The Auburn Athletics Department has been awarded the Paciolan Star of the Year at PACnet ’26, held this week in Huntington Beach, California. The award is presented annually to recognize outstanding achievement in revenue generation across ticketing, marketing, and fundraising among more than 500 Paciolan college partners and national live event organizations.
Other finalists for the award included the University of Nebraska, Virginia Athletics Foundation, Bowling Green State, and the Oklahoma City Civic Center & Music Hall.
Rhett Hobart, Auburn’s Deputy Athletic Director and Chief Revenue Officer, said: “I’m so proud Paciolan and peers across the industry have recognized the outstanding work of our Revenue Generation teams led by Daniel Watkins and Jacob Jordan in utilizing an incredibly innovative and creative approach to meet the demands of this ever-evolving enterprise. One of the marquee metrics recognized by Paciolan was the intentionality around the creation of new revenue generating events and opportunities – beyond traditional athletic events. Among all ticketing revenue derived thus far in the 2025-26 athletic year, 25% was generated through new events and opportunities – providing critical support as the revenue demands of the department grow.”
Auburn Athletics received recognition for launching five concerts and special events using Paciolan’s PAC Live ticketing platform. The department also introduced ShowPass, a feature that provides guaranteed concert seat locations for men’s basketball season ticket holders. Additionally, Auburn implemented Paciolan iQ—Paciolan’s data analytics platform—to quickly realize benefits from data-driven decision making.
Brendan Lynch, President of Paciolan, stated: “We’re proud to recognize Auburn Athletics as our PACnet ‘26 Star of the Year for their outstanding innovation and revenue generation accomplishments. Winning Star of the Year is a testament to their hard work, relentless pursuit of excellence and commitment to creating a world-class experience for Tigers fans. We are incredibly proud to partner with John Cohen, Rhett Hobart and their talented team and look forward to supporting their continued success.”
Paciolan also highlighted Auburn’s modernization efforts in seat selection for multiple sports using a mobile-friendly platform powered by Ballena. This provided fans with an improved process when choosing seats. The digital marketing team at Auburn was acknowledged for its cross-functional collaboration on renewals as well as a campaign related to hiring head football coach Alex Golesh; these efforts resulted in over 56,000 new database accounts and thousands of seat deposit commitments.
Paciolan provides technology solutions—including ticketing systems—for more than 500 live entertainment organizations each year. It is noted as being one of college athletics’ largest primary ticketing companies with over 125 collegiate clients.
