Every campus operator faces the same reality. Expectations are rising faster than resources. Facilities are now expected to deliver meaningful student experiences, strengthen community connections, and contribute to financial sustainability. The challenge is not simply managing costs but aligning every decision with the institution’s mission. CENTERS meets that challenge through a system that turns innovation from isolated ideas into consistent, scalable practice.
Closing the Innovation Gap
Campus leaders generate new ideas every day. They test creative pricing models, launch student-led programs, and build community partnerships that advance both mission and margin. Yet these successes often stay local or worse, stay siloed in separate departments. Institutional complexity, shifting budgets, and disconnected systems make it difficult to capture, evaluate, and share what works. CENTERS calls this lost opportunity the innovation gap.
To close that gap, CENTERS created a system that makes improvement repeatable.
- The Program of Systems and Standards (POSS) focuses on continuous improvement at the site level. Cross-campus committees track data, test pilot projects, and refine proven approaches in key areas such as marketing, operations, youth programming, and wellness. The result is a network that helps every location learn faster and perform smarter.
- The Program of Innovation (POI) operates at the enterprise level. These cross-site initiatives such as the AI Council and the Student Experience Measurement Framework, study emerging trends, build enterprise tools, and guide long-term strategy.
Together, POSS and POI form the foundation of CENTERS’ Better is Better philosophy. Local insights feed enterprise learning, and enterprise frameworks return to the field for continuous refinement. The result is an innovation feedback loop that helps every campus make better decisions, faster.
The CENTERS’ Outcomes Control Panel
Effective campus operations are not about doing more programs. They are about managing balance. Every decision affects multiple outcomes—financial performance, student experience, educational impact, community engagement, and institutional capacity. The most effective leaders recognize these outcomes as interconnected dials on a control panel. Adjusting one influences the others, and skilled operators monitor all five to sustain outcome balance.
Each outcome functions as a performance dial within the system.
Financial Performance focuses on how each decision supports long-term sustainability. It includes revenue generation, cost recovery, and reinvestment to ensure that fiscal outcomes strengthen rather than strain institutional goals.
Student Experience measures engagement, belonging, and wellbeing. Every operational decision must enhance, not erode, the quality of the student experience that defines the campus mission.
Educational Impact connects facility operations to the academic core. When programs link to classroom learning, workforce development, or applied research, they extend the institution’s educational reach.
Community & Partnership Impact gauges the value of external relationships. Strategic partnerships expand opportunities, deepen trust, and create shared benefits for the campus and its surrounding community.
Institutional Capacity anchors innovation in operational readiness. This dial focuses on people, systems, and infrastructure which are the foundations that make creative ideas sustainable and scalable.
In practice, these outcomes interact constantly. The model gives campus operators a shared language for evaluating innovation and performance. A new event may drive strong community engagement but strain staff capacity. A facility rental might improve revenue while limiting student access. The goal is not to eliminate tradeoffs but to manage them intentionally, guided by data and collaboration.
CENTERS equips teams to read these dials and adjust them in real time. The Program of Innovation (POI) develops enterprise frameworks and tools that define what balanced performance looks like. The Program of Systems and Standards (POSS) pilots and refines those frameworks at the site level, using performance data to continually improve results.
Together, they form a system that transforms creative ideas into scalable practice. A practice that helps each campus sustain its mission while strengthening its financial foundation.
Applying the CENTERS Outcomes Control Panel: Balancing Outcomes in Practice
The Outcomes Control Panel becomes most meaningful when seen in action. Across the CENTERS network, leaders use it to evaluate how each decision advances campus specific outcomes. The following examples illustrate how this balance looks in practice—different configurations of the same five dials producing results tailored to local needs and institutional mission.
Financial Performance: Turning Innovation into Sustainable Growth
Marshall University – The Energy Play: How the Pro Shop Sparked a 92% Revenue Surge
Faced with the challenge of growing voluntary revenue in a competitive market, the Marshall Campus Recreation team turned its focus to the pro shop. Positioned near first-year residence halls, the store had strong visibility but untapped potential. The team reimagined product strategy by tracking limited-edition beverage releases from student’s favorite brands such as Alani, Ghost, and Bloom, capitalizing on scarcity and demand.
By acquiring sought-after flavors in bulk and using data to guide pricing, the team created a culture of urgency among buyers. “Students will buy six or eight at a time because they know they won’t find them anywhere else,” said Karianne Fischer, Coordinator of Marketing and Outreach. The same approach now drives Rec-branded apparel, where small-batch orders and limited-quantity messaging encourage fast turnover.
Pro shop revenue has climbed from $42,500 in FY23 to $81,400 in FY25—a 92 percent increase over two years.
Outcomes: Significant financial growth; improved retail operations and pricing oversight; stronger staff capacity in demand forecasting and inventory management.
Financial Performance: Turning Events into Brand Value
Longwood University and The Sonnentag – Shared Success in Live Entertainment
At the Joan Perry Brock Center and The Sonnentag Event Center, annual Harlem Globetrotters appearances have evolved from single events into regional traditions. Behind each performance lies a network of shared learning. Learned experience on ticketing strategies, settlement procedures, production logistics, and artist relations circulate across CENTERS sites through POSS collaboration. The result is efficient operations, consistent guest experience, and a strong reputation among promoters that yields repeat bookings and new inquiries.
At both venues, ticket sales reflect strong demand in smaller markets where families typically travel long distances for touring entertainment. At The Sonnentag, first-year attendance exceeded two thousand guests, and Year Two is already approaching one thousand early ticket sales even before the traditional Black Friday surge. At Longwood, the Joan Perry Brock Center continues to attract reliable regional audiences in its third consecutive year of hosting the Globetrotters, reinforcing the value of accessible, high-quality entertainment close to home.
Outcomes: Strengthened financial performance through repeatable event models; improved community engagement via shared regional programming; increased institutional capacity through standardized event management practices.
Student Experience: Building Engagement Year-Round
Moraine Valley Community College – Youth Programming as a Pipeline
Moraine Valley transformed its seasonal youth camps into a year-round program offering after-school and school-break sessions. The initiative provides reliable auxiliary income, steady student employment, and early exposure for future students within the community. What began as a summer program now supports workforce development and institutional outreach, demonstrating how a well-managed initiative can advance both mission and margin.
In 2025, FitRec’s Summer Camp operated from June 9 to August 8 and generated roughly $160,000 at a 43 percent profit margin. When combined with childcare drop-off and enrichment programs, total KidRec revenue reached $264,270. This represents a 30 percent increase over the previous fiscal year and highlights how youth programming can grow into a dependable revenue stream for the institution.
Outcomes: Enhanced student engagement and workforce readiness; expanded educational impact; sustained financial performance through diversified programming enhanced community engagement
Educational Impact: Shared Expertise and Applied Learning
Jacksonville State University and the University of Alabama at Birmingham – Collaboration as a Classroom
CENTERS’ outdoor adventure programs at Jacksonville State University (JSU) and the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) demonstrate how shared expertise drives both learning and efficiency. By aligning staff training, safety standards, and certifications across campuses, CENTERS reduced costs while maintaining the highest levels of instruction.
At JSU, adventure recreation is integrated into the university’s Jax MIX micro-credentialing program, giving students academic credit for experiences that build technical skills and environmental ethics. Participation has grown substantially, with roughly seventy percent of participants returning for multiple trips.
Outcomes: Improved educational integration; cost savings through shared staffing; new professional certification revenue streams; expanded institutional capacity through standardized training.
Community & Partnership Impact: Aligning Mission and Market
Harper College – Industry Collaboration for Shared Gain
Harper’s Foglia Foundation Health and Recreation Center leveraged its proximity to Life Fitness and Hammer Strength to establish a multi-year equipment and research partnership. The collaboration provides Harper with continuous technology upgrades and hands-on learning opportunities for students while giving Life Fitness access to user data and real-world feedback.
Outcomes: $600,000 equipment investment; enhanced community and industry partnerships; educational enrichment through applied research opportunities; strengthened institutional brand as an innovation partner.
DePaul University – Purposeful Rentals that Build Community
To strengthen and diversify revenue sources, DePaul Campus Recreation established long-term rental partnerships that activate underused spaces while reinforcing community engagement. Organizations such as Chicago Sport and Social Club, Fred’s Camp, and Body Peace Massage now operate portions of their programs within the Ray Meyer Fitness and Recreation Center. These partners independently staff and manage their offerings, allowing the DePaul team to focus on coordination, service, and relationship management.
Through consistent communication and responsive support, DePaul has built a collaborative environment that keeps partners returning year after year. The approach generates reliable revenue, attracts new community members, and strengthens both financial stability and local connection.
Outcomes: Increased community engagement; sustainable, low-labor revenue generation; optimized facility use during off-peak times.
Institutional Capacity: Agility, Continuity, and Operational Strength
University of Missouri–St. Louis – Sustaining Service Through Collaboration
When UMSL experienced a short-term staffing shortage in housing operations, CENTERS’ recreation leadership provided interim management support. The arrangement prevented service disruption, preserved student satisfaction, and maintained housing revenue.
Outcomes: Protected financial performance and student experience; demonstrated enterprise agility; strengthened cross-departmental trust.
University of New Haven – The Campus Living Room
At the University of New Haven, the recreation center doubles as the campus’s largest event venue. By centralizing event management under CENTERS leadership, the facility balances student engagement with operational discipline, transforming what could have been a single-purpose recreation space into a multifunctional, mission-aligned asset.
Outcomes: Maximized facility utilization; increased student engagement; improved operational efficiency.
Jacksonville State University – Designing Experience Without New Capital
Limited space at Jacksonville State inspired staff to create pop-up programs and informal gathering zones that build connection without construction costs. These small-scale initiatives prove that innovation depends more on creativity than on capital.
Outcomes: Elevated student experience and belonging; sustained engagement under budget constraints; showcased scalable, low-cost innovation.
Outcome Balance: Managing Complexity in Multi-Tenant Facilities
Johns Hopkins University – Coordination as a Competitive Advantage
Within the Bloomberg Student Center, CENTERS integrates operations among dining, scheduling, event services, and multiple student organizations. Although the facility carries no direct revenue target, this coordination minimizes redundancy, optimizes scheduling, and ensures consistent service quality.
Outcomes: Improved institutional capacity; enhanced student experience through streamlined services; fiscal stewardship through operational efficiency.
Community & Financial Impact: Purpose-Driven Revenue
Moraine Valley Community College – Big Pink Volleyball for a Cause
Moraine Valley’s annual Big Pink Volleyball Tournament shows how financial innovation and social purpose can work together. This year, the event drew a record 13 teams and raised just over $5,000 for Susan G. Komen for a Cure. When combined with tournament entry fees and related programming, the event generated close to $10,000 in total revenue and charitable contributions. The tournament strengthens campus community, supports cancer research, and demonstrates how recreation spaces can drive both philanthropy and engagement.
Outcomes: Increased community engagement and campus pride; generated new event revenue; advanced institutional mission through service and awareness.
Across these examples, the CENTERS Outcomes Control Panel provides a consistent framework for decision-making. Whether through shared learning, community partnership, or program design, CENTERS leaders apply the same disciplined process to balance financial sustainability with educational and community value. POSS and POI ensure that every local innovation becomes part of an enterprise system. A system that advances both mission and margin through evidence, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
The CENTERS Outcomes Delivery System
These initiatives collectively illustrate how CENTERS transforms local innovation into a unified system of continuous progress. The result is an innovation loop where local creativity becomes enterprise knowledge, and enterprise strategy returns to guide site-level decision-making. This system moves faster than any single university could manage alone. It balances the immediacy of on-the-ground experimentation with the discipline of enterprise oversight, ensuring that every innovation, whether financial, operational, or experiential, advances institutional outcomes and strengthens the student experience.
Conclusion: Innovation with Integrity
Innovation in campus operations is not a departure from mission. It is what sustains it. The CENTERS ecosystem, anchored by POSS and POI, provides the structure, data, and professional community needed to test ideas, evaluate results, and scale what works. Across recreation centers, arenas, and student life facilities, this model demonstrates that creativity and accountability can coexist.
Innovation in campus operations is not a departure from mission. It is what sustains it. They are complementary commitments that create resilient systems to support both institutional strength and student success. The CENTERS ecosystem, anchored by POSS and POI, provides the structure, data, and professional community needed to test ideas, evaluate results, and scale what works. Across recreation centers, arenas, and student life facilities, this model demonstrates that creativity and accountability can coexist.