TicketsCINCINNATI – University of Cincinnati Director of Athletics John Cunningham announced an addition to the UCATS staff Friday.
Brad Okel, a UC graduate, will join the department as Executive Director of Development, handling the day-to-day operations of UCATS. Karen Hatcher, the Bearcats Executive Senior Associate AD and Assistant Vice President, Principal Gifts, will continue in her role managing UC's Presidential-Level donors and prospects.
"I am pleased to welcome Brad and his family back to the University of Cincinnati," Cunningham said. "He will provide leadership and guide our UCATS team as we continue to grow our donor base in the local community and beyond. Brad will lead an aggressive push to seek out new and lapsed UCATS members and enhance our UCATS organization as a whole.
"I also can't speak enough about Karen's fundraising acumen and the importance of her relationships with our top donors," Cunningham said. "We are moving into a new era of giving and capital planning and we will continue to count on her leadership in those strategic areas."
Okel rejoins the Bearcats staff after working as the Assistant Athletic Director/Annual Giving at Miami (OH) for the last four-plus years. In his role in Oxford, he provided strategic leadership on a variety of initiatives and facilitated major gifts to departmental priorities which included scholarships and capital projects. He helped build extensive annual giving strategies that lead to significant growth in sport specific giving for the RedHawks.
"My family and I could not be more excited to rejoin the Bearcats family, a place that has meant so much to us," Okel said. "I am eager to get to work connecting with and serving the members of the University of Cincinnati community. John Cunningham and the University of Cincinnati Foundation team have a tremendous vision for ensuring our student-athletes achieve Next Level Success and I am thrilled to be a part of that mission and look forward to working with our team to help make that happen."
Prior to his time at Miami, Okel spent five years working for UCATS, assisting with gameday operations, stewardship, annual giving, donor communications and major gifts. He has a bachelor's degree in communication from UC and a master's in sports administration from Xavier.
Hatcher, a member of the department's executive staff, has worked at UC since December 2012 and has been instrumental in the capital campaigns for Nippert Stadium and Fifth Third Arena. Her portfolio also includes strategic planning to enlist philanthropic support for athletics with a focus on developing major gifts to fund capital initiatives, academic and competitive excellence and scholarship endowments. She also acts as the administrative oversight for the tennis and volleyball programs.
FOLLOW THE BEARCATS
For all the latest information on Cincinnati athletics, please visit GoBEARCATS.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow Cincinnati Athletics on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
ABOUT UCATS
UCATS is an acronym for University of Cincinnati Athletic Team Support and was established in 1979. It was created to provide financial support to fund student-athlete scholarships and special needs of the athletics department; while fostering camaraderie, sportsmanship and school spirit among students, faculty and staff, alumni and friends of the University of Cincinnati athletics programs. The private support received from donors enables us to provide deserving student-athletes with the necessary tools to be successful in their respective sport, in the classroom and in the community. Increasing the number of memberships in UCATS is critical to building an economic model that will support the long-term growth of UC Athletics.
Please call 1-877-55-UCATS (82287) or visit GoBEARCATS.com/UCATS for more information.
Brad Okel, a UC graduate, will join the department as Executive Director of Development, handling the day-to-day operations of UCATS. Karen Hatcher, the Bearcats Executive Senior Associate AD and Assistant Vice President, Principal Gifts, will continue in her role managing UC's Presidential-Level donors and prospects.
"I am pleased to welcome Brad and his family back to the University of Cincinnati," Cunningham said. "He will provide leadership and guide our UCATS team as we continue to grow our donor base in the local community and beyond. Brad will lead an aggressive push to seek out new and lapsed UCATS members and enhance our UCATS organization as a whole.
"I also can't speak enough about Karen's fundraising acumen and the importance of her relationships with our top donors," Cunningham said. "We are moving into a new era of giving and capital planning and we will continue to count on her leadership in those strategic areas."
Okel rejoins the Bearcats staff after working as the Assistant Athletic Director/Annual Giving at Miami (OH) for the last four-plus years. In his role in Oxford, he provided strategic leadership on a variety of initiatives and facilitated major gifts to departmental priorities which included scholarships and capital projects. He helped build extensive annual giving strategies that lead to significant growth in sport specific giving for the RedHawks.
"My family and I could not be more excited to rejoin the Bearcats family, a place that has meant so much to us," Okel said. "I am eager to get to work connecting with and serving the members of the University of Cincinnati community. John Cunningham and the University of Cincinnati Foundation team have a tremendous vision for ensuring our student-athletes achieve Next Level Success and I am thrilled to be a part of that mission and look forward to working with our team to help make that happen."
Prior to his time at Miami, Okel spent five years working for UCATS, assisting with gameday operations, stewardship, annual giving, donor communications and major gifts. He has a bachelor's degree in communication from UC and a master's in sports administration from Xavier.
Hatcher, a member of the department's executive staff, has worked at UC since December 2012 and has been instrumental in the capital campaigns for Nippert Stadium and Fifth Third Arena. Her portfolio also includes strategic planning to enlist philanthropic support for athletics with a focus on developing major gifts to fund capital initiatives, academic and competitive excellence and scholarship endowments. She also acts as the administrative oversight for the tennis and volleyball programs.
FOLLOW THE BEARCATS
For all the latest information on Cincinnati athletics, please visit GoBEARCATS.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow Cincinnati Athletics on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
ABOUT UCATS
UCATS is an acronym for University of Cincinnati Athletic Team Support and was established in 1979. It was created to provide financial support to fund student-athlete scholarships and special needs of the athletics department; while fostering camaraderie, sportsmanship and school spirit among students, faculty and staff, alumni and friends of the University of Cincinnati athletics programs. The private support received from donors enables us to provide deserving student-athletes with the necessary tools to be successful in their respective sport, in the classroom and in the community. Increasing the number of memberships in UCATS is critical to building an economic model that will support the long-term growth of UC Athletics.
Please call 1-877-55-UCATS (82287) or visit GoBEARCATS.com/UCATS for more information.