- Valley View News
CSUN Baseball Player Launches Ticket Website
Updated: Dec 5, 2020
NORTHRIDGE, CA – Being a college student-athlete isn’t an easy task, and neither is starting a business. However, a California State University, Northridge baseball player has launched his own ticket sales site.
Stone Shiffman, 19, is a second-year pitcher for the CSUN baseball team. His website, University and Me, operates similarly to Stubhub and Ticketmaster. However, there’s one difference.
According to Shiffman, a percent of the money spent per purchase is donated to the customers school athletic program.
“A ticket website that benefits colleges whenever you want to get tickets to concerts or a sporting event,” said Shiffman. “…put your school email for college students and proceeds go back to your school’s athletic department.”
Despite the fact that a portion of the proceeds are donated, the amount of the donation is reliant on the amount of money each ticket costs. He said there isn’t a set percentage.
“It depends on how much the ticket is,” said Shiffman. “It can vary from a little amount to a big amount, based on how much the ticket price is.”
Though University and Me launched in July, the plans for its launched began in April. He said the idea first occurred because of the lack of funding for the construction of a new baseball stadium.
“At CSUN we were supposed to get a new baseball stadium and we didn’t have enough money to get it,” said Shiffman. “So why not make a little fundraiser program to help get the stadium.”
In 2017, CSUN Athletics unveiled a renovation project to construct Irv Zackheim Stadium, which was estimated to cost $15 million, according to former CSUN athletic director Brandon E. Martin.
While the idea of money being donated to your school’s athletic department seems enticing to some, there are people on both sides of the spectrum.
Cristian Urrutia, 23, is a kinesiology major at Cal state Northridge. He said the donations could play a positive role for a universities athletic program.
“It’s a really positive thing to do,” said Urrutia. “Especially with the athletic department. I think it’s a lot of support that athletes need because sometimes they don’t get those funding’s. I think it’s a good idea to keep on supporting athletics at any university, especially here at CSUN.”
However, some students believe the proceeds should be donated to other departments.
Chelsea Reyes, 22, is a Deaf Studies major at Cal State Northridge. She said the idea sounds great but doesn’t interest her.
“It only goes to the athletic department and personally I don’t have anything to do with the athletic department,” said Reyes. “I don’t see why it would be important to me to contribute to the athletic department. But the idea of having percentages being used for at least something is pretty cool.”
Reyes also said she would prefer if the donation was placed for departments needing funding.
“It’d make me more inclined if at least they’d divide the percentage that the athletic department is getting, and distribute that into other departments,” said Reyes.
Despite coming up with the name and creating the site, Shiffman said he can’t receive any compensation for his idea until after he’s done with school and baseball at CSUN. If he was to profit from it while being an athlete at CSUN, he would be violating one of the NCAA’s regulations.
However, that doesn’t impact his long-term goals.
“Obviously Baseball I’d like to get drafted, it’s my one goal to play professional baseball,” said Shiffman. “And for the app to be like Stubhub or Ticketmaster, and be big to help raise money for schools and benefit people.”
Video, Luis Zuniga
By, Luis Zuniga
Contributions by, CSUN Today, 247 Sports
Photo, Luis Zuniga
Video, Luis Zuniga
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