Cal State Monterey Bay

What Cal State Monterey Bay does

Cal State Monterey Bay (CSUMB) Athletics is the athletics department of California State University Monterey Bay, a public university founded in 1994 and part of the California State University system, operating primarily from Seaside, California with sports medicine and training facilities at the Otter Sports Center in Marina. The department fields 14 NCAA Division II sports — baseball, men's and women's basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, track and field, volleyball, and women's water polo — serving approximately 300 student-athletes. It competes in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) for most sports and the Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) for women's water polo, governed by NCAA Division II rules and regulations. The program is branded "Otter Athletics" and its central digital asset is otterathletics.com, built on Sidearm Sports CMS.

The department operates a diversified non-tuition revenue and engagement stack rather than a commercial product line: philanthropic giving via the Otter Backers donor club (tiered from Monte's at $100 up to the Legacy Scholarship Circle at $9,187 annual gift), the Otter Alumni Challenge annual team-vs-team fundraiser ($70,000 raised from 1,100+ supporters since 2020), and endowment giving (minimum $25,000) processed through the CSUMB Foundation. Transactional revenue is generated through ticketing on vivenu.com, merchandise sales via BSN Sideline Store and shopotterathletics.merchorders.com, and a Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) marketplace through Opendorse. Sports medicine infrastructure includes a partnership with Monterey Spine and Joint as primary team physicians, the SportsWare electronic medical record system, and SWAY baseline concussion testing.

Customer-facing channels include otterathletics.com (Top-of-funnel content, schedules, rosters, news), social media under "Otters Making Waves" for student-athlete features, and broadcast distribution through FloCollege/FloSports for CCAA coverage. The primary customer segments are collegiate student-athletes (program participants) and athletics supporters/alumni (donors, ticket buyers, merchandise purchasers, families). The leadership team is headed by Athletics Director Kirby Garry, with functional oversight split across compliance (Greg Harrod), business operations (Al Zitlau), communications (Kevin Gilmore), development (Jessica Ruiz), and sport-specific head coaches across all 14 programs.

Name

Cal State Monterey Bay

Legal name

California State University Monterey Bay

Website

https://otterathletics.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

CSU Monterey Bay Athletics operates the NCAA Division II athletics program for Cal State Monterey Bay, fielding 14 sports for roughly 300 student-athletes in the CCAA and WWPA. Funding comes from Otter Backers philanthropy, alumni fundraising, ticketing, merchandise, and NIL partnerships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Collegiate Athletics

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113), Other Spectator Sports (711219)

akta.pro primary industry

College/University Athletic Departments & Varsity Programs (MPAKACAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Intercollegiate Athletics (Varsity Sports Programs) (EDALAIAA), College/University Sports Events (NCAA & equivalents) (MPAGAMAE)

Keywords

• NCAA Division II athletics
• Collegiate sports programs
• Intercollegiate athletics
• Athletic scholarships
• Sports medicine

Headquarters

HQ city

Seaside

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Otter Backers Membership Program: Annual philanthropic support through tiered giving levels from Monte's ($100) through Legacy Scholarship Circle ($9,187), providing consistent unrestricted and sport-designated support for scholarships, team travel, equipment, and sports performance resources
2. Ticket Sales: Event ticketing for athletic competitions sold through vivenu.com platform for various sports including baseball, basketball, soccer, volleyball, and water polo
3. Merchandise Sales: Official merchandise sales through BSN Sideline Store and Advanced Online Merchandise platform, generating revenue from fan apparel and gear purchases
4. NIL Marketplace: Name, Image, and Likeness opportunities for student-athletes through Opendorse partnership, enabling social media promotions, endorsements, appearance fees, and private lessons
5. Endowment Giving: Perpetual endowment funds with minimum gift of $25,000 to establish endowments supporting scholarships, coaching positions, or specific sport programs

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Cal State Monterey Bay Athletics operates 14 NCAA Division II intercollegiate sports programs for approximately 300 student-athletes, competing in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA). The department delivers athletic scholarships, sports medicine, strength and conditioning, NCAA compliance, communications, and competitive opportunities across men's and women's programs including baseball, basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, track and field, volleyball, and water polo.

Product overview

CSU Monterey Bay Athletics operates a unified athletics information and engagement platform centered on its official website (OtterAthletics.com). The platform serves 14 NCAA Division II sports programs and includes complementary sub-products: a Name, Image & Likeness (NIL) program for student-athlete monetization, the Otter Backers philanthropic donor club for fundraising, and a comprehensive staff directory. The core offering provides sports schedules, rosters, news, compliance information, and community engagement features for the university's approximately 300 student-athletes.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Otters Making Waves: Student-athlete feature program highlighting individual athletes
• Otter Backers
• NIL (Name, Image, Likeness)

Products and services

• NCAA Division II Intercollegiate Sports Programs

Quantifiable outcome

• 300+ student-athletes supported through alumni fundraising
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division IIcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCSUMB is a member of NCAA Division II with full compliance to NCAA rules and regulations governing coaches and student-athletes. The NCAA provides the governance framework for intercollegiate athletics competition and institutional control requirements.
• California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCSUMB competes in the CCAA conference for most sports including baseball, basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, track & field, and volleyball. CCAA provides conference scheduling, championships, and regional competition structure.
• Western Water Polo Association (WWPA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCSUMB women's water polo competes in the WWPA conference, which provides championship opportunities and governance for water polo programs at member institutions.
• Monterey Spine and JointcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMSJ serves as the primary team physicians providing a comprehensive, multidisciplinary medical network for student-athletes. Located in the Monterey region, MSJ provides orthopedic and sports medicine expertise for injury evaluation and treatment.
• OpendorsecoreTechnology or IntegrationPartnership provides student-athletes with educational resources focusing on NIL through Opendorse platform. Opendorse operates the Otters Marketplace (opendorse.com/csumb-otters) for NIL opportunities including social media promotions, endorsements, appearance fees, private lessons, and camps/clinics.
• FloCollege (FloSports)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFloSports partnership provides live and archived video coverage of CCAA conference sports through go.flosports.tv/partner/ccaa, expanding reach of Otter Athletics events to a broader audience.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Cal State East Bay Athletics: CCAA conference peer in the CSU system fielding NCAA Division II sports; shares state-entity structure, Otter-style donor club, and similar regional scope.
• Sonoma State Athletics: CCAA Division II peer and CSU-system school; comparable Northern California footprint and athletic department scale.
• San Francisco State Athletics: CCAA Division II peer competing in similar sports; comparable urban-adjacent CSU system profile and donor-driven revenue model.
• Cal Poly Pomona Athletics: CCAA Division II conference member and CSU-system school; a larger, more established peer within the same governance and competitive structure.
• Chico State Athletics: Long-standing CCAA Division II program in the CSU system, comparable in sport count and structure, often cited as a benchmark within the conference.
• Cal Poly Humboldt Athletics: CSU-system school and CCAA Division II participant; shares the same state-entity governance and Otter-style alumni giving mechanics.
• Stanislaus State Athletics: CCAA Division II peer in the CSU system; comparable sport lineup and donor-funded scholarship model.
• Cal State San Marcos Athletics: Fellow California State University system school competing in the CCAA at NCAA Division II with a similarly sized multi-sport program; nearly identical governance, funding model, and NIL setup as CSUMB.

Broad incumbents

• UC San Diego Athletics: Former CCAA conference peer that has since transitioned to NCAA Division I; relevant comparison for the Division II-to-Division I trajectory some CCAA programs are pursuing.

Others

• FloSports (FloCollege): Distribution partner that delivers CCAA media rights; relevant as a platform peer shaping the program's media and recruiting reach.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/csumb_otters
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cal-state-monterey-bay

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cal State Monterey Bay