financial in Brentwood, she spent two years with the American Heart Association in Nashville as a Metro Development Specialist.
With the AHA, she raised $800,000 with the Metro Heart walk team that raised $2.8 million over two years, served as a direct liaison with volunteers and donors contributing to the Heart Walk, Go Red for Women, Hearts in Bloom and Affair of the Hat events. Loftis also worked as a liaison with TriStar Medical Centers, St. Thomas Health Services and Meharry Medical College. With her help, the organization's Nashville chapter maintained a 15-percent corporate growth.
Following a year-long tenure as sales director/project manager with Nashville's inBusiness Services, Inc., Loftis spent five years as the Director of Development for the Middle Tennessee chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. During her time there, the organization raised $1.6 million through walks and special events.
Loftis directed six Great Strides Walks, raising over $360,000, which increased revenue in Rutherford County 31 percent. She created Nashville's Top 30 Under 30 initiative, which drew in $140,000 and has seen its revenue increase 66 percent since it started in 2009. In Chattanooga, she worked alongside a local Board of Directors on the Great Strides Walk and the Three Blind Wines event and saw a revenue increase of 10 percent.
She then spent the next six years with the March of Dimes, serving as a Regional Director of Fundraising from 2012 to 2015, then a National Regional Director of Philanthropy from 2015 to 2018. While with the March of Dimes, she served on the organization's Circle of Champions national work group to help increase the revenue stream by $500,000, served as a national faculty trainer for the March for Babies Walk 101 and Special Events 101, and reached a 50-percent growth in the area for Fund the Mission in 2013.
The role comes in at an important time for Tech Athletics – and the University as a whole – as budgets become even tighter than in years past, necessitating the need for outside giving.
"Fundraising for the University is vitally important," Loftis said. "Serving as a conduit between the University's needs and priorities and the passions of our donors is something I strive to accomplish to the best of my ability. As long as I can connect those dots in a meaningful way, I know I'm making a difference for all parties involved."
With success in recent years on the playing fields, courts and tracks, Tech Athletics has shown that the sky is indeed the limit. But there's always room to grow, and that can help from external support.
"There are so many exciting avenues and ways for people to get involved with us," Loftis said. "I invite any and all conversations folks would like to have. We'll sit down, make sense of it all and have a good time while doing it."
