Membership Enhancements
Moving forward, OU Athletics’ distribution of tickets and benefits will occur in two ways: Sooner & Championship Allocations. Changes to how these allocations occur stem from the recent Tax Cuts & Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA), effectively removing the deduction a member historically received from annual priority seating. Through this new giving structure, tax deductible giving opportunities are available and recognized during Championship Allocations whereas non-deductible gifts towards seating priority will be isolated within Sooner Allocations.
Two priority point systems will be introduced to account for seat-related giving (Sooner Points) and Philanthropic Gifts (Championship Points). There are different ways to improve your Sooner and/or Championship Point Ranking.
Priority Seat Gifts
(1) Sooner Point/$100
(1) Championship Point/$100
Inspiring Champions Fund
(3) Championship Points/$100
(1) For Past Giving
Facility Gifts
(2) Championship Points/$100
For Life
Scholarship Endowments
(2) Championship Points/$100
For Life
Ticket Purchases/Attendance
Championship Allocations
Membership enhancements have been made to reflect a member’s total giving to OU Athletics and provide new deductible opportunities to support the Sooners while better aligning to each member’s interest. These deductible giving opportunities must not be used to cover priority seating requirements.
What will Championship Allocations be used for?
Championship Allocations will be utilized for all non-home ticket benefits including the Red River Showdown, game day parking, away games & postseason tickets for all sports.
How will OU determine my Championship Allocation rank?
Keeping a similar structure to the past while also accounting for total giving, a member will be ranked first by membership level then Championship Points within the level.
Members can improve their Championship Allocation Ranking in the following ways:
- Increase giving to the next membership level
- Make a deductible gift beyond priority seating for additional priority point benefits
How can I designate deductible gifts?
Deductible gifts may be designated in two ways: the Inspiring Champions Fund and Capital Gifts.
- The Inspiring Champions Fund has been formed to provide necessary funding to student-athletes beyond tuition and supports the complete student-athlete experience. These areas of focus include but are not limited to: nutrition, medical support, travel, professional development and psychological resources.
- Capital Gifts are the cornerstone for OU Athletics to build and maintain world class training facilities for OU student-athletes. Currently, OU Athletics has over $100M planned towards future projects which it’s success will be based entirely on private support. Members may designate their gifts towards the General Capital Fund impacting all future facility projects or designate their gift towards a specific project of interest. Also, members can make a deductible gift towards OU Athletics’ Scholarship Endowments, which begins as a principle gift with interest bearing returns that are used every year towards student-athlete scholarships.
Each of these giving options have differing benefits to a member's Championship Priority Ranking.
Sooner Allocations
These allocations will be used for all home ticket allocations where members’ priority seating gifts, years of purchasing season tickets and attendance points will reside. Any deductible gift will not be factored into a member’s Sooner Point calculation, preserving these gifts’ deductibility in Championship Points.
How members will be ranked for Sooner Allocations:
A member’s priority rank for Sooner Allocations will be based on Sooner Points. Historically, members were ranked by priority point within membership level but with the addition of deductible giving options, any membership level influenced by deductible giving options fall short of compliance of the TCJA.